EAST CAROLINA (9-9, 1-4) at WICHITA STATE (11-6, 1-3)
Saturday, Jan. 18 | 6:00 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
Hall of Fame Night: Help us celebrate the 2025 Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame Class. At halftime, we will hold a special induction ceremony for this year's class.
Football Night in Koch Arena: For fans that wear RED or YELLOW to the game, we are offering a $5 "Hollywood" GA ticket, $15 "Quarterback" upper-reserved ticket and $2 off Bud Light bottles. Ticket offers are only available in-person at the Koch Arena Ticket Office on game day.
OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State closes out a brief two-game homestand Saturday night vs. East Carolina.
• Wichita State snapped a three-game losing streak on Tuesday with a home win over Charlotte, making the 49ers the lone team in the American without a win.
• The Shockers 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 19.0 ppg over his last nine games, and scored 20 or more in four of the last seven.
• Quincy Ballard scored a career-high 22 points on a career-best 11-of-12 shooting at UTSA. He has three double-doubles in the last six games and is averaging 13.3 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.
• Ronnie DeGray III returned to action on Jan. 14 after missing nearly two months with a fractured wrist. He scored all 8 of his points vs. Charlotte in the 2nd half.
• Wichita State has a trio of 1,000-point scorers on the roster.
Xavier Bell reached 1,000 career points on Dec. 17 vs. Kansas City and
Harlond Beverly made it to 1,000 on Jan. 14 vs. Charlotte.
Justin Hill has more than 1,500 career points.
• 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.
• Ballard leads the American Athletic Conference in blocks per game (1.88) and ranks 36th nationally. His 30 total blocks rank second in the league, while ranking 41st 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 118. 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 EAST CAROLINA
• Wichita State and East Carolina had never played prior to the Shockers joining the league in July 2017, and they haven't had many encounters since then, either. This is only the 11th game in eight seasons.
• The Shockers are 7-3 (3-2 in Wichita) against the Pirates.
• East Carolina shocked Wichita State two years ago in Charles Koch Arena, handing the Shockers a 79-69 home loss for its first-ever win in the series. Since then, ECU has won three of the last four meetings.
• Three of the eight meetings came in 2018-19 when Wichita State swept the home-and-home and defeated East Carolina in the first round of the AAC tournament in Memphis.
• The teams met just once in 2017-18 and 2019-20 due the league' unbalanced schedule. Both 2020-21 dates were canceled due to COVID-19. The Shockers traveled to Greenville for the 2021-22 AAC opener, but that contest was called off just hours before tipoff.
• Wichita State is 3-1 at ECU's Minges Coliseum but has only played two games there since Feb. 6, 2019.
• Only three of the games played between the two schools have been decided by single digits. The closest finish came just last season in Charles Koch Arena when the Pirates escaped with a 54-52 win.
SCOUTING EAST CAROLINA
• Led by third year head coach
Michael Schwartz, East Carolina enters the matchup at 9-9 and 1-4 in league play.
• Schwartz led the Pirates to their most wins in conference play as a member of the American Athletic Conference with seven league victories in his second season and the Pirates won three consecutive AAC contests for the first time since joining the league.
• ECU also recorded a win the AAC Men's Basketball Championship in consecutive seasons for the first time with the Pirates' 84-79 win over Tulsa in the second round.
• The Pirates were picked to finish 9th in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
• All four of East Carolina's games to start conference play have been decided by six points or fewer, including a two-point loss to Florida Atlantic, a one-point win vs. Temple and a four-point loss at No. 20 Memphis.
• After earning AAC All-Conference Third Team honors last season,
RJ Felton was named to the 2024-25 AAC Preseason First Team.
• Felton is putting up strong numbers once again for the Pirates, averaging 18.2 points, 7.1 rebounds to go with 43 assists and 27 steals.
• Felton and UCF transfer
C.J. Walker have formed a dynamic duo this season. Walker is averaging 16.9 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds, while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor. Walker has made a living at the free throw line where he's attempted 107 free throws (79-for-107).
• Temple transfer
Jordan Riley adds 13.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and an AAC-leading 38 steals.
