Wichita State (11-4, 1-1) vs. RV/RV South Florida (13-4, 2-0)
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023 | 2:00 PM CT | Charles Koch Arena
ESPN+ | GoShockers.com/Listen | ShockerStats.com
Wichita Eagle Family Day - Purchase 4 or more adult tickets and receive vouchers for 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas and 4 bags of popcorn for only $32.
Scout Day - First 100 scouts in uniform receive a scout badge.
ON THE AIR
Saturday's game can be heard online at GoShockers.com/Listen 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 first American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday at Tulsa, 70-63. Tulsa outscored Wichita State 28-14 in the fourth quarter to erase a seven-point deficit entering the final period. Tulsa finished the game 12-of-38 from beyond the arc - both season highs for an opponent.
Trajata Colbert led the Shockers with 11 points and added nine rebounds.
DJ McCarty added 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Jane Asinde came up one point shy of a double-double with nine points and 14 rebounds. Wichita State pulled down a season-high 24 offensive rebounds, but was outscored 16-15 in second chance points.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
Led by 23rd year head coach Jose Fernandez, South Florida enters Saturday's matchup at 13-4 this season and 2-0 in American play. The Bulls are receiving votes in both the AP and Coaches Polls and own wins over ranked opponents, Texas and Arkansas. Each of their four losses have come to ranked teams as well. South Florida boasts one of the top rebounding teams in the country behind double-double threat Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu. She averages a double-double at 16.9 points and 12.1 rebounds per game. Elena Tsineke pours in a team-high 17.7 points on 43.3 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Sammie Puisis leads the nation in 3-point attempts and ranks second in 3-pointers made to go with 15.6 points.
THE SERIES VS. SOUTH FLORIDA
Wichita State and USF have met eight times prior to Thursday's matchup, with USF holding a 6-2 lead. Wichita State won the first two meetings, but the Bulls have won six straight. The first ever meeting came all the way back in Feb. 1983 on a neutral court that Wichita State won going away, 75-52. Wichita State dropped a narrow 47-46 contest to the Bulls a season ago in Charles Koch Arena, making USF 2-1 in Wichita.
LAST MEETING
In a defensive battle, South Florida escaped with a 47-46 win on Feb. 24, 2022 vs. the Shockers in Charles Koch Arena. Wichita State held the Bulls to 28.1 percent shooting and 4-of-22 from three-point range, but it wasn't quite enough to get over the hump.
Mariah McCully scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting and
Asia Strong added 15. The duo accounted for 76 percent of the scoring for WSU.
HEATING UP
DJ McCarty and
Trajata Colbert are heating up on the offensive end. McCarty has scored 10 or more points in four straight games and is averaging 14.0 points over that span - a team high. Colbert is riding a streak of five straight games in double figures, including a career-high 24 in the conference opener vs. Cincinnati on Dec. 30. In her last five games, Colbert is averaging 13.8 points and 8.2 rebounds. Together the duo of McCarty and Colbert are combining for 27.8 points in the last five games.
SEEING DOUBLE
Wichita State senior
Jane Asinde is averaging a double-double through 15 games this season at 10.8 points and 11.2 rebounds. The Uganda native is on pace to finish the season with a top 10 single season rebounding mark. Her current 11.2 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 15 games of the season. They have held all but four opponents to less than 38 percent shooting, and only six teams have shot better than 30 percent from three-point range. Wichita State's field goal defense is holding teams to just 35.2 percent, good for 26th nationally. Opponents are connecting on only 28.9 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 15 games Wichita State ranks 21st nationally in rebound margin, 31st in defensive rebounds per game and 34th in total rebounds per game. The Shockers have outrebounded 13 of their 15 opponents.
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).
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 15 games in 2022-23, she is 54-for-66 (81.8 percent). Colbert ranks second in the American in free throw percentage.
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.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Through 15 games Wichita State ranks in the top 70 nationally in the following categories: No. 21 in rebound margin (9.8), No. 26 in field goal percentage defense (35.2), No. 31 in defensive rebounds per game (29.2), No. 34 in rebounds per game (42.5), No. 38 in fouls per game (14.4), No. 39 in free throws made per game (14.9) and No. 52 in free throw attempts per game (20.4).
Jane Asinde ranks 15th nationally in defensive rebounds per game, No. 11 in rebounds per game, No. 16 in total rebounds and No. 42 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 15 games. Asinde leads the team with 29 steals and averages 2.2 steals a game and has multiple steals in eight games this season. McCarty has recorded at least one steal in all but three games, and has multiple in eight of the 15 games. Her 28 steals are the second most on the team. They rank 8th and 9th, respectively, in the American in steals.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... make them 12-4 on the season
... make them 2-1 in conference play
... make them 8-1 at home this season
... move them to 3-6 all-time vs. South Florida
... snap a six-game losing streak vs. USF
... bring
Keitha Adams' record to 74-82 at Wichita State
... make Adams 358-291 at the Division I level
... run Adams' career coaching record to 485-328
... make them 394-249 all-time in Charles Koch Arena
... make Wichita State 644-730 all-time
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... make them 11-5 this the season
... make them 1-2 in conference play
... drop them to 7-2 at home this season
... make them 2-7 all-time vs. South Florida
... be their seventh straight loss to the Bulls
... bring
Keitha Adams' record to 73-83 at Wichita State
... make Adams 357-292 at the Division I level
... lower Adams' career coaching record to 484-329
... drop them to 393-250 all-time in Charles Koch Arena
... make Wichita State 643-731 all-time
UP NEXT
Wichita State begins a two-game road trip in the Big Easy vs. Tulane on Jan. 11, before heading to the Sunshine State to face UCF on Sunday, Jan. 15.
