EAST CAROLINA (15-13, 6-10 AAC) at WICHITA STATE (14-12, 5-9 AAC)
Saturday, Mar. 5, 2022 | 2:05 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
 
Tickets: 316-978-FANS or goshockers.com/tickets
TV: ESPN w/ Mike Corey & Mark Adams
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
Live Stats: ShockerStats.com
Series: WSU leads 5-0 (2-0 in Wichita); Last: Jan. 1, 2020 in Wichita (WSU, 75-69)
 
TICKETS:
Purchase online at goshockers.com/tickets or through the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS. WSU's campus mask mandate was lifted Friday. Fans are encouraged, but no longer be required to wear one at athletic events.
 
TELECAST:
The game will air on ESPNU with Mike Corey (PxP) and Mark Adams (Analyst) on the call. Fans with ESPNU in their cable/satellite package can stream live and on demand via the ESPN App.
 
SHOCKER RADIO:
Listen live on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen. Division I college basket-ball's longest-tenured duo, Mike Kennedy (pbp) and Dave Dahl (analyst) are in their 41st season together on radio. Kennedy is in his 42nd season as Voice of the Shockers. Pregame coverage begins one hour before tipoff.
 

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OPENING TIPS:

• Wichita State wraps up its regular season schedule on Saturday when it plays host to the East Carolina Pirates in an American Athletic Conference matchup.
• The winner grabs the No. 7 seed in next week's American Athletic Conference Championship and a first-round date with the No. 10 seed -- either Tulsa or South Florida (Thursday, 2 p.m. CT).
• The loser drops to the No. 9 line for a Noon matchup with No. 8 Cincinnati.
• Tulsa currently holds the 10-spot, but USF can steal it with a win plus a Tulsa loss on Sunday.
• This is the first WSU-ECU meeting in just over 26 months (or 794 days). The last was Jan. 1, 2020 in Wichita.
• The teams did not play in Greenville that year due to the league's unbalanced schedule. COVID-19 canceled both of last season's games, plus another this season. The Shockers were scheduled to open conference play Dec. 29 in Greenville, but the game was called off less than six hours before tipoff due to health and safety protocol within the ECU program.
• The Shockers lead the series 5-0 (2-0 in Wichita).
• WSU is going for its 750th win in what will be its 980th varsity men's basketball game inside the Roundhouse (1955-pr.). Shocker teams have a .765 winning percentage in parts of 66 seasons. All-time attendance topped the 8.5 million mark earlier this season.
• WSU notched its first AAC road victory in six tries on Wednesday, 72-62 at Tulsa. Tyson Etienne scored 18 points for the Shockers, who shot a season-best 49.1% and won the rebounding battle, 43-19.
• ECU is also coming off a win over Tulsa and has the benefit of seven-days' rest. The Pirates (6-10 AAC) have won four of their last six after a 2-8 start.
• WSU has played the league's toughest schedule, per NCAA NET (No. 70 as of Thursday).
• Five of WSU's 12 non-conference opponents went on to win their league's regular season title: Arizona (PAC-12), North Texas (CUSA West), Jacksonville State (A-SUN West), Norfolk State (MEAC) and Alcorn State (SWAC).
• KenPom ranks WSU 43rd in its defensive efficiency.
• Etienne (15.0 ppg) has 195 career threes and looks to reel in Jason Perez (5th, 196), Terrell Benton (4th, 197) and Sean Ogirri (3rd, 200) on WSU's all-time list.
• Fourth-year guard Dexter Dennis is 24 points shy of 1,000 and would be just the eighth guard in school history with the combo of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.