• The Pirates rank 15th nationally in offensive rebounding, 22nd in fast break points and 31st in free throw attempts.
CONNECT THE DOTS
• Former Shocker
Gabe Blair – a starter on the 2011 NIT Championship team – played his first two collegiate seasons at ECU before transferring to Wichita State.
IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE
• Through 17 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. 18
• 1962 – In one of the great individual stat lines in Shocker history,
Gene Wiley tallied 22 points, 23 rebounds and 10 blocks in a game at Tulsa.
• 1969 – WSU Fieldhouse formally became Levitt Arena, in honor of the late civic leader
Henry Levitt. The Shockers celebrated by crushing visiting Loyola Chicago, 98-74 .
Ron Washington became the 12th member of the school's 1,000-point club, pouring in a career-high 37.
• 1999 – WSU's
Troy Mack and
Jason Perez put up career numbers in a 94-88 double-overtime win over NCAA Sweet 16-bound Southwest Missouri State (now Missouri State). Mack put up 23 points and 22 rebounds – still the only 20-20 game by a Shocker since the days of
Xavier McDaniel – and Perez matched his career-high with 34 points.
• 2003 – Jamar Howard and
Rob Kampman combined for 37 points on 14-of-17 shooting to help the Shockers snap an 11-game losing streak at Redbird Arena, 69-66.
MILESTONE WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is 15 blocks away from 150 in his collegiate career. He is 4 games away from his 100th career game.
• Harlond Beverly is 9 games away from his 150th career game.
• Bijan Cortes is 30 assists away from 250 for his career. He is 1 game away from his 100th career game.
• Ronnie DeGray III needs 6 more games to reach his 100th career game.
• Justin Hill is 23 assists shy of 500 for his career. He needs 7 more games to reach his 150th career game.
• AJ McGinnis is 93 points away from reaching 1,000 for his career.
CHARLOTTE LEFTOVERS
• Wichita State evened the series at 1-1 all-time vs. Charlotte.
• The Shockers are now 18-14 when playing on Jan. 14.
• Wichita State held Charlotte to 59 points, the fewest since allowing 54 vs. Alcorn State on Dec. 4.
• Wichita State also recorded conference bests on the defensive end in field goal percentage (32.8) and three-point percentage (22.2).
• Wichita State's six offensive rebounds were a season low.
• Wichita State led for a total of 35:37 after trailing for the entirety of each of the last two games. The Shockers' last lead came at Temple on Jan. 3 with 6:41 left in the second half.
• Corey Washington led all scorers with 16 points. It marked his 13th game in double figures. He also added seven rebounds.
• He's averaging 8.2 rebounds over his last 10 games.
• Harlond Beverly added 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting, his first game in double figures since scoring 14 at DePaul on Dec. 14.
• Xavier Bell has scored 10 or more in each of the last nine games behind 10 points.
• It was his 13th game in double figures this season and 37th of his career at Wichita State.
• Quincy Ballard grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds, marking his sixth game with 10 or more rebounds.
• Ronnie DeGray III returned for the Shockers for the first time since Nov. 14. He missed the previous 12 games with a fractured wrist.
• DeGray scored all eight of his points in the second half.
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 12-6 this season.
... Make them 2-3 in conference play.
... Move them to 8-3 all time vs. East Carolina.
... Make
Paul Mills 27-25 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 133 career coaching victories.
... Move their record to 274-63 in Charles Koch Arena.
... Run their record to 1,684-1,270 all time.
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... Make them 11-7 this season.
... Drop them to 1-4 in conference play.
... Drop them to 7-4 all time vs. East Carolina.
... Be their third straight loss to the Pirates.
... Make
Paul Mills 26-26 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 132-110.
... Make them 273-64 all time in Charles Koch Arena.
... Drop their record to 1,683-1,271 all time.
GAME 19: AT MEMPHIS
• Wichita State is 13-20 all-time vs. Memphis.
• The Tigers swept both regular season meetings last year against the Shockers before falling to Wichita State in the AAC Championship.
• The Tigers are 13-4 overall and 3-1 in AAC play.
• Memphis is led by head coach Penny Hardaway.
