TULSA (13-12, 4-9) at WICHITA STATE (10-15, 2-10)
Wednesday, Feb. 21 | 8:00 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
 
TV: ESPNU with Jordan Bernfield & Perry Clark
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State opens a two-game homestand Wednesday night for a rematch with Tulsa at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.
• Wichita State is 17-6 all time when playing on Feb. 21.
• The Shockers lead the series with Tulsa, 77-64. Wichita State is 12-3 against the Golden Hurricane since joining the American. Tulsa snapped a three-game losing streak to Wichita State in the first matchup at Tulsa on Jan. 31.
• Tulsa is 13-12 overall and 4-9 in conference play. Since defeating the Shockers in the first meeting this season, 79-68, the Hurricane have lost four of their last five. They snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday vs. Rice in overtime.
• Tulsa erased an 11-point halftime deficit in the Jan. 31 meeting against Wichita State, outscoring the Shockers 47-25 in the second half.
• Wichita State is coming off a third straight loss and ninth straight on the road, falling 72-61 at Charlotte on Sunday.
• Harlond Beverly has scored in double figures in 6 of the last 9 games. He's averaging 11.9 points per game on 47.0% shooting from the field in those 9 games.
• Colby Rogers (15.5 ppg; leading scorer) has made a three-pointer in all but one game this season and multiple in 20 of the 26. He leads the AAC in total 3PT FG made (68) and ranks 2nd in 3PT FGM per game (2.62) and 3PT Percentage (38.4%).
• His streak of 25 straight games with a made three-pointer tied for the 4th longest in school history. The streak was snapped on Feb. 18 at Charlotte.
• In 16 of the 26 games Rogers has tallied 15 points or more - a team best. He has a team-high six 20-point games.
• Wichita State ranks 35th nationally in rebounds per game and 26th in defensive rebounds per game. In conference play, Wichita State's rebounding numbers have taken a hit, averaging only 35.8 rebounds per game.
• Quincy Ballard ranks 19th nationally in blocks (56). He had tied a career-high with 7 vs. East Carolina on Jan. 24. Ballard has 17 games with multiple blocks.
• Over the last 15 games Ballard is shooting 50-for-65 (76.9%) from the field.
• The win over SMU (KenPom 37) on Jan. 28 was the highest ranked KenPom win since defeating No. 5 Houston on Feb. 18, 2021.
• Wichita State returns only 20.3 percent of its scoring from a season ago, having lost its top four scorers. Pohto is the only returner to average more than 4.0 points per game. Craig Porter Jr., James Rojas, Gus Okafor and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler exhausted their eligibility, and four others exited via the transfer portal.

SCOUTING TULSA
• Led by second year head coach Eric Konkol, Tulsa enters the matchup at 13-12 and 4-9 in league play.
• After posting a 5-25 record in his first season at the helm, Konkol's 2023-24 team has already doubled its win total from a season ago.
• Konkol came to Tulsa following seven seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he compiled a 153-75 record. He won 46 games in his first two seasons, the most for any previous LA Tech head coach, and his 153 career victories is the third-highest win total in school history.
• Konkol's teams produced six seasons with 20+ wins and finished among the top 3 in Conference USA standings five of his seven years.
• Konkol returns to where he began his start in collegiate coaching. He was a student assistant coach for Tulsa's 2001 NIT Championship team under Head Coach Buzz Peterson.
• 2023-24 brings a new look to the University of Tulsa as the lineup will feature 11 new players and only two returners from last season's squad. Tulsa was tasked with replacing 96 percent of its scoring from a season ago and only sophomore Jesaiah McWright and senior Ari Seals return.
• Tulsa was picked to finish 10th in the Preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll.
• The Golden Hurricane have relied on redshirt freshman PJ Haggerty to carry the load thus far in 2023-24. Haggerty averages 20.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists. His 20.2 points per game leads the country among qualifying freshmen.
• Haggerty has a knack for getting to the foul line, with 187 makes and 234 attempts (79.9 percent). He ranks 7th nationally for makes and 3rd in attempts, and is the conference leader in both categories.
• CBSSports named Haggerty Freshman of the Week on Jan. 9, and the publication has Haggerty listed as the top freshman in the nation as of Jan. 22.
• In conference play, Haggerty is averaging 23.0 points and 6.1 rebounds.
• Cobe Williams is second on the team in scoring at 13.1 per game and has a team-high 92 assists and 54 steals. Williams leads Tulsa in three-pointers made (46) and three-point attempts (143).
• Jared Garcia is the top rebounder (5.9) and shot blocker (34) for the Golden Hurricane, while shooting 31.2% from beyond the arc.
• Tulsa scores 75.7 points per game on 43.5% shooting from the field and 33.1% from three-point range. The Golden Hurricane are one of the nation's best teams at getting out in transition where they average 14.76 fastbreak points, good for 20th nationally. They are also Top 30 in free throws made and attempted per game.
• Defensively, Tulsa's opponents average 73.4 points on 42.2% shooting. They force 13.5 turnovers, including 8.1 steals a game.