 

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ON THIS DATE IN SHOCKER HISTORY: MAR. 5
1960 – Playing in his final game, senior Al Tate became the first Shocker to score 40 points, helping WU best Tulsa, 90-73. Tate's total briefly stood as the school record, breaking Cleo Littleton's mark of 38, set in 1955. He exited the game with 1:31 remaining to a standing ovation that lasted for over a minute.
1983 – In his last game as a Shocker, Antoine Carr broke Dave Stallworth's 20-year old school record with 47 points in a 109-83 win over Southern Illinois at Levitt Arena.
2017 -- WSU defeated Illinois State, 71-51, to win its fourth (and final) Missouri Valley Conference tournament title. It was a fitting final between two teams that had both gone 17-1 in the regular season with their only losses coming on the other's home floor. Conner Frankamp earned MVP honors with 19 points and the Shockers held the Redbirds to 29% shooting.
 

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LAST TIME ON SHOCKER BASKETBALL…
Mar. 2, 2022 in Tulsa, Okla. | WSU 72, Tulsa 62

• WSU out-rebounded Tulsa, 43-19, and picked up its first conference road win in six tries.
• Tyson Etienne scored a game-high 18 points for the Shockers, who led by three near the midway point of the second half before mounting a 10-0 run.
• Reserve guard Qua Grant scored the last two baskets in that push. He matched his season-high with 13 points in 18 minutes.
• Morris Udeze sank all nine of his free throw attempts (a career-high) to finish with 15 points and eight rebounds.
• Jeriah Horne and Darien Jackson shared high-scoring honors for Tulsa (9-19, 3-13), which committed just three turnovers – all in the second half. The Hurricane shot 41 percent for the game but missed 15 of their 18 three-point attempts.
• WSU shot a season-best 49.1% from the field and knocked down 15-of-18 free throws.
• The Shockers shot 56% in the opening half despite playing the final 13 minutes without point guard Craig Porter Jr. (foul trouble). Grant filled in ably with nine first-half points on 4-of-4 shooting, including the final basket in a 9-1 run that sent the Shockers into halftime with a 38-29 cushion.
• Tulsa's 19 rebounds were the fewest for a Shocker opponent in over seven years.
• WSU defeated its rival for the 17th time in 19 meetings and improved to 9-1 in AAC era matchups.

 

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TRENDING:

• Second-year Ricky Council IV has always been a scoring threat, but lately he's been stepping up with greater consistency. He's averaging 14.0 points over the last 10 games and has led the Shocker scoring in six of those contests.
• That 10-game stretch coincides with WSU's COVID-19 pause. The Shockers were 0-4 in conference play on the heels of a Jan. 16 home loss to Cincinnati and had to postpone the next two. That time off helped refocused the team. They returned to action after a 10-day layoff and are 5-5 since.
• The Shockers forced just three turnovers at Tulsa -- fewest by a WSU opponent in 17 years (3 at Creighton on 2/1/05).
• Wednesday marked the first time this season that WSU has won a game when its opponent finished with more assists than turnovers. Tulsa had a sparkling 12:3 ratio. The Shockers were 0-9 prior.
• Tulsa's 19 rebounds were the fewest by a Shocker opponent since Dec. 22, 2014 when WSU limited Loyola Marymount to 19 in a quarterfinal victory at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu.
• WSU made 15-of-18 (.833) free throws at Tulsa. It was the 10th time in 26 games this year that the Shockers have made at least 80% of their freebies. They're on pace to set a school record for free throw percentage (.752) edging out the 2011-12 squad (.748).
• Tyson Etienne scored in double-figures Wednesday for the 20th time in 25 games this season and for the 50th time in his Shocker career.
• Morris Udeze drew 11 Tulsa fouls on Wednesday night. That ties for the most by a Shocker in the three seasons that the NCAA has tracked fouls drawn as a box score statistics.

