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MBB Preview: at No. 1 Houston (Mar. 2)

2/28/2023 6:21:00 PM

WICHITA STATE (15-13, 8-8) at No. 1/1 HOUSTON (27-2, 15-1)
Thursday, Mar. 2, 2023 | 6:01 p.m. CT
Houston, Texas | Fertitta Center
 
TV: ESPN2 w/ John Schriffen & Jon Crispin
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
Live Stats: shockerstats.com
Series: Tied 18-18 (UH leads 12-3 in Houston); Last: Feb. 2, 2023 in Wichita (UH, 70-61)
 

OPENING TIPS:
  • The Wichita State Shockers take aim at the top-ranked Houston Cougars Thursday inside the Fertitta Center (6 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
  • WSU is 2-8 all-time against AP No. 1. The Shockers last faced one during their 2013 Final Four run when they upset Gonzaga in the Round of 32. Their last regular season encounter came on the road against Lew Alcindor-led UCLA on Dec. 8, 1967.
  • The Shockers' last conference game against a No. 1-ranked opponent was Feb. 16, 1963 in Wichita when they ended two-time defending NCAA champion Cincinnati's 37-game winning streak, 65-64, behind Dave Stallworth's then-school record 46 points.
  • The Shockers' last win against the Cougars in Houston predates all of those events (Jan. 2, 1960 at Jeppesen Fieldhouse in their final MVC era visit). WSU teams have lost in each of the last five trips (all of them since joining the American) and are 0-4 at the Fertitta Center.
  • UH is 46-3 at home over the last three seasons (24-2 vs. AAC foes). The Cougars lead the nation in scoring defense (55.9), field goal percentage defense (35.8%) and scoring margin (+20.2).
  • Houston came from behind to take the Feb. 2 meeting Wichita, 70-61. Jaykwon Walton led the Shockers with 24 points. WSU led as late at the 6:25 mark of the second half before an 11-1 Cougar run.
  • The Shockers have somehow been better on the road (7-3, 6-2 AAC) than at home (7-8, 2-6) this year. They've won five straight in enemy territory.
  • The most-recent victory came Sunday at Tulane (83-76). Craig Porter Jr. (15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists) completed only the second triple-double by a Shocker in the last 50 years while Jaron Pierre Jr. (28 points) and James Rojas (20) set career scoring highs.
  • Picked eighth in the preseason after losing all but two lettermen, WSU opened the conference season 0-3 but has since won 8 of 13 to move within a game of fifth-place Temple in the standings. The top five teams earn first-round byes in next week's conference tournament.
  • Porter (12.9 ppg) ranks among the league leaders in blocks (3rd, 1.5), assists (5th, 4.6), defensive rebounds (6th, 5.0) and steals (9th, 1.4). His 76 career blocks are tied with Ron Baker for the most by a Shocker guard.
  • Walton (team-high 14.0 ppg) is one of 11 newcomers who have seen action for WSU. The junior has topped 20 points six times this year.
 
 
ON THIS DATE: MAR. 2
  • 1963 – No. 8 Wichita scored a 73-72 road upset at No. 3 Loyola Chicago. It was one of only two losses for the NCAA champion Ramblers that season.
  • 1987 – Two days removed from a 19-point comeback against Creighton, the Shockers summoned more magic to defeat Illinois State in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament semifinals at Levitt Arena. Down 15 with 14:32 remaining, WSU stormed back to win 56-53 and secured an automatic bid the NCAA tournament two nights later with an overtime upset at Tulsa.
 