THE SERIES VS. TULSA
• The Shockers lead the series, 77-64, and have won 20 of the last 24. They're 12-3 in the AAC era.
• Tulsa is tied for WSU's second-most-played opponent behind Drake (151) and Bradley (142). This is meeting No. 142 in a series that began in 1931. The teams were rivals in the Missouri Valley Conference from 1945-96 before reuniting in the AAC in 2017.
• Including non-conference games, the teams have met at least once in each of the last 13 seasons going back to 2010-11.
• Since joining the AAC, WSU has faced Tulsa more times   than any other foe. This is the 16^th meeting in seven years.
• Eric Konkol is the 20th-different Tulsa coach that WSU has faced in the series, while Paul Mills is WSU's 16th.

IN TULSA // TLS, 37-32
The Shockers have narrowed the gap in recent years, thanks to an 8-5 mark at the Reynolds Center.
WSU is 5-2 in its seven AAC visits. The lone loss before this season came on a long buzzer-beater (Feb. 1, 2020).

IN WICHITA // WSU, 43-23
The Hurricanes last won in Wichita on Dec. 8, 2001. The Shockers have won the last 11 home meetings (10 at CKA, one at INTRUST Bank Arena).
WSU has won just over two-thirds of the games played inside the Roundhouse (1955-pr.), 37-16.

NEUTRAL SITES // TLS, 4-2
Five of the six games have come in conference tournament settings, most recently in 2023 when the team squared off in the first round of the AAC tourney.
WSU's lone victory came in the 1988 MVC Tournament.
Tulsa picked up a pair of Arch Madness wins in the 1990s and edged the Shockers in the 1958 All-College.

OTHER MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENTS
• Wichita State and Tulsa were conference rivals in the Missouri Valley from 1945 to 1996. Following Tulsa's exit, the schools played 14 non-conference games over a 21-year span before reuniting in The American in 2017.
• Though the series dates back over nine decades, the rivalry truly blossomed in the early 1980s when Gene Smithson's teams battled Nolan Richardson and Tulsa for MVC supremacy. Three all-time WSU greats played in the "MTXE" Era (after Smithson's trademark slogan, Mental Toughness eXtra Effort): Cliff Levingston, Antoine Carr and Xavier McDaniel. Tulsa countered with a fearsome full-court press and the likes of Paul Pressey, Mike Anderson and Steve Harris.
• WSU got the last laugh in its final game against Richardson in the MVC tournament championship (Mar. 9, 1985 at the Tulsa Convention Center). McDaniel  (who led the nation in scoring and rebounding that year) scored 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Shockers past No. 17 Tulsa, 84-82.
• Despite coaching changes on both sides, the rivalry continued. On Mar. 4, 1987, WSU again stunned top-seeded Tulsa with a 79-74 overtime win in the MVC title game. The '87 tourney was the first with a three-point line, and the Shockers took full advantage of the new rule, knocking down 8-of-10 from beyond the arc.
• On Feb. 27, 1988, Joe Griffin's corner three – in the air just before time expired – forced double-overtime where the Shockers claimed a 79-78 victory.
• Tulsa dominated with 13-straight wins between 1993 and 2002, but the series took a dramatic turn following the completion of the Roundhouse Renaissance.
• On Dec. 20, 2003 – the first meeting at the newly renovated CKA – WSU finally stopped the slide, winning 66-58 behind recent Jamar Howard's 23 points. That started a run of seven-straight Shocker victories.
• The series returned in 2010 when Tulsa was guest of honor for the first-ever basketball game at downtown INTRUST Bank Arena (Dec. 21, 2010). Justin Hurtt hit six of Tulsa's 14 threes (both are still arena records), but the Shockers held on for an 82-79 win.