WSU Single-Game Bests // Fouls Drawn // 2019-20 to Present:
11 -- Ricky Council IV – UCF (1/26/2022)
11 -- Morris Udeze -- at Tulsa (3/2/2022)
10 -- Grant Sherfield -- Texas Southern (11/9/2019)
10 -- Jaime Echenique -- South Florida (2/20/2020)
10 -- Morris Udeze -- vs. Drake (3/18/2021)

 
SHOCKERS ON THE AAC LEADERBOARDS:

• Tyson Etienne ranks sixth on the AAC scoring chart (15.0 ppg), fourth in minutes (34.5) and third in threes-per-game (2.72). The latter would be the second-highest season average in Shocker history behind the 2.96 he made last year.
• Ricky Council IV was a 63.6% free throw shooter last year as a true freshman (35-of-55). This year he's knocking them down at an 83.2% clip (79-of-95). That percentage is fourth on the league leaderboard (min. 2.5 FTM/game).
• Morris Udeze is sixth on the AAC rebounding chart (6.1). Sunday's 11-rebound effort at Memphis was his second game this season with double-digit boards and the fourth of his Shocker career.
• Craig Porter Jr. ranks among the league leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio (6th, 1.81), steals (t-6th, 1.58), assists (7th, 3.63) and blocks (8th, 1.08).
• Porter would be the first player in The American's nine-year history to rank among the top-10 in both assists and blocks. Cincinnati's Jacob Evans in 2017 (3.1 APG, 13th & 1.0 BPG, 10th) and Memphis' Dedric Lawson in 2016 (3.3 APG, 13th & 2.1 BPG, 4th) came the closest.
• More than 200 Division I players average at least a block-per-game, but the 6-foot-2 Porter is the shortest of them all.
• Earlier this year, Porter strung together 11-straight games with at least one block. It was the longest by a Shocker guard in the 42 years that WSU has tracked game-by-game block totals. Just three Shockers have achieved longer streaks.
• Per College Basketball Reference's Play Index, Porter enters the weekend as one of just five Division I players averaging at least 3.0 assists, 1.0 block and 1.0 steal.

 
ON THE WAY TO 1K:

• Tyson Etienne became the 48th member of WSU's 1,000-point club on Feb. 27 at Memphis.
• Dexter Dennis needs just 24 more to become No 49 and would be just the eighth Shocker guard with the combo of 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
• Etienne was the first new entry to the club since Markis McDuffie on Dec. 8, 2018. The nearly 39-month gap (1177) was the longest between 1,000-point scorers in program history, topping the three years and one day between Jason Perez (Jan. 9, 1999) and Terrell Benton (Jan. 10, 2002).
• Dennis now has a chance to set the opposite record. If he scores at least 24 against ECU, it would tie for the shortest gap between 1,000-point scorers (six days) with Xavier McDaniel (Jan. 30, 1984) and Aubrey Sherrod (Feb. 5, 1984).

Shocker Guards w/ 1,000 Points + 500 Rebounds:
Al Tate (1957-60) -- 1,139 pts, 774 reb
Kelly Pete (1963-66) -- 1,169 pts, 535 reb
Warren Armstrong (1965-68) -- 1,391 pts, 839 reb
Jason Perez (1996-00) -- 1,839 pts, 659 reb
P.J. Couisnard (2004-08) -- 1,303 pts, 685 reb
Toure' Murry (2008-12) -- 1,539 pts, 626 reb
Ron Baker (2012-16) -- 1,636 reb, 521 reb
(Dennis has 976 points and 548 rebounds)

 
TYSON 33333333333333333333333TIENNE:

• Tyson Etienne has connected on at least one triple in 23-straight contests. That's the fifth-longest streak in school history.

WSU All-Time // Consecutive Games w/ a 3-Point Field Goal:
40 -- Conner Frankamp (1/1/2017 to 1/28/2018)
29 -- Landry Shamet (12/17/2016 to 11/22/2017)
27 -- Ron Baker (11/18/2014 to 2/22/2015)
25 -- Ron Baker (4/6/2013 to 2/5/2014)
23 -- Tyson Etienne (11/16/2021 to Current) 

THREES COMPANY:

• Tyson Etienne (193 career threes) and Dexter Dennis (174) are both in the top-10 on WSU's career triples list. Etienne needs one more to break into the top-5.

