#20 FLORIDA ATLANTIC (18-5, 8-2) at WICHITA STATE (10-13, 2-8)
Sunday, Feb. 11 | 11:00 a.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: ESPN2 with Drew Carter & Jon Crispin
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
Promotions
Black Out Stigma (Mental Health Awareness) – We partner with Ascension Via Christi and Wichita State's Counseling & Psychological Services to bring awareness to mental health. Wear BLACK!
Giveaway – The first 1,000 fans will receive a black Suspenders4Hope t-shirt
OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State and No. 20 Florida Atlantic meet for Round II on Super Bowl Sunday in Charles Koch Arena at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.
• Shocker teams are 3-0 all-time when hosting on Super Bowl Sunday. In 2002, they bested Indiana State in overtime. Three years ago they held off Temple, 70-67. Last season the Shockers needed double overtime to take down SMU, 91-89.
• Wichita State is 19-9 all time when playing on Feb. 11.
• The series with Florida Atlantic is tied 1-1 after the Owls won the first meeting on Jan. 18 in Boca Raton, 86-77. FAU erased an 11-point halftime deficit in the comeback win.
• Florida Atlantic is 18-5 overall and 8-2 in conference play. The Owls sit atop the league standings and are ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll and No. 22 in the Coaches Poll. The Owls had their 7-game win streak snapped on Thursday at UAB.
• Wichita State is coming off a near wire-to-wire win over UTSA on Wednesday in Charles Koch Arena, 84-64.
• Wichita State has only 13 turnovers over last 2 games.
• Harlond Beverly has 63 assists over his last 17 games. His 77 total assists are tops on the team.
• Beverly has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. He's averaging 13.7 points per game on 48.0% shooting from the field in those six games.
•
Colby Rogers (15.5 ppg; leading scorer) has made a three-pointer in all 23 games this season and multiple in 18 of the 23. He leads the AAC in 3PT FGM per game (2.77), total 3PT FG made (63) and 3PT Pct (39.6%).
• His streak of 23 straight games with a made three-pointer is the 6th longest in school history.
• In 15 of the 23 games Rogers has tallied 15 points or more - a team best. He has a team-high five 20-point games.
• Wichita State ranks 29th nationally in rebounds per game and 28th in defensive rebounds per game. In conference play, Wichita State's rebounding numbers have taken a hit, averaging only 36.5 rebounds per game.
•
Quincy Ballard ranks 12th nationally in blocks (53). He had tied a career-high with 7 vs. East Carolina on Jan. 24. Ballard has 16 games with multiple blocks.
• Over the last 12 games Ballard is shooting 41-for-53 (77.4%) 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 FLORIDA ATLANTIC
• Led by sixth year head coach Dusty May, Florida Atlantic enters the matchup at 18-5 and 8-2 in league play - its inaugural year in the American Athletic Conference.
• The Owls are coming off the greatest season in school history in 2022-23, appearing in the program's first NCAA Final Four. FAU finished the campaign 35-4.
• Prior to 2022-23, the Owls had one previous appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
• May was named the CBS Sports National Coach of the Year, as well as the NABC All-District 17 Coach of the Year, Conference USA Coach of the Year and Palm Beach County Coach of the Year.
• He is the Owls' all-time leader in coaching wins with a record of 114-64, despite having only been on the FAU sidelines for five seasons. FAU has not had a losing season in the five years of the May era.
• The Owls also captured the Conference USA Tournament and Regular Season Championships, both for the first time in school history.
• May joined FAU after three years as an assistant coach at Florida, where he helped the Gators compile a 69-37 record, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The Gators reached the second round of this year's tournament after advancing to the Elite Eight in 2017.
• FAU enters the matchup ranked No. 20 in the AP Top 25 and No. 22 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. The Owls were ranked as high as No. 7 in December following a double overtime win against No. 4 Arizona, 96-95.
• FAU is 2-1 against other teams ranked by the AP, defeating No. 4 Arizona, 96-95, No. 12 Texas A&M, 96-89, and falling to No. 11 Illinois, 98-89.
• The Owls are the American Athletic Conference's only team inside the top 30 of the NET.
• Entering a New Era in the American Athletic Conference, the Owls racked up preseason honors from the league's coaches. FAU was voted No. 1 in the AAC preseason poll, while Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin were both named the conference's Preseason Players of the Year, as well as named to the AAC Preseason All-First Team.
• Davis leads the Owls in scoring (18.8 ppg) and steals (40), while shooting 49.3% from the field and 48.0% from beyond the arc.
• Since conference play began, Davis is averaging 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.
• He was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week following his performance against No. 4 Arizona.
• Vladislav Goldin leads the conference in field goal percentage at 66.5% on almost eight shots per game. In the midst of a monster start to the 2023-24 campaign, he is second on Florida Atlantic in points per game (13.9) and leads the team in total blocks (35), double-doubles (5) and ranks second in rebounds (6.8).
• Martin rounds out the leading scorers for Florida Atlantic at 13.3 points per game. He leads the team in steals with 41 and also grabs 5.5 rebounds per game.
• The Owls have three different players with at least 60 assists this season, led by Bryan Greenlee with 71.
