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Jaykwon Walton

MBB Preview: at Kansas State (Dec. 3)

12/2/2022 1:45:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (4-3) at rv/rv KANSAS STATE (6-1)
Saturday, Dec. 3 | 8 p.m. CT
Manhattan, Kan. | Bramlage Coliseum
 
TV: ESPNU w/ Mark Neely & King McClure
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
Live Stats: ShockerStats.com
Series: KSU leads 21-11 (14-2 in Manhattan); Last: Dec. 5, 2021 in Wichita (KSU, 65-59)
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • Two in-state rivals collide Saturday night when the Wichita State Shockers take on the Kansas State Wildcats at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
  • Last year's meeting at INTRUST Bank Arena – a 65-59 Wildcat victory – was the first in 18 years between the schools and tipped off a four-year series that will continue next year at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center and in 2024-25 at Charles Koch Arena.
  • An untimely injury to point guard Craig Porter Jr. derailed the Shockers, who led by seven points with under 15 minutes to play but went the next 7:26 without scoring. Markquis Nowell supplied 16 points for K-State, including a deep three-pointer that broke a 54-all tie with 1:35 to play.
  • WSU makes its first appearance at Bramlage Coliseum since Dec. 10, 2003. Shocker teams are 2-14 all-time against the Wildcats in Manhattan but had won two of their last four visits prior to the series' long hiatus.
  • WSU has won its last eight non-conference true road games going back to March 2019. Six have come against "Power-5" opponents.  A victory Saturday would tie a 68-year-old school record. From Dec. 1953 to Jan. 1955 the Shockers, led by All-American Cleo Littleton, won nine straight non-conference road games.
  • WSU fell in overtime to Missouri on Tuesday, 88-84. Jaykwon Walton (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Porter (14 points, 3 blocks) led the way offensively. WSU shot 54.1% from the field and made a season-high 12 three-pointers but went just 6-of-14 at the free throw line and committed 20 turnovers.
  • Porter is one of just two Shockers who saw minutes last season. He leads the team in points (13.9), rebounds (7.1), assists (4.0), blocks (2.3) and steals (1.7) and ranks among the nation's top-25 in blocks.
  • Third-year head coach Isaac Brown rebuilt the roster via the transfer portal. 11 of the 13 WSU players who have seen action this year are newcomers, led by Walton (13.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg).
  • WSU is holding opponents to 36.9% from the field (24th nationally) and 25.8% from deep (25th).
  • Offensively, the new-look Shockers are a work in progress. They're averaging 68.1 points on 43.8% accuracy but have topped 80 in each of the last two games and shot better than 50% in each of their last four halves.
  • Southeastern Louisiana grad transfer Gus Okafor has had a hand in that surge. Over the past two games he's averaged 19.0 points and 8.0 rebounds off the bench  (11/19 FG, 4/7 3pt).
 
 
ROAD WARRIORS:
  • WSU is 9-7 in true road games under Isaac Brown.
  • Over the last 10 seasons, the Shockers' .722 road winning percentage  (70-27) is second only to Gonzaga.
  • WSU has won eight-straight non-conference road games since 2018-19 -- Six vs. major conference foes: Clemson (ACC), Indiana (Big Ten), Mizzou (SEC), Ole Miss (SEC) and twice at Oklahoma State (Big 12).
  • Seven of the eight wins in the streak have come against KenPom top-100 opponents. Mizzou (which finished last year at No. 137) is the lone exception.
 
Wichita State in Non-Conference Road Games // Last 5 Seasons:
Dec. 21, 2018 at VCU (Richmond, Va.) – L. 54-70
Mar. 20, 2019 at Furman (Greenville, S.C.) – W, 76-70
Mar. 24, 2019 at Clemson (Clemson, S.C.) – W, 63-55
Mar. 26, 2019 at Indiana (Bloomington, Ind.) – W, 73-63
Dec. 8, 2019 at Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Okla.) – W, 80-61
Jan. 2, 2021 at Ole Miss (Oxford, Miss.) – W, 83-79
Nov. 26, 2021 at Missouri (Columbia, Mo.) – W, 61-55
Dec. 1, 2021 at Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Okla.) – W, 60-51
Nov. 17, 2022 at Richmond (Richmond, Va.) – W, 56-53
Dec. 3, 2022 at Kansas State (Manhattan, Kan.)
 
