ESPN Events Invitational Championship
WICHITA STATE (6-0) vs. #18/16 FLORIDA (7-0)
Friday, Nov. 29 | 2:30 p.m. CT/3:30 p.m. ET
Kissimmee, Fla. | State Farm Field House
 
TV: ESPN with Kevin Fitzgerald & Daymeon Fishback
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State and No. 18/16 Florida square off in the ESPN Events Invitational Championship game on Black Friday.
• This is Wichita State's third appearance in the ESPN Events Invitational, formerly the Advocare Invitational and Old Spice Classic. Wichita State is 2-5 in its three appearances in the ESPN Events Invitational.
• The Shockers are 22-21 in Multi-Team Events since 2007 and 83-71 all time.
• The Shockers are seeking their third MTE championship and first since 2013 when they won the CBE Classic.
• Wichita State is 15-6 all time on Nov. 29.
• Wichita State moved to 6-0 with a 68-66 win over Minnesota in overtime on Thanksgiving.
• Florida is 7-0 and ranked No. 18 in the AP Top 25 and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll. The Gators have won all seven of their games by double digits, including a 75-58 win over Wake Forest to open the ESPN Events Invitational.
• Four Gators average double figures, led by Walter Clayton Jr. at 17.1 points per game.
• Harlond Beverly ranks 2nd in the AAC and 33rd nationally in steals per game (2.60).
• Wichita State ranks 9th nationally in free throws made per game (21.6), 15th in turnovers per game (9.2) and 22nd in free throw attempts per game (28.4).
• At No. 78 in the KenPom rankings, Wichita State ranks 3rd out of the 13 teams in the American.
• Senior forward Ronnie DeGray III will be sidelined for the next several weeks after suffering a fractured wrist vs. Monmouth on Nov. 18.
• 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).
• Quincy Ballard shattered the single season school record for field goal percentage and also had top five marks in blocks per game and total blocks in 2023-24.
• Ballard moved into a tie for 9th on the Wichita State career blocks list vs. UNI on Nov. 14. He's on pace to shatter the WSU career record for blocks per game at 1.96.
• Eight student-athletes on Wichita State's roster have NCAA Tournament experience: Quincy Ballard (Florida St.), Xavier Bell (Drexel), Harlond Beverly (Miami), Ronnie DeGray III (Missouri), Justin Hill (Longwood), AJ McGinnis (UNCG), Zane Meeks (San Francisco) and Corey Washington (St. Peter's).

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."

WICHITA STATE IN MULTI-TEAM EVENTS
• The Shockers are in search of their first title at a Multi-Team Event since winning the 2012 Cancun Challenge and the 2013 CBE Classic in consecutive years. They've been runner-up four times since then: 2014 Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu), 2017 Maui Invitational, 2019 Cancun Challenge, 2022 Hall of Fame Classic.
• The 2012 Cancun title was Wichita State's first at a neutral site event since winning the 1963 All-College tournament in Oklahoma City.
• Shocker teams have won a total of 15 regular season tournaments in the modern era, with 10 of those coming on their home court.
• Wichita State was scheduled to take part in the 2020 Battle 4 Atlantis, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19. A replacement event took place in Sioux Falls, S.D. with many of the same teams, but the Shockers had to withdraw when two players tested positive during a pre-tournament COVID screening.
• Wichita State took third-place in the 2021 Roman Main Event in Las Vegas. Both games had memorable finishes. Against an Arizona team that would eventually go on to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, WSU rallied from 16 down in the second half before falling in overtime. The Shockers staged a similar second-half comeback against UNLV in the consolation game. Down a point, Tyson Etienne drew a foul near midcourt with 3.5 seconds remaining and sank two game-winning free throws.
• The Shockers are also coming off a third place finish at last year's Myrtle Beach Invitational. Wichita State fell to Liberty in the semifinals before bouncing back to defeat Saint Louis in the third place game.