• The Owls rank second in the AAC in scoring at 83.0 points per game (21st in NCAA) on 48.0% shooting (31st in NCAA). They are converting on 36.8% of their attempts from beyond the arc.
• Defensively, they allow 71.8 points and opponents are converting 43.2% of their field goal attempts.
THE SERIES VS. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
• This is just the third meeting all-time between Wichita State and Florida Atlantic.
• The Shockers and Owls met just a few weeks ago in Boca Raton where Florida Atlantic erased an 11-point halftime deficit to win, 86-77.
• Florida Atlantic outscored the Shockers, 55-35, in the second half and shot nearly 60% from the field.
• Colby Rogers and
Quincy Ballard both scored a team-high 18 points.
• Alijah Martin spearheaded the Owl comeback with a game-high 22 points and 9 rebounds.
• Wichita State won the only other matchup in the 1998-99 season opener back on Nov. 18, 1998 in Henry Levitt Arena, 88-85.
• The Shockers held off the Owls behind a pair of 20-point performances from Maurice Evans and Jason Perez.
• Evans finished with 24 points on 8-of-20 shooting to go with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
• Perez also added 24 points along with eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
• Wichita State had no answer for Florida Atlantic's Damon Arnette who recorded a monster double-double with 28 points and 12 rebounds.
• Defense was optional that night as both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field. A good portion of the game was spent at the free throw line. The two teams combined for 54 fouls and 63 free throw attempts. Wichita State was 20-for-31 at the line and FAU, 25-for-32.
• The game also featured 50 turnovers between the two teams.
ON THIS DATE: SUPER BOWL SUNDAY
This is the third time in four seasons that Wichita State has played at home on SBS. They're 3-1 all-time.
Jan. 31, 1999 – Super Bowl XXXIII --WSU suffered a 31-point loss at Missouri State, and 87 million viewers tuned in to watch the Broncos beat the Falcons.
Feb. 3, 2002 – Super Bowl XXXV -- WSU outlasted Indiana State in overtime behind C.C. McFall's 24 points. New England QB Tom Brady made his big game debut against the St. Louis Rams.
Feb. 7, 2021 – Super Bowl LV -- Tyson Etienne's three-point play put WSU in front with 42 seconds left in a 70-67 win over Temple. We're still not ready to talk about the Chiefs-Buccaneers game.
RECORD BOOK WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is on pace to shatter the single season school record for field goal percentage.
• Through 23 games Ballard is shooting 70.6% (72-for-102) 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 third on the single season blocks per game list.
• Ballard needs just 2 blocks to move into 8th 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 11.6.
• Rogers ranks 9th in the American in points and 9th in points per game.
• The duo of Rogers and Bell make up 37.1 percent of Wichita State's scoring as they've accounted for 623 points.
• Rogers has scored in double figures in 19 of the first 23 games, and Bell in 15 of the 23. They each have multiple 20-point outings to their name (Rogers - 5, Bell - 3).
COLBY ROG33333333333333333333333RS
• Colby Rogers is riding a streak of 23 straight games with at least one made three-pointer to start the season.
• He has multiple three-pointers in 18 of the first 23 games.
• Rogers is attempting 6.91 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 2.74 three-pointers made per game are currently the second 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 33 total games in his Shocker career. In those 33 games he has 67 blocked shots. Fifty-three of those have come in the first 23 games.
• Through 23 games his 53 blocks rank 12th nationally and his 2.30 blocks per game rank 15th.
• He has multiple blocks in all but six games this season.
BOARD OF APPROVAL
• Through the first 23 games of the season Wichita State has been among the nation's top rebounding teams. Wichita State ranks 22nd nationally in rebounds per game, 23rd in defensive rebounds per game and 65th in rebound margin.
• Wichita State has four players averaging 5.0 or more rebounds per game (
Dalen Ridgnal - 6.6;
Kenny Pohto - 6.3;
Quincy Ballard - 6.0;
Harlond Beverly - 5.1).
• Wichita State has been outrebounded eight times this season with six of those coming in the last 12 games.
• Wichita State has pulled down 40 or more rebounds in 10 of the 23 games, including three games of 50+.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... Make them 11-13 this season.
... Make them 3-8 in AAC play.
... Be their first ranked win since Feb. 2021.
... Make them 20-9 all time on Feb. 11.
... Give
Paul Mills 117 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,668-1,258 all time.
... Make them 2-1 vs. Florida Atlantic all time.
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... Make them 10-14 this season.
... Drop them to 2-9 in AAC play.
... Be their 11th loss in the last 13 games.
... Make
Paul Mills 10-14 as Wichita State head coach.
... Drop them to 19-10 all time on Feb. 11.
... Drop their record to 1,667-1,259 all time.
... Make them 1-2 all-time vs. Florida Atlantic.
UP NEXT
GAME 25: AT EAST CAROLINA
• East Carolina is 11-12 and 4-6 in conference play under first year head coach Michael Schwartz.
• The Pirates won the first meeting this season in Charles Koch Arena, 54-52.
• Wichita State leads the all-time series, 7-1, including 3-0 in Greenville.
• The two teams split the regular season series in 2022-23.
