CHARLOTTE (7-10, 0-4) at WICHITA STATE (10-6, 0-3)
Tuesday, Jan. 14 | 6:30 p.m. CDT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
 
TV: ESPN+ with Shane Dennis & Bob Hull
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
 

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Healthcare Appreciation Night: Healthcare professionals receive discounted tickets as we show our appreciation for the work that they do. Healthcare professionals can redeem their special ticket offer by contacting the Shocker Ticket Office in advance or at the game by presenting their employee ID.

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OPENING TIPS
• The last remaining winless teams in American Athletic Conference play square off Tuesday night in the Roundhouse, as Charlotte makes its first-ever visit to Wichita.
• Wichita State is coming off its third straight loss to begin conference action. For the fourth consecutive season Wichita State is 0-3 to begin AAC play.
• The Shockers have allowed 88+ points in each of the first three conference games. The last time Wichita State allowed three straight conference opponents to score 88+ was in 1978-79.
• Xavier Bell recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season at UTSA with a game-high 23 points. He's averaging 20.1 ppg over his last eight games, and scored 20 or more in four of the last six.
• Bell reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 17 vs. Kansas City. He's one of two 1,000-point scorers on the roster along with Justin Hill.
• Quincy Ballard scored a career-high 22 points on a career-best 11-of-12 shooting. He has three double-doubles in the last five games and is averaging 14.8 points and 10.8 rebounds during that stretch.
• Bell and Ballard were the first pair of Shocker teammates with 20+ points in the same game since Colby Rogers (25) and Harlond Beverly (23) vs. Rice on March 2, 2024.
• The Shockers finished the non-conference slate at 10-3, its best out of conference record since 2019-20 when the Shockers went 12-1 vs. non-league members.
• Wichita State finished the month of November 6-1. In his two seasons, the Shockers are 13-2 under Paul Mills in November games.
• Ballard leads the American Athletic Conference in blocks per game (1.93) and ranks 32nd nationally. His 29 total blocks rank second in the league, while ranking 40th in the NCAA.
• 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 4th on the Wichita State career blocks list vs. K-State with 117. He's on pace to shatter the WSU career record for blocks per game at 1.98.
• 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).

THE SERIES WITH CHARLOTTE
• Wichita State and Charlotte met only once in the Niners' first season as a member of the American. The Shockers made the trip out to the Queen City on Feb. 18 and fell 72-61.
• The Niners led by 11 at halftime and played to a 36-36 tie in the second half.
• Lu'Cye Patterson, now a guard at Minnesota who the Shockers faced in Orlando at the ESPN Events Invitational, scored a game-high 19 points last year to lead the Niners. Igor Milicic Jr. added a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds.
• Xavier Bell came off the bench and scored a team-high 16 points.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
• Led by second year head coach Aaron Fearne, Charlotte enters the matchup at 7-10 and 0-4 in league play.
• Fearne had the interim tag removed on Feb. 13, 2024 officially making him the 14th head coach in Charlotte history.
• Fearne was appointed interim head coach on June 7, 2023, following a successful tenure as an assistant coach with Charlotte spanning five years, and was promoted to associate head coach before the 2022-23 season. During his time as associate head coach, Charlotte achieved significant milestones, including 22 victories, the most since the 2000-01 season, and the program's first postseason tournament title with a victory in the CBI Tournament.
• He took over the Charlotte program after Ron Sanchez resigned after five seasons as the head coach. The Niners went 72-78, capped by 22 wins this past season – the most since 2001 – and the CBI Championship, the Niners' first-ever post-season tournament title
• Before joining Charlotte, Fearne spent nine seasons as head coach and eight seasons as an assistant coach with the Cairns Taipans of Australia's National Basketball League, leading the team to the NBL finals twice and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2015. Additionally, he served as head coach of New Zealand's U-19 National Team in 2018.
• In his first season at the helm of the 49ers, Fearne led Charlotte to a 19-12 overall record, a 13-5 mark in conference play, and the first top-three league finish since 2006. Nineteen wins in the regular season were the most since 2012-13.
• The 49ers tied a pair of program records with 13 conference victories (set in 1997-98) and 13 wins at Halton Arena (set in 2019-20). Charlotte also recorded its first-ever eight-game conference winning streak in program history and the first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2010 and the first overall since 2013.
• Charlotte was picked to finish 8th in the American Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Nik Graves is fifth in the AAC with 16.8 points per game. He has scored in double figures in every game but one this season, with six 20-point performances, including a career-high 31 in late December.
• With 98 free throws made and 131 attempts, Graves is eighth nationally in attempts and 10th in free throws made.
• Giancarlo Rosado is second on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game, while his 5.8 rebounds lead the team.
• Robert Braswell IV puts in 11.8 points per game to go with a team-high 13 blocks.
• Charlotte ranks 10th nationally in free throw attempts and 11th in free throws made.
• The Niners are only turning the ball over 9.2 times a game, which is seventh-fewest in the country.