ABOUT THE ESPN EVENTS INVITATIONAL
• Now in its 18th year, the Shockers are making their third appearance at the ESPN Events Invitaitonal. Wichita State went 0-3 in 2015 when it was the Advocare Invitational and 1-2 in the 2008 Old Spice Classic.
• The Inaugural ESPN Events Invitational took place in 2006 with Arkansas defeating West Virginia. Florida Atlantic won the 2023 title in dominant fashion over Virginia Tech, 84-50.
• This is the first year the event has featured only four teams.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
• Todd Golden has the Gators trending up through his first two seasons at the helm, leading Florida back to the NCAA Tournament in 2024. UF posted 24 wins, its most since 2016-17, and advanced to the SEC Tournament championship game for the first time since 2014.
• The Gators tallied four top-25 wins in 2023-24, bringing the team's total to six under Golden through his first 66 games, the quickest pace by any Florida coach over the last 50 years. Florida had its highest-scoring team in program history with 85.7 points per game, ranking in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, rebounds per game, offensive rebounds per game and offensive rebounding percentage.
• The Gators return leading scorer and All-SEC guard Walter Clayton Jr., who posted 17.6 points per game and knocked down 93 3-pointers.
• Fellow starter Will Richard also returns coming off a 11.4 scoring average with 70 3-point field goals last season.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. FLORIDA
• Should the Shockers and Gators meet, Florida holds a 2-0 series lead all time.
• Both matchups came in the early 90s with the Gators winning in Wichita and Gainesville.

TALL TASK
• Wichita State will have its hands full with Florida in the ESPN Events Invitational Championship. The Shockers are looking to snap an 8-game losing streak vs. ranked opponents. The Shockers' last win on a neutral court vs. a ranked foe came all the way back in 2016 vs. Arizona in the NCAA Tournament.
• Wichita State is 58-146 all time vs. ranked opponents and 6-28 on a neutral court.
• The Shockers 0-4 under head coach Paul Mills vs. ranked teams.

WORKING OVERTIME
• Wichita State's 68-66 overtime win vs. Minnesota in the opener of the ESPN Events Invitational on Thanksgiving made the Shockers 1-0 in OT this season and 64-79 all time.
• Wichita State is 4-5 all time in overtime games on a neutral court, snapping a three-game losing streak. Wichita State's last overtime game on a neutral court came against Arizona in the 2021 Roman Main Event. Arizona won that game, 82-78.
• Over the last three seasons Wichita State is just 2-4 in overtime games.
• The Shockers are 1-2 in overtime under head coach Paul Mills.

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 10 of its last 13 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 3 blocks away from 100 in his Wichita State career.
• Xavier Bell needs 44 points to reach 1,000 for his collegiate career.
• Harlond Beverly is 82 points shy of 1,000 career points.
• Justin Hill has 1,465 career points. He needs 35 points to reach 1,500. He's 49 assists shy of 500 for his career.
• AJ McGinnis is 138 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.

HEATING UP
• After scoring just six points in his Wichita State debut at Western Kentucky, Corey Washington has found his groove. The junior has scored 10 or more in each of the last five games, including a game-high 20 vs. Monmouth. Washington is averaging 15.8 points per game over the last five games.

MINNESOTA LEFTOVERS
• Wichita State improved to 4-2 all-time vs. Minnesota.
• The Shockers are now 8-3 when playing on Nov. 28.
• Wichita State's 25 first half points marked a season low.
• Wichita State is 2-0 when trailing with 5:00 left this season. They were 1-16 all of last season.
• Wichita State had lost 10 straight games when scoring between 60-69 points in a game. The Shockers are now 2-12 under Mills when hitting that mark.
• Wichita State has won eight straight when holding its opponent between 60-69 points.
• Wichita State has yet to commit more turnovers that its opponent in a game this season. They have finished tied three times.
• Harlond Beverly scored a season-high 16 points and has finished in double figures four times.
• Corey Washington has scored 10 or more in five straight games.
• Justin Hill has reached double figures in every game this season.

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 7-0 for the 11th time in program history.
... Be their first MTE title since 2013.
... Be their sixth MTE championship in program history.
... Up their record to 3-0 on a neutral court this year.
... Make Paul Mills 22-19 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 128 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,679-1,264 all time.
... Be their first-ever win vs. Florida.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Be their first loss of the season, snapping a 6-game win streak.
... Drop them to 2-5 in MTE championship games since 2007.
... Make them 2-1 on a neutral court this season.
... Make Paul Mills 21-20 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 127-104.
... Drop their record to 1,678-1,265 all time.
... Drop them to 0-3 all-time vs. Florida.

GAME 8: ALCORN STATE                                                      
• Wichita State is 2-1 all time vs. Alcorn State with two of the three meetings coming in consecutive seasons (2021, 2022).
• The Braves upset the Shockers in the Roundhouse two seasons ago, 66-57.
• Alcorn State is led by fifth year head coach Landon Bussie.