WICHITA STATE at WESTERN KENTUCKY
Monday, Nov. 4 | 7:00 p.m. CT
Bowling Green, Ky. | E.A. Diddle Arena
 
TV: CBS Sports Network with Carter Blackburn & Pete Gillen
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Year 2 of the Paul Mills era officially opens on the road at Western Kentucky on college basketball's opening night.
• The Shockers open away from Charles Koch Arena for the first time since 2003 when Wichita State started the season at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• It's the first true road game to begin a season since 1992 when Wichita State opened the 1992-93 season in Tuscaloosa, Ala., against Alabama.
• The series between Wichita State and Western Kentucky is tied at 3-3.
• This will be WSU's earliest game to start a season in program history, having never played on Nov. 4.
• Since 1992, Wichita State teams are 29-2 in season openers. The Shockers are 88-29 all-time in openers.
• Wichita State has won 30-straight preseason exhibitions dating back to 2001 after the Shockers defeated Emporia State a week ago.
• Five Shockers finished in double figures vs. Emporia State, led by Corey Washington's 15 points.
• Wichita State returns three starters and seven letterwinners from the 2023-24 roster, including three of its top five scorers.
• Fifty-one (51.0) percent of the scoring from last year's team is back for the Shockers, led by second leading scorer Harlond Beverly (11.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.2 APG).
• An experienced backcourt features a total of 353 combined starts between Beverly, Xavier Bell (11.3 PPG), Bijan Cortes (4.3 PPG) and transfers Justin Hill (Georgia) and AJ McGinnis (Lipscomb).
• Quincy Ballard (7.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 74 BLK) anchors the frontcourt on the heels of a record-breaking season of efficiency. Ballard shattered the single season school record for field goal percentage and also had top five marks in blocks per game and total blocks.
• Joining Ballard on the low block are newcomers Zane Meeks (Arizona State) and Croatian big man Matej Bošnjak.
• Ronnie DeGray III (5.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG) and Saint Peter's transfer Corey Washington bring versatility, scoring and rebounding to the forward position.
• KenPom ranks the Shockers 101st nationally in its preseason rankings.
• Wichita State was picked to finish 4th in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll - its highest projected finish since 2021. The league's coaches project UAB to win the conference.

WE > ME
• With the late arrival of Matej Bošnjak to the roster this summer, Wichita State had no scholarships remaining. Enter redshirt senior Harlond Beverly. Beverly volunteered to give his scholarship to Bošnjak and classify as a walk-on during his final season of collegiate basketball.
• In an interview with the Wichita Eagle, Beverly said: "I'm just grateful to be in this position where I can play Division I basketball while getting my Bachelor's and working toward my Master's degree. It's really just a blessing to be in college. I've been to two really good schools and that's really going to be helpful for my future, so I understand how helpful college can be. If I can help someone else get a full-ride scholarship, like one of my teammates, then I don't mind being the one to sacrifice when it's beneficial to our team."
• Head Coach Paul Mills said in that same interview: "In order to be a part of it, you have to make sacrifices and this is a pretty substantial one on his part. I would tell you that he not only volunteered to do it, he was eager to do it, to be honest with you."

OPENING NIGHT
• Wichita State has won 75 percent of its season openers all time (88-29, .752) and over 80 percent (64-15, .810) in the modern era.
• Wichita State is 20-1 in home openers since Charles Koch Arena's 2003 renovation. The lone loss came in 2018 to Louisiana Tech.
• Wichita State is starting its 69th season at the Roundhouse (1955-Pr.). Shocker teams have lost just eight home openers during that span (60-8, .882).
• Forty seasons ago (Dec. 1, 1972), Antoine Carr set the school record for most points by a freshman in his Shocker debut (19 points). He dunked five times in the first half of a 76-61 win over Northern Michigan.
• Wichita State's highest-scoring varsity debut came Dec. 1, 1972 at Oregon State when Bobby Wilson put up 29 points. Wilson went on to play parts of four NBA seasons with the Bulls, Celtics and Pacers.

MONDAY MADNESS
• Wichita State has won 11 straight games that happen to fall on a Monday. The Shockers were 1-0 on Mondays a season ago and haven't lost on a Monday since Nov. 22, 2010 against UConn in the Maui Invitational.
• Since 2017, Wichita State has played just five games on a Monday.
• The Shockers will look to make it 12 in a row in the season opener at WKU, which happens to be the first of four Monday games in 2024-25.