LAST TIME ON SHOCKER BASKETBALL:
Feb. 26 in New Orleans | WSU 83, Tulane 76
  • Craig Porter Jr. celebrated his 23rd birthday with a triple-double and New Orleans native Jaron Pierre Jr. put on a show for a large contingent of family and friends with a career-high 28 points.
  • Porter finished with 15 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high 10 assists to post only the second Shocker triple-double in 50 years. Fred VanVleet had the other.
  • WSU won its fifth consecutive road game.
  • The Shockers shot 53.1%, including 45.5% (10-of-22) from deep, helped by Pierre's 5-of-12 performance.
  • James Rojas added a career-high 20 points and cleared eight rebounds.
  • Tulane's Jalen Cook scored a game-high 30 points on 8-of-15 three-point shooting. The hosts were 15-of-33 (.455) from deep.
  • In a surprising twist, WSU won the game at the line and in transition, outscoring up-tempo Tulane 19-4 on fast break points and 21-5 on free throws. The Wave had entered the day ranked sixth nationally in free throws-per-game (17.4) and No. 3 in tempo, per KenPom.
  • Tulane rallied from large deficits to win each of the three previous meetings, including an 18-point hole last month in Wichita, and nearly did so again.
  • After WSU built a 17-point first-half lead, Tulane used a 15-2 run to get within four just before the break and cut it to 69-68 near the 6:00-mark of the second half.
  • WSU held Tulane to just three baskets the rest of the way. Rojas scored eight during a 14-5 spurt that pushed the margin safely back to double-digits.
 

MORE TULANE LEFTOVERS:
  • James Rojas became the sixth different Shocker to reach the 20-point plateau this year.
  • Tulane's 15 threes were the most by a WSU foe since Feb. 15, 2018 when Temple hit a Roundhouse record 16 treys.
  • Prior to Craig Porter Jr.'s big day, the last Shocker without double-digit points and rebounds in a game was Landry Shamet (Jan. 17, 2018 against SMU).
  • The Shockers' have won five straight AAC road games for the first time since joining the league.
  • WSU is 26-21 (.553) in AAC road games in six seasons since joining the league, including 11-9 under third-year head coach Isaac Brown.
 
 
PORTER JOINS CLUB TRIPLE-DUB:
  • Craig Porter Jr. joined an exclusive WSU club with his 15-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist effort at Tulane.
  • It was just the second triple-double by a Shocker in the last 50 years. Toronto Raptors all-star Fred VanVleet had the other in 2014-15.
  • It was WSU's 12th all-time triple-double and the eighth of the point-rebound-assist variety.
  • Porter has done the triple-double thing before, albeit in junior college. He put up 18 points, 13 boards and 10 assists during a Feb. 24, 2020 win over Lewis & Clark.
 

SIX OF HALF-A-DOZEN:
  • Craig Porter Jr. is the first player in program history to log at least six assists in six straight games.
  • Over this six-game stretch, Porter is averaging 7.2 dimes and has a sparkling 3.07 assist-to-turnover ratio (43A, 14 TO).
 

SCOUTING HOUSTON:
  • Houston (27-2, 15-1) has already clinched the American Athletic Conference title outright and the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament.
  • Houston holds down the No. 1 spot in both major polls for a second consecutive week and also tops the NCAA's NET rankings.
  • The Cougars opened the year 9-0 before falling to Alabama (currently No. 2 in the NET) on Dec. 10. They ripped off nine more victories before losing at home to Temple on Jan. 22. Since then, Houston has since won another nine straight...
  • The Cougars rank fourth in KenPom's offensive efficiency rankings and are sixth defensively.
  • Houston leads the nation in scoring defense (55.9), field goal percentage defense (.358) and scoring margin (+20.2).
  • The Cougars also lead the league and rank among the NCAA leaders in turnover margin (7th, +4.6), rebound margin (7th, +8.0), fewest turnovers (8th, 9.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (11th, 1.55), offensive rebounds (11th, 13.0) and blocks (21st, 4.9).
  • Preseason All-American Marcus Sasser is averaging a team-best 17.0 points along with 2.7 threes on 38.2% accuracy.
  • Point guard Jamal Shead – a second team all-conference pick last year -- averages 5.5 assists and ranks among the national leaders in A:TO ratio (12th, 2.94).
  • Jerace Walker -- the AAC's preseason freshman of the year – is putting up 11.1 points and 6.6 boards.
  • 6-7 sophomore forward J'Wan Roberts (10.9 ppg) is the team's top rebounder at 7.4-per-contest.
 