WSU Career Leaders // 3-Point Field Goals Made:
1. Randy Burns (2001-05) -- 248
2. Ron Baker (2012-16) -- 242
3. Sean Ogirri (2004-07) -- 200
4. Terrell Benton (1998-02) -- 197
5. Jason Perez (1996-00) -- 196
6. Tyson Etienne (2019-Pr.) -- 195
7. Dexter Dennis (2018-Pr.) -- 175

 

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SCOUTING THE PIRATES:

• Picked last in the preseason AAC poll, ECU (9-3) has nearly doubled its win total from last year's COVID-shortened season, improving from 8-11 (2-10) to 15-13 (6-10). All this despite the loss of three-time all-AAC performer Jayden Gardner to the transfer portal.
• The Pirates returned four others starters, including sophomore guard Tristen Newton, who has more than doubled his scoring production (17.4 ppg) while averaging 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals. He also excels at getting to the foul line, knocking down 141-of-162 free throws (.870).
• Brandon Suggs (10.3 ppg), JJ Miles (7.6 ppg) and Garden City (Kan.) CC product Tremont Robinson-White (7.3 ppg, 1.7 spg) have also taken steps.
• To that core, coach Joe Dooley has added a difference-maker in 6-9 forward Vance Jackson, who comes to ECU after previous stops at UConn, New Mexico and most recently Arkansas. He's putting up 13.1 points and is the team's top rebounder (5.8) and three-point shooter (3.0-per-game on 41.3% accuracy).
• Perimeter shooting is an area where past Pirate teams consistency struggled. They're shooting a respectable (.338 this year) but from 2017-18 to 2020-21, ECU finished 338th (.305), 348th (.284), 344th (.281) and 308th (.304) in three-point accuracy.
• ECU has also produced points at the foul line. Helped by Newton's totals, the Pirates have outscored opponents 414-350 at the stripe while shooting 74.9%.
• Dooley's squad is sharing the ball with assists on 63.4% of their baskets (No. 5 nationally per KenPom). Unfortunately, so are opponents (61.6% is 11th-highest nationally).
• According to KenPom's roster height rankings, ECU has the AAC's tallest team, averaging 6-feet-5.3-inches.
• Dooley is in his fourth and eighth year coaching ECU. He led the program from 1995-99 and returned in 2018. In between, he spent 10 seasons as a Kansas assistant (2003-13) before guiding Florida Gulf Coast to five-straight 20-win seasons (2013-18).

 
MATCHUP MASHUP:

• This is the sixth chapter of the "War on I-35 to I-435 to I-70 to I-77S to US-52S to I-40E to I-264E." Wichita and Greenville, N.C. are separated by 1,300 miles; an easy 20-hour drive (pit stops not included).
• WSU is 5-0 against Joe Dooley. In December, 2017, Dooley's final FGCU team put a scare into the 11th-ranked Shockers at CKA, leading by seven points with 13:00 to go. WSU recovered to win 75-65.
• WSU second-time freshman Ricky Council IV is a Durham, N.C. native. Durham and Greenville are separated by less than two hours.
• Because the teams did not play last year, only three current Shockers have faced ECU. Dexter Dennis is the lone holdover from WSU's last visit to Greenville three years ago. He averaged 10.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg in three meetings with the Pirates during his freshman year but was inactive when the team's met the following year in Wichita (Jan. 1, 2020). Tyson Etienne scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds in that game and Morris Udeze came off the bench with nine points and four boards.
• Former Shocker Gabe Blair – a starter on the 2011 NIT Championship team – played his first two collegiate seasons at ECU before transferring to WSU.

 
THE SERIES WITH ECU:

• WSU and ECU had never played prior to the Shockers joining the league in July, 2017, and they haven't had many encounters since then, either. WSU is wrapping up its fifth season in the league, but this is only the sixth meeting.
• The Shockers are 5-0 (2-0 Wichita).
• The teams played three times in 2018-19, capped by WSU's first round win the AAC tournament. The teams met just once in 2017-18 and 2019-20 due the league' unbalanced schedule and have had three-straight games canceled by COVID-19.
• WSU is 2-0 at ECU's Minges Coliseum but hasn't played a game there since Feb. 6, 2019.