SCOUTING WKU
• WKU begins a new era under first year head coach Hank Plona.  Plona was elevated to head coach in April 2024 after just one season as an assistant coach at WKU.
• Last season as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky, Plona was integral in the Hilltoppers returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first since 2013. The Tops led the country in adjusted tempo (75.2 possessions per game, per KenPom) and averaged 80.2 points per game, their most since the 1994-95 season (80.4 ppg) and best in Conference USA. Overall, WKU went 22-12 and won the Conference USA Tournament as the league's No. 3 seed.
• Prior to WKU, Plona was the head coach at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College. In eight seasons as a head coach, Plona has won 86.5 percent of his games and led Indian Hills to eight consecutive ICCAC regular-season titles, six postseason conference titles and the NJCAA National Tournament seven times.
• One of Plona's All-American stars from Indian Hills, Don McHenry, was named All-CUSA, first team All-District, and CUSA Tournament MVP. The Milwaukee, Wis., native started all 34 games for the Hilltoppers in 2023-24, averaging a team-best 15.1 points per game. He also led the Hilltoppers with 81 assists, shooting 46.1% from the field, 36.2% from three and 85.9% from the free throw line. Plona also coached Enoch Kalambay at Indian Hills. Kalambay played in all 34 games for WKU this past season, starting eight, while averaging 6.2 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game in 18.3 minutes per game.
• The Hilltoppers were picked to finish second in the CUSA Preseason Poll, just two points behind first place pick Louisiana Tech.
• WKU placed two student-athletes on the Preseason All-Conference Team in Tyrone Marshall Jr. and Don McHenry.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. WKU
• Wichita State is 3-3 all time vs. WKU in a series that dates all the way back to 1941.
• After dropping the first three meetings in the series, Wichita State has bounced back to win the last three, including last year's matchup in Charles Koch Arena, 71-61.
• In last season's contest, Wichita State held the Hilltoppers 0-for-21 from beyond the arc and less than 30 percent shooting from the field to overcome 22 WKU offensive rebounds.
• The Shockers outscored WKU in the second half by 12 after trailing by two at halftime. Kenny Pohto scored a game-high 16 points to go with 11 rebounds.
• Prior to last season's meeting, the most recent meeting came in November 2013 in the second game of the season of Wichita State's magical 35-1 campaign. The Shockers defeated the Hilltoppers, 66-49 in front of a sellout crowd in Charles Koch Arena.
• Fred VanVleet paved the way with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and four steals.
• Wichita State's suffocating defense held Western Kentucky to 49 points on 28.6 percent shooting (18-for-63).
• On March 19, 2005, Wichita State registered its first ever win against WKU, edging the Hilltoppers, 85-81 in the NIT Round of 32. The game was played in the Kansas Coliseum.
Jamar Howard had a team-high 22 points.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTABLES
• Wichita State could potentially face two first-time foes in the non-conference slate (East Tennessee State and Wake Forest).
• The Shockers will play three teams ranked in the Top 60 of KenPom's preseason rankings (vs. Florida - 28; vs. Wake Forest - 44; K-State - 49; Minnesota - 59).
• Wichita State has won nine of its last 12 non-conference true road games, dating back to the 2019 NIT run. The Shockers have two true non-conference road games in 2024 (WKU and DePaul).

MILESTONE WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is 12 blocks away from 100 in his Wichita State career.
• Xavier Bell needs 105 points to reach 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• Harlond Beverly is 149 points shy of 1,000 career points.
• Justin Hill has 1,367 career points. He needs 133 points to reach 1,500. His 75 assists shy of 500 for his career.
• AJ McGinnis is 161 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.

NCAA CLEARS BOŠNJAK
• Wichita State University received notification from the NCAA student-athlete reinstatement staff that Matej Bošnjak is considered immediately eligible for the 2024-25 season. Wichita State was notified by the NCAA on Friday, Nov. 1. Bošnjak is a native of Zagreb, Croatia.

OLD TIMERS
• With COVID still impacting eligibility, several schools around the country have multiple student-athletes on their rosters playing in their fifth, sixth and even seventh seasons. Wichita State is tied for second in the country with seven student-athletes in their fifth year or higher of collegiate basketball.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 1-0 for the sixth straight season.
... Make them 30-2 in season openers over the last three decades.
... Make Paul Mills 16-19 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 122 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,673-1,264 all time.
... Improve their record to 4-3 all-time vs. WKU.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Snap a five-game win streak in season openers.
... Drop them to 29-3 in season openers over the last three decades.
... Make Paul Mills 15-20 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 121-104.
... Drop their record to 1,672-1,265 all time.
... Make them 3-4 all-time vs. WKU.

UP NEXT: MONTANA STATE                                                       
• Wichita State welcomes the Bobcats to Charles Koch Arena for its 2024-25 home opener on Saturday.
• Wichita State is 2-1 all time vs. Montana State.
• This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1976. The Shockers are 1-0 against the Bobcats in Wichita.
• Montana State is led by second-year head coach Matt Logie.