RECORD BOOK WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is on pace to shatter the single season school record for field goal percentage.
• Through 26 games Ballard is shooting 71.1% (81-for-114) from the field. The current school record is 61.6% by Steve Grayer set in 1987-88.
• That number would rank 1st nationally but to qualify players must average 5 FGM per game. Currently Ballard is at 3.2 FGM per game.
• On the defensive end, Ballard is trending towards a top five season blocking shots. He's currently fourth on the single season blocks per game list.
• Ballard is tied for fourth on the single season total blocks list.

LEAD GUARDS
• Colby Rogers and Xavier Bell have formed a potent 1-2 scoring attack for Wichita State through 23 games. Rogers leads Wichita State in scoring at 15.5 per game and Bell is right behind at 12.0.
• The duo of Rogers and Bell make up 38.1 percent of Wichita State's scoring as they've accounted for 714 points.
• Rogers has scored in double figures in 21 of the first 26 games, and Bell in 17 of the 26. They each have multiple 20-point outings to their name (Rogers - 6, Bell - 4).

COLBY ROG3333333333333333333333333RS
• Colby Rogers has made a 3-pointer in all but one game this season. His streak was snapped at 25 vs. Charlotte.
• He has multiple three-pointers in 19 of the first 26 games.
• Rogers is attempting 6.81 three-pointers per game, which currently stands as the third most in school history behind Tyson Etienne (8.30 in 2021-22; 7.55 in 2020-21).
• His 2.62 three-pointers made per game are currently the fourth most in school history.

ACCESS DENIED
• Wichita State has an elite rim protector in Quincy Ballard. His season was cut short in 2022-23 due to injuries, so he's only played 36 total games in his Shocker career. In those 36 games he has 70 blocked shots. Fifty-six of those have come in the first 26 games.
• Through 26 games his 56 blocks rank 19th nationally and his 2.15 blocks per game rank 23rd.
• He has multiple blocks in all but eight games this season.

BOARD OF APPROVAL
• Through the first 26 games of the season Wichita State has been among the nation's top rebounding teams. Wichita State ranks 35th nationally in rebounds per game, 26th in defensive rebounds per game and 73rd in rebound margin.
• Wichita State has four players averaging 5.0 or more rebounds per game (Dalen Ridgnal - 6.3; Kenny Pohto - 6.2; Quincy Ballard - 5.8; Harlond Beverly - 5.0).
• Wichita State has been outrebounded nine times this season with seven of those coming in the last 15 games.
• Wichita State has pulled down 40 or more rebounds in 10 of the 26 games, including three games of 50+.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 11-16 this season.
... Make them 3-11 in AAC play.
... Snap a three-game losing streak.
... Make them 18-6 all time on Feb. 21.
... Give Paul Mills 117 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,668-1,261 all time.
... Make them 78-64 vs. Tulsa all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 10-17 this season.
... Drop them to 2-12 in AAC play.
... Be their second straight home loss.
... Make Paul Mills 10-17 as Wichita State head coach.
... Drop them to 17-7 all time on Feb. 21.
... Drop their record to 1,667-1,262 all time.
... Make them 77-65 all-time vs. Tulsa.
... Give Tulsa the regular season sweep for the first time since joining the American.

UP NEXT
GAME 28: TEMPLE                                         
• Temple is 9-15 under first year head coach Adam Fisher.
• Temple won the first meeting this season on Jan. 7 in Philadelphia, 68-61.
• The Owls lead the all-time series, 7-6, with the Shockers winning three of the last four.
• Wichita State is just 3-3 against the Owls in Wichita.