 
THE SERIES:
  • The teams have split 36 meeting all-time. Barring an AAC tournament clash, Thursday's winner will have bragging rights for the foreseeable future with UH departing next season for the Big 12.
  • The Shockers are 2-9 in AAC era matchups with UH.
  • The former MVC rivals faced off 20 times during a 10-year overlap from 1950-60.  The Shockers won 13 times.
  • WSU is 3-12 all-time at Houston.
  • The Shockers are winless in five AAC era visits to Houston, including 0-4 at the Fertitta Center.
  • WSU last defeated UH on its home floor on Jan. 2, 1960 (UH's final year in the MVC) at Jeppesen Fieldhouse.
  • The Shockers' last win of any kind in the city of Houston came 39 years ago at Hofheinz Pavilion when they took down West Texas State in the Bluebonnet Classic consolation game.
 
 
LAST MEETING WITH HOUSTON:
Feb. 2, 2023 in Wichita | #3 UH 70, WSU 61
  • WSU matched UH's energy, toughness and physicality but couldn't keep pace with its second half three-point shooting.
  • Jaykwon Walton matched a personal-best with 24 points but WSU shot just 38.9%, including 3-of-20 from deep. James Rojas added 15 points and Kenny Pohto secured a career-high 12 rebounds.
  • Jarace Walker and Marcus Sasser scored 15-each and Jamal Shead added seven assists to lead UH – the highest-ranked Roundhouse visitor in 32 years.
  • WSU positioned itself well for what would have been the program's highest-rated home win since 1967, outrebounding the Cougars 37-32 and outscoring them 34-30 in the paint and 17-15 on second-chances.
  • However, UH made 6-of-12 second-half treys.
  • The Shockers led as late as the 6:25-mark of the second half before a miserable stretch that saw them miss six-straight shots and 4-of-8 free throws.
  • Walker hit back-to-back triples to set off an 11-1 Cougar run. The first tied the game with 6:12 to play and the second put UH in front for good with 4:20 left.
  • WSU held early leads of 10-2 and 19-12, thanks to Walton who scored 12 in the first 12 minutes before landing on the bench with foul trouble. In his absence, UH mounted a 9-0 run to go up 30-29 at the half.
  • Walton helped WSU regain and rebuild its lead to 47-40 before picking up a third foul at the 13:25-mark. He returned four minutes later to a one-possession game.  His layup made it 53-49 with 8:15 left. He hit a free throw for a 54-51 margin at the 6:25-mark.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
  • Make them 16-13 (9-8) with wins in four of five.
  • Be their first over an AP No. 1 since upsetting Gonzaga in the second round of the 2013 NCAA tournament.
  • Be just their second regular season win over an AP No. 1 (Feb. 16, 1963; Cincinnati).
  • Be their sixth straight road victory and make them 8-3 in enemy territory (7-2 AAC).
  • Be their first at the Feritta Center in five trips.
  • Be their first over the Cougars in Houston since Jan. 2, 1960 when the schools were both members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
  • Make them 19-18 all-time against Houston.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
  • Drop them  to 15-14 (8-9 AAC)
  • Snap a five-game road winning streak.
  • Make them 7-4 in true road games (6-3 AAC).
  • Be their fourth straight against Houston.
  • Drop them to 3-13 all-time in Houston (0-6 AAC era, 0-5 at Fertitta Center)
  • Be less good than a win.
 
 
UP NEXT:  SOUTH FLORIDA
Sunday, Mar. 5 | 1 p.m.  CT | ESPNU
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
  • WSU wraps up the regular season at home. Seniors Gus Okafor, Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, Craig Porter Jr. and James Rojas will be honored afterward.
  • All general admission seats (including student tickets) are buy-one-get-one-free.
  • The Shockers won the first meeting on Jan. 8 in Tampa (70-66). Melvion Flanagan scored 13 of his career-high 16 points in the second half to help WSU pull off one of the biggest road comebacks in school history (down 42-28 with 17:41 left).
  • WSU has won seven straight against USF and leads the all-time series 8-1.
  • Winners of three of its last four games, USF is 13-16 (6-10 AAC) heading into Wednesday's home finale against Tulsa.
 
 
AND THEN: AAC TOURNAMENT
Thursday-Sunday, Mar. 9-12
Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena
  • WSU heads to Fort Worth next weekend for the American Athletic Conference Championship.
  • First round action begins Thursday. The top-five seeds earn a bye into Friday's quarterfinal round.
  • For tickets, schedules, bracket, program, rosters, stats and more, visit TheAmerican.org/MBB.
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