LOYOLA CHICAGO (1-2) at WICHITA STATE (2-0)
Thursday, Nov. 13 | 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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Throwback Thursday
First 300 students in attendance receive a FREE Shockers bucket hat. A limited number of bucket hats will also be available for fans through an exclusive ticket + item bundle.
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State looks to start the season 3-0 when Loyola Chicago comes to town Thursday night.
• Wichita State is 27-9 all time vs. Loyola, including an 11-game win streak in the series. The Shockers never lost to the Ramblers when they were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Wichita State is a perfect 7-0 in program history when playing on Nov. 13. The Shockers last played on Nov. 13 in 2021.
• Wichita State is coming off its first 100-point game since 2021. The Shockers dominated Prairie View A&M, 105-62, marking the first time in four years a Shocker team has scored 100 points, which was also against Prairie View A&M.
• Wichita State recorded its first 40-point win since Nov. 16, 2019 when they defeated UTM, 103-62.
• The Shockers put six in double figures, including all five starters. The last time six registered double figures was also vs. Prairie View back in 2021. All 11 Shockers who suited up, scored in the game.
• Kenyon Giles scored all 15 of his points before halftime on 5-of-7 three-pointers.
• TJ Williams recorded his first career double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals vs. PVAMU.
• Will Berg scored a career-high 15 points in the PV win.
• Wichita State's 21 offensive rebounds in the season opener vs. UNC Asheville were the most o-boards since the Shockers grabbed 25 vs. Emporia State in 2020.
• Wichita State needs one dunk vs. Loyola to break the school record for consecutive games with at least one dunk. The Shockers enter the game at 36 straight.
• Wichita State returns only three letterwinners from the 2024-25 roster, and less than 1 percent of its points.
• The Shockers were picked to finish 5th in the American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Giles was named to the American Preseason All-Conference First Team.
• Mills added much needed outside shooting from the transfer portal during the offseason in the way of Giles (15.3 ppg, 40% 3-PT Pct.), Michael Gray Jr. (11.1 ppg, 41% 3-PT Pct.) and Brian Amuneke (7.7 ppg, 40% 3-PT Pct.).
• The Shockers open the season ranked No. 120 according to KenPom, but jumped to 105 after a 2-0 week. Seven of Wichita State's potential 13 non-conference opponents are ranked in the Top 80 of KenPom's preseason rankings.
• Head Coach Paul Mills won 34 games over his first two seasons, 3rd most in program history.

THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT
• Wichita State returns just 0.9 percent of its scoring from a season ago. The Shockers lost their top nine scorers from 2024-25 and 12 total letterwinners. Wichita State  lost seven players to graduation (Xavier Bell, Harlond Beverly, Matej Bosnjak, Bijan Cortes, Ronnie DeGray III, Justin Hill, AJ McGinnis, Zane Meeks) and four to the transfer portal (Quincy Ballard: Mississippi State, Corey Washington: SMU, Yanis Bamba: Maine, Zion Pipkin: South Plains JC).
• Wichita State brings back only two returners that logged minutes in 2024-25: Joy Ighovodja (87 minutes) and walk-on Henry Thengvall (8 minutes). TJ Williams is the only other returner, but he did not see any action after redshirting.

SCOUTING LOYOLA CHICAGO
• Drew Valentine enters his fifth season as head coach of Loyola men's basketball in the 2025-26 season and ninth overall year with the Ramblers, having spent the four seasons prior as an assistant coach.
• During his tenure as head coach, the Ramblers have a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship, a NCAA Tournament appearance, an Atlantic 10 Regular Season Title and back-to-back NIT appearances.
• Valentine piloted the Ramblers to a NIT semifinal run and a program record 17 home wins in 2024-25. Those were two accomplishments to come out of a 25-12 overall finish. Loyola earned a double-bye in the A-10 Tournament with a 12-6 record that claimed third place.
• The Ramblers were tabbed fifth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll and received two first-place votes.
• Miles Rubin was named to the A-10 Preseason First Team and All-Defensive Team. The preseason accolades come after two consecutive All-Defensive nods for Rubin. He started all 37 games last season, averaging 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. His 71.4 field goal percentage set a single season program record.
• Rubin enters his junior season as one of the nation's top shot blockers. He finished his sophomore campaign