CONNECT THE DOTS
• Charlotte redshirt senior Jeremiah Oden finished his prep career right here in Wichita at Sunrise Christian Academy. Oden is in his lone season at Charlotte after transferring from Wyoming and DePaul.

IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE
• Through 16 games Wichita State has already allowed five opponents to score 88 or more points, which is the most since 1982-83. The Shockers are 0-5 this season when they allow 88+.
• The Shockers have allowed 88+ points in each of the first three conference games. The last time Wichita State allowed three straight conference opponents to score 88+ was in 1978-79.

ON THIS DATE: JAN. 14
• 1921 – The Shockers defeated Washburn, 43-30, in their first game at the new Memorial Gymnasium. Later known as Henrion Gymnasium, the 2,000-seat building would serve as the pro-gram's basketball hub for the next 35 seasons.
• 2014 - Fred VanVleet dropped 22 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in a 72-50 win over Bradley. Wichita State was ranked No. 5 at the time, and finished that magical season 35-1. Neither team shot better than 40 percent from the field.
• 2023 - Wichita State erased a 14-point halftime deficit at home to take down Tulsa, 73-69. Jaykwon Walton led the charge, scoring 13 of his team-high 19 points after halftime. James Rojas notched his first double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
• 2025 - This marks the third straight season Wichita State will have played on Jan. 14. The Shockers fell to No. 13 Memphis, 112-86, in 2024 and defeated Tulsa, 73-69, in 2023.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is 16 blocks away from 150 in his collegiate career. He is 5 games away from his 100th career game.
• Harlond Beverly is 3 points shy of 1,000 career points. He is 10 games away from his 150th career game.
• Bijan Cortes is 32 assists away from 250 for his career. He is 2 games away from his 100th career game.
• Ronnie DeGray III needs 7 more games to reach his 100th career game.
• Justin Hill  is 27 assists shy of 500 for his career. He needs 8 more games to reach his 150th career game.
• AJ McGinnis is 96 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.

UTSA LEFTOVERS
• Wichita State suffered its first-ever loss to UTSA, dropping to 3-1 against the Roadrunners.
• The Shockers are now 15-20 when playing on Jan. 11.
• Wichita State has surrendered back-to-back-to-back games of 88-plus points.
• All three of Wichita State's conference opponents have shot better than 50 percent from the field.
• South Florida finished with just three offensive rebounds, a season low for an opponent.
• Wichita State was plus-13 on the boards, a season high.
• Wichita State's 20 assists were also a season high.
• Wichita State's 17 turnovers were the second most they've had in a game this season.
• UTSA's 26 rebounds were a season low for an opponent.
• Xavier Bell recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season behind a game-high 23 points.
• Bell has scored 10 or more in each of the last eight games behind a team-high 19 points.
• It was his 12th game in double figures this season and 36th of his career at Wichita State.
• Quincy Ballard scored a career-high 22 points on a career-best 11-of-12 from the field.
• He has nine games with 10 or more points this season, including five straight.
• Bell and Ballard are the first teammates to score 20 each in a game since March 2, 2024 when Colby Rogers and Harlond Beverly did it.
• Corey Washington added 12 points. It marked his 12th game in double figures.
• He's averaging 8.3 rebounds over his last nine games.

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 11-6 this season.
... Snap a three-game losing streak.
... Make them 1-3 in conference play.
... Move them to 1-1 all time vs. Charlotte.
... Make Paul Mills 26-25 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 132 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,683-1,270 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 10-7 this season.
... Drop them to 0-4 in conference play.
... Drop them to 0-2 all time vs. Charlotte.
... Make Paul Mills 25-26 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 131-110.
... Drop their record to 1,682-1,271 all time.

GAME 18: EAST CAROLINA                                                            
• Wichita State is 7-3 all-time vs. East Carolina.
• The Pirates swept both meetings last year against the Shockers for the first time ever.
• The Pirates are 9-8 overall and 1-3 in AAC play.
• East Carolina is led by third year head coach Michael Schwartz.