Wichita State (11-6, 1-3) at UCF (9-6, 0-3)
Sunday, Jan. 15, 2023 | 12:00 PM CT | Addition Financial Arena
ESPN+ | KFH 98.7 FM/1330 AM | ShockerStats.com
 

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ON THE AIR
Sunday's game can be heard on the radio at KNSS 98.7 FM/1330 AM with Steve Strain calling the action. Strain is in his ninth season as the radio voice for Wichita State women's basketball. The game will also be televised on ESPN+ and the ESPN app.

LAST TIME OUT
Wichita State dropped its third straight American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, falling 76-53 to Tulane in New Orleans. Wichita State allowed a season-high 31 first quarter points and the 76 total points were also the most they've allowed all season. Wichita State was also outrebounded for just the third time this season. The Shockers were minus-9 on the glass, the largest rebound margin this season. DJ McCarty scored a team-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, and blocked a career-high three shots. Jane Asinde recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Led by first year head coach Sytia Messer, UCF enters Sunday's matinee at 9-6 this season and 0-3 in American play.  The Knights average 65.5 points per game despite shooting only 35.7 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from beyond the arc for the season. UCF is stout rebounding team where they average 45.1 boards, good for 12th nationally, and outrebound its opponents by almost seven a game. The Knights rank sixth nationally in offensive rebounds per game. Destiny Thomas posts a double-double at 11.1 points and 10.7 rebounds. Anzhane Hutton has played only six games thus far this season, but posts 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds and Laila Jewett rounds out the leading scorers at 10.6 per game.

THE SERIES VS. UCF
Wichita State and UCF have met only six times prior to Sunday, having never met before Wichita State joined The American. The Shockers are still searching for their first win in the series after the Knights. Wichita State is 0-3 all-time vs. the Knights in Orlando.

LAST MEETING
Wichita State was held to just 35 points in a 60-35 loss to the defending conference champs in Orlando on Feb. 16, 2022. Wichita State committed 31 turnovers in the contest and attempted just 36 field goals, making only 12. UCF converted on 53.5 percent of its attempts and scored 34 points off those 31 turnovers. Wichita State actually led by two at halftime before being outscored 43-16 in the second half. Asia Strong was the lone Shocker in double figures with 12 points. Strong and Jane Asinde both had a team-high three steals.

TALENTED TRIO
Jane Asinde, DJ McCarty and Trajata Colbert are forming a potent trio for the Shockers. All three are averaging double figures on the season and combine for 35.3 points per game on the offensive end. On the glass, they combine to pull down 22.2 rebounds a game. On the defensive end, the trio makes up 62.7 percent (79 steals) of the team's steals this season and 60.4 percent (29 blocks) of the team's blocks.

SEEING DOUBLE
Wichita State senior Jane Asinde is averaging a double-double through 17 games this season at 11.1 points and 11.1 rebounds. The Uganda native is on pace to finish the season with a top 10 single season rebounding mark. Her current 11.1 boards per game would rank as the 6th most in school history. She is also trying to become the first Shocker to average a double-double over the course of a season since Antionette Wells during the 2006-07 season when she posted 13.0 points and 10.4 rebounds.

GETTING DEFENSIVE
Wichita State boasts a top 60 defense through the first 17 games of the season. They have held all but six opponents to less than 38 percent shooting, and only five teams have shot better than 32 percent from three-point range. Wichita State's field goal defense is holding teams to just 36.4 percent, good for 43rd nationally. Opponents are connecting on only 29.3 percent of their attempts from long range. Wichita State has held seven opponents under 60 points, including three under 50.

GLASS CLEANERS      
Wichita State is one of the top rebounding teams in the country once again this season. Through 17 games Wichita State ranks 23rd nationally in rebound margin, 42nd in defensive rebounds per game and 45th in total rebounds per game. The Shockers have outrebounded 14 of their 17 opponents.

COLBERT CASHING IN      
Trajata Colbert has improved dramatically the last two years at the free throw line. The Georgia native began her career shooting 42.1 percent as a freshman, 61.1 percent as a sophomore and 50.9 percent as a COVID sophomore. In 2021-22 she shot a career-high 76.0 percent and so far through 17 games in 2022-23, she is 54-for-66 (81.8 percent). Colbert ranks second in the American in free throw percentage.

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Through 17 games Wichita State ranks in the top 70 nationally in the following categories: No. 27 in rebound margin (8.4), No. 43 in field goal percentage defense (36.4), No. 52 in rebounds per game (41.2), No. 53 in fouls per game (14.6), No. 55 in defensive rebounds per game (28.0) and No. 69 in free throws made per game (13.9). Jane Asinde ranks 15th nationally in defensive rebounds per game, No. 12 in rebounds per game, No. 17 in total rebounds and No. 41 in double doubles.

WANTED FOR THEFT
Junior guard DJ McCarty and senior forward Jane Asinde have been a pest on defense for opposing offenses through 17 games. Asinde leads the team with 33 steals and averages 2.2 steals a game and has multiple steals in nine games this season. McCarty has recorded at least one steal in all but three games, and has multiple in nine of the 17 games. Her 31 steals are the second most on the team. They rank 3rd and 11th, respectively, in the American in steals per game.

HUGE WIN
In Wichita State's 105-38 win over South Carolina State on Dec. 27, the Shockers broke a 41-year old school record for largest margin of victory. Wichita State won by 67, besting the previous mark of 64 set in 1981 vs. Phillips. It also marked just the second 100-point game of the Keitha Adams era, two points shy of the school record for most points in a game. Wichita State's 28 assists were also the most of the Adams era. Wichita State's field goal percentage of 60.3 was the highest since Feb. 2018 when the Shockers shot a school record 70.0 percent vs. Temple in Charles Koch Arena. Wichita State did set Charles Koch Arena records for points (105), field goals made (38) and assists (28).

BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Wichita State's 8-1 record to open the season marked the best start in program history. The Shockers got there behind a seven-game win streak. The seven-game win streak was the longest since 2015 when Wichita State won 12 in a row.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... make them 12-6 on the season
... make them 2-3 in conference play
... make them 4-4 on the road this season
... move them to 1-6 all-time vs. UCF
... snap a 6-game losing streak to UCF
... bring Keitha Adams' record to 74-84 at Wichita State
... make Adams 358-293 at the Division I level
... run Adams' career coaching record to 485-330
... make Wichita State 644-732 all-time

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... make them 11-7 this the season
... make them 1-4 in conference play
... drop them to 3-5 on the road this season
... make them 0-7 all-time vs. UCF
... bring Keitha Adams' record to 73-85 at Wichita State
... make Adams 357-294 at the Division I level
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 484-331
... make Wichita State 643-733 all-time

UP NEXT
Wichita State returns to Charles Koch Arena for the first of two straight home contests, beginning with SMU on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m.