 
WSU-ECU GAME-BY-GAME:
 
Jan. 1, 2020 | Wichita | #24 WSU 75, ECU 69
An all-around effort from Erik Stevenson (17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 1 block) helped WSU survive an ECU upset bid... Jayden Gardner scored 20 of his 29 points after halftime and the Pirates led 45-44 with less than 13:00 to play before WSU took control.
 
Mar. 14, 2019 | Memphis, Tenn. | WSU, 73-57
Markis McDuffie scored 15 points on 11-of-12 foul shooting to lead the sixth-seeded Shockers past No. 11 seed ECU in the first round of the AAC tournament... The Shockers led 39-27 at the break and by 26 near the 12:00-mark before resting the regulars... WSU outscored ECU 14-2 off turnovers and 23-4 on second-chances, helped by 17 offensive rebounds. WSU was +12 on the glass and its three centers combined for 27 points and 18 rebounds... Jayden Gardner led ECU with 16 points, six boards.
 
Mar. 5, 2019 | Wichita | WSU, 72-55
Using depth and defense, the Shockers overcame a cold shooting performance to win on senior night... McDuffie scored 16 points in his final home game... Isaac Fleming had 17 for ECU and Rico Quinton posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds... WSU shot 39% but held ECU to 36% on 3-of-15 three-point shooting and out-rebounded the Pirates 47-37... WSU used a 14-4 surge to go up 32-18 late in the first half and coasted.
 
Feb. 6, 2019 | Greenville | WSU, 65-49
Samajae Haynes-Jones hit his first seven shots on his way to a team-high 18 points, and WSU out-rebounded ECU by 19... Asbjørn Midtgaard grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds and Jaime Echenique provided 10... The Shockers won despite shooting just 39.7% but held ECU to 34.6%... They led 34-20 at halftime and extended the margin to as many as 21 points late in the second half.
 
Jan. 11, 2018 | Greenville | #5 WSU 95, ECU 60
WSU recorded 32 assists on 38 baskets to win the first-ever meeting between the programs. Landry Shamet finished with 11 points and a career-high 11 assists with just one turnover. Rauno Nurger scored a team-high 14 points. WSU shot 59.4% including 70% (21-of-30) after halftime. The Shockers trailed 14-9 at the 12:06-mark but outscored ECU 36-9 over the remainder of the first half. They led by as many as 41 points down the stretch.
 

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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... Make them 15-12 (6-9 AAC after an 0-4 start).
... Give them the No. 7 seed in next week's AAC tournament a first-round game against the No. 10 seed  -- Tulsa or South Florida (2 p.m. CT, Thursday, ESPNU).
... Be their 750th inside the Roundhouse (1955-pr.)
... Make them 6-0 all-time vs. ECU (3-0 in Wichita).
... Make them 6-0 vs. Dooley (5-0 @ ECU, 1-0 @ FGCU)
... Make them 4-1 in AAC finales w/ 4-straight wins.
 
A SHOCKERS LOSS WOULD...
... Drop them to 14-13 (5-10 AAC).
... Make them the No. 9 seed in next week's AAC tournament and set up a first-round matchup with No. 8 seed Cincinnati (Noon CT, Thursday, ESPNU).
... Be their first to ECU (5-1, 2-1 Wichita).
... Be their seventh at home this year, matching the 2007-08 Shockers (8-7) for the most since CKA's 2003 renovation. Including 2021-22, WSU has posted a winning home record in each of the last 26 seasons.
... Be less good than a win.
 

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UP NEXT:
WSU competes in the Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship, Thursday through Sunday, Mar. 10-13 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. For more information on the tournament and ticket packages, visit theamerican.org/MBB.