 
TRENDING:
  • Craig Porter Jr. has 14 blocks over his last four games. That's the most by a Shocker in a four-game stretch since the 2012-13 season when 7-footer Ehimen Orukpe swatted 18 against UNI (2), Drake (2), Bradley (5) and Southern Illinois (9).
  • The 6-foot-2 Porter begins the week as the American Athletic Conference leader in total blocks (16) and blocks-per-game (2.29). Nationally, there are 20 players averaging more, but they're all 6-foot-7 or taller.
  • Porter is one of just two players nationally with both a five-steal and five-block game under his belt (Kobe Clark, Southeast Missouri State).
  • Porter has scored at least nine points in all seven games.
  • Saturday against Tarleton, Gus Okafor became the fifth different Shocker to take a turn as leading scorer (Porter, Jaykwon Walton, Xavier Bell, Kenny Pohto).
  • Okafor is the third Shocker to top 20 points this year, joining Walton (twice) and Porter.
  • Walton has posted double-doubles in two of the last three games.
  • Shammah Scott saw little court time in the first five games (roughly 8.0 mpg) while backing up Porter at the point, but head coach Isaac Brown has been experimenting with ways to get both of his point guards on the floor at the same time. Scott's minutes have jumped to 18.5 over the last two games. Last Saturday against Tarleton he handed out three assists with just  one turnover in 18 minutes against Tarleton and had his best game as a Shocker against Mizzou when he finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting and handed out five assists over 21 minutes.
  • Xavier Bell is showing signs of shaking out of an shooting slump. He made just 1-of-15 threes over the first six games but bagged 2-of-5 against Mizzou. Bell was a 37.5% three-point shooter in his two seasons at Drexel.
  • WSU has topped 50% from the field in back-to-back games to raise its season percentage from .399 to .438.
  • WSU's 54% shooting day against Tarleton snapped a string of 47-straight games in which the team had failed to make more than half of its field goal attempts. The last came in a Jan. 2, 2021 win at Ole Miss when the Shockers made 52% from the field.
  • WSU lost to Mizzou on Tuesday despite shooting a Brown Era-best .541 from the field. It marked the first time the Shockers have lost while hitting at least half of their shots since Jan. 17, 2018 (83-78 to SMU), snapping a 12-game winning streak.
  • WSU lost for the first time when scoring 80+ points since Feb. 23, 2019 against Memphis (85-88), ending a 21-game streak.
  • The Shockers lost for only the second time under Isaac Brown when scoring 70+ points in regulation (23-2) and for only the fifth time when outshooting their opponent from the field (23-5).
  • 88 points tied the Brown Era high for a WSU opponent. The Shockers defeated UCF 93-88 in overtime on Jan. 30, 2021.
  • WSU topped 20 turnovers in a game for the first time since a double-overtime contest at UConn on Jan. 12, 2020 (21).
  • Mizzou's 16 steals were the most by a Shocker opponent since Feb. 28, 1994 (16 at Drake).
 
 
THE SERIES WITH K-STATE:
  • K-State leads the all-time series, 21-11. The Shockers are 9-7 against the Wildcats in Wichita but just 2-14 in Manhattan. This will be the Shockers' first visit in 19 years (Dec. 10, 2003).
  • Last year's matchup at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita ended an 18-year series hiatus. The schools are scheduled to meet again next season at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center and the following year at Koch Arena.
  • The most notable series meeting came in the 1964 Midwest Regional Final, played inside the Roundhouse. Dave Stallworth (37 points, 16 rebounds) outdueled fellow All-American Willie Murrell (28 pts, 10 reb), but the Wildcats escaped Wichita with a 94-86 win.
  • A year later, WSU again advanced to the regional final round, this time defeating Oklahoma State to punch its first Final Four ticket. That game was played at K-State's Ahearn Fieldhouse
  • For years it was WSU's lone bright spot in Manhattan. The Shockers lost its first 12 road games at K-State before finally breaking through in 1996 and again in 2001. A win on Saturday would be their third in five trips.
 
 
LAST MEETING:
Dec. 5, 2021 in Wichita (INTRUST Bank Arena) | KSU 65, WSU 59
  • Morris Udeze scored a season-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting, but WSU otherwise struggled to put the ball in the basket in its first meeting with KSU since 2003.
  • Markquis Nowell scored 16 points for K-State, including a deep three that broke a 54-all tie with 1:35 to go.
  • WSU saw a 12-game Wichita winning streak snapped and lost downtown for the first time since 2017.
  • Tyson Etienne added 11 points but made just 4-of-20 from the field, including 1-of-11 from three.
  • WSU shot 35.2% to KSU's 33.9. The Shockers had won 36-straight when out-shooting their opponent, last losing Jan. 19, 2019 to Cincinnati.
  • K-State committed just seven turnovers to WSU's 14. Shocker opponents had averaged 17.7 coming in.
  • The Wildcats limited the Shockers to just three second-chance points on six offensive rebounds.
  • WSU enjoyed a fast start, building leads of 11-2 and 17-5 at the 12:15 mark of the first half. KSU responded with a 12-0 run and took a 32-30 lead into halftime.
  • WSU jumped back out to a seven-point lead near the 14:00-mark but went scoreless over the next 7:00.
  • The lead changed hands four more times. Ricky Council IV made a short pull-up jumper for a 51-50 Shocker lead with just under 4:00 showing and tied the game at 54 on a three-pointer with 2:02 to go. Nowell responded with a deep three then added a pair of free throws on the next trip. Mark Smith iced it with a steal and transition dunk.
 
 
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS:
  • KSU is under new management with former Baylor assistant Jerome Tang taking over following the retirement of Bruce Weber.
  • Like WSU, K-State has a new-look roster with 13 newcomers and just two returning lettermen.
  • K-State was picked last out of 10 teams in the Big 12 preseason poll but is out to a 6-1 start. The Wildcats own a road win at California and notched three neutral court victories last week in the Caymon Islands over Rhode Island, Nevada and LSU. Their lone loss came Wednesday night at Butler.
  • K-State's top returner is Markquis Nowell (15.0 ppg,1.8 spg), a 5-8 senior who started his career at Little Rock. He ranks third nationally in assists-per-game (7.9) and sports a 3.24 assist-to-turnover ratio (37th).
  • Former Florida Gator Keyontae Johnson, a 6-6 forward,  is the team's leading scorer (18.0)  and rebounder (6.9). He was 9-for-9 from the field in Wednesday's game at Butler and is shooting 60% for the year.
  • The Wildcats are shooting free throws at an impressive .791 clip and the defense has forced an average of 18.3 turnovers-per-game.
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • New WSU Athletic Director Kevin Saal is a Manhattan native and former K-State staffer (2000-05). He spent a year as administrative assistant for the K-State men's and women's golf and rowing programs before transitioning into an event management role.
  • WSU Director of Player Development, Nick Jones was as a KSU student manager for five seasons (2009-14).
  • K-State Executive Associate A.D. Casey Scott began his career in 1985 as WSU's Sports Information Director before being demoted into a senior administrator role.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... Make them 5-3.
... Extend their non-conference road winning streak to nine games, going back to March of 2019.
... Be just their third against the Wildcats in Manhattan (3-14) and make them 3-6 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum.
... Narrow KSU's overall series lead to 21-12.
... Make them 71-27 (.724) in true road games over the past 10 seasons (2013-14 to present).
 
 
UP NEXT: LONGWOOD
Saturday, Dec. 10 | 3 p.m. CT | ESPN+
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
  • The Shockers have a full week off before meeting Longwood in the first of four straight games in Wichita.
  • The Lancers (26-7 last year) have four starters back from a team that steamrolled to the Big South regular season and tournament titles and reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 seasons at the Division I level.
  • WSU senior transfer Gus Okafor began his career at Longwood before stops at Miami Dade College and Southeastern Louisiana.
  • Longwood is one of four first-time Shocker opponents on this year's schedule, along with Richmond (W, 56-53), Grand Canyon (W, 55-43) and Mississippi Valley State.
 
AND THEN: MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ST. 
Tuesday, Dec. 13 | 3 p.m. CT | ESPN+
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
  • WSU has faced 18 of the 23 Division I HBCU's at some point in its history, and MVSU will make 19. Only Alabama State, Bethune Cookman, Morgan State and North Carolina A&T remain.
  • George Ivory – the school's all-time assist leader – begins his first full season as head coach at his alma mater.
  • MVSU has a trailblazer in Trasity Totten – a former Arkansas Pine-Bluff and Grambling standout -- who becomes the SWAC's first female assistant men's basketball coach.
  • Delta Devil opponents averaged 83.0 points last season (second-most nationally).
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