WICHITA STATE (6-15, 2-7 AAC) at TEMPLE (11-9, 5-3 AAC)
Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024 | 6 p.m. CT
Philadelphia, Pa. | The Liacouras Center
TV: ESPN+ with Jon Mozes and Nicki Jones
Radio: Audacy.com/KFH with Steve Strain  OPENING TIPS
> Wichita State seeks its first true road win, taking on Temple for the second time this season Wednesday evening in The Liacouras Center.
> The teams meet for the 15^th time with the Owls leading the series 9-5.
> Three Shockers are averaging double-digit scoring with Daniela Abies and Tre'Zure Jobe leading the team with 12.2 points per game and Salese Blow averaging 11.7.
> Abies is also the team's leading rebounder, averaging 8.4 rebounds per game with five double-doubles (18 pts, 11 reb against Akron, 12 pts, 12 reb at UTSA, 18 pts, 16 reb against Memphis, 17 pts, 10 reb at Tulsa, 23 pts, 10 reb).
> Abies and Jobe have finished in double figures in 13 of 21 games.
> DJ McCarty is 114 points away from 1,000 career points.
> Morrow surpassed 100 career blocks, leading the team with four against Florida Atlantic.
> Jobe was named AAC Player of the Week on Jan. 1 following her 21 points, 8 assists and 2 steals against Tulane and went on to record her first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds at Rice. Abies has been named to the AAC Honor Roll twice, and Blow claimed the AAC Freshman of the Week award on Nov. 27 following her 19 points in the win over Omaha and career-high 20 points against Dayton, leading the team in scoring in both contests.
> Blow has scored in double figures 11 times with a career-high 23 points at North Texas. She has started the last nine games and has led the team in scoring six times this season. She now has three 20-plus point games.
> Wichita State ranks in the top 100 nationally in the following categories: No. 45 in three-point percentage defense (27.7), No. 65 in free throw attempts per game (19.3), No. 80 in offensive rebounds per game (13.0), and No. 96 in bench points per game (21.2).
> The Shockers are ranked third in the American Athletic Conference in three-point percentage defense.
> Abies ranks third in the conference in rebounds (177) and offensive rebounds per game (3.8), ranking 26^th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game.
> The Shockers have yet to win on the road this season.
> Senior transfer from Miami (OH) Sierra Morrow made her long-awaited Shocker debut against Kansas after her NCAA transfer waiver was finally approved just before the court decision. She tied for a team-high 12 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds off the bench. In her third game of the season, she scored a career-high 29 points against Oral Roberts to land herself on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll.
> First-year head coach Terry Nooner has only one returning starter, DJ McCarty.
> Wichita State returns just 34.7 percent of its scoring from a season ago, having lost its top two leading scorers and three other triple-digit point scorers. Trajata Colbert and Curtessia Dean exhausted their eligibility, and three of the top six scorers departed through the transfer portal.
> Wichita State has only two true freshmen on the roster in Salese Blow (Texas) and Sophia Goncalves (California).

SCOUTING TEMPLE
> Led by seventh-year head coach Diane Richardson (second at Temple), the Owls are coming off a 68-50 win at Tulane.
> Temple is 6-5 at home this season, most recently defeating Charlotte 73-68 after narrowly falling to Memphis 57-59 at The Liacouras Center.
> Two Owls are averaging double-digit scoring with Aleah Nelson leading the team with 11.9 points per game and Tiarra East averaging 11.4.
> Rayne Tucker leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 per game.
> Ines Piper and Nelson have each been named to the AAC Honor Roll once.
> Nelson leads the conference in assist/turnover ratio (2.0) and is third in assists (88) and assists per game (4.4).
> The Owls are known for protecting the rock, leading the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.02) and turnovers per game (14.2).
>Temple ranks second in offensive rebounds per game (16.8).
> Temple was picked ninth of 14 teams in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll and currently sits in sixth.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TEMPLE
> The teams meet for the 15^th time with Temple leading the series 9-5.
> The last Shocker win came last season in the AAC tournament.
> Wichita State faces Temple for the second time this season after dropping one at home, 72-49, on Jan. 9.
 
LAST MEETING
> Wichita State was caught in an offensive slump, shooting just 1-for-19 (.053 from three and 18-for-64 (.281) from the field.
> Temple shot 30-for-59 (.508) with seven three pointers as Demi Washington's 20 points led the Owls to its second-straight conference victory.
> Freshman Salese Blow led the Shockers in scoring with 10 points and dished out a then career-best three assists.
> Jayla Murray was the team's leading rebounder with nine.
> The Shockers forced 25 turnovers but were unable to capitalize, scoring just five points off turnovers, compared to the Owls' 21 points scored off 19 Wichita State turnovers.
 
NON-CONFERENCE NOTABLES
> Wichita State faced three first-time foes in the non-conference docket, Presbyterian, Belmont and Dayton.
> The Shockers opened their season against No. 23 Oklahoma.
> Belmont (MVC) and Southeastern Louisiana (Southland) were picked to win their respective leagues.
> The Shockers' played two games against teams that finished inside the Top 50 of last year's NCAA NET Rankings (Kansas – 30 and Oklahoma – 38).

LAST TIME OUT
> Fourth quarter woes returned for the Shockers as Florida Atlantic came away with its first American Athletic Conference win, 63-56, Saturday in Charles Koch Arena.
> Wichita State was shooting 17-for-34 (.500) through the first three quarters and was down by just one before shooting 3-for-20 (.150) in the fourth quarter, allowing FAU to extend its lead to seven.
> The Shockers recorded on of their worst free throw percentages of the season, shooting just 11-for-21 (.524) from the charity stripe.
> Wichita State gave up only 12 turnovers and out-rebounded the Owls 38-34, but too many missed wide-open shots created problems for the Shockers.
> The Shockers shot just 5-for-23 (.217) from three with all five coming from Salese Blow and Raissa Nsabua.
> Blow led Wichita State for the seventh time this season with 16 points, and Jayla Murray put up a career-high 13 points. Nsabua also finished in double figures with a career-high 10 points.
> For the 15^th time this season, Abies led the team in rebounding with 11 but was held to just four points after scoring 23 in the last game against UAB.
> Sierra Morrow surpassed the 100-block barriers, blocking four shots to total 103 career blocks.
> The Owls scored 15 points off 12 turnovers while Wichita State only capitalized with six points off 12 turnovers. FAU also scored eight second-chance points with just nine offensive rebounds, while the Shockers tallied 15 offensive rebounds and only scored six second-chance points.
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... make them 7-15 on the season
... be their first true road win of the season
... make the Shockers 6-9 all-time against Temple
... bring Terry Nooner's record to 7-15 at Wichita State
... make Wichita State 657-755 all-time

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... make them 6-16 on the season
... 0-8 on the road this season
... make the Shockers 5-10 all-time against Temple
... bring Terry Nooner's record to 6-16 at Wichita State
... make Wichita State 656-756 all-time

UP NEXT
Wichita State returns home to Charles Koch Arena to take on East Carolina Sunday, Feb. 4 at 2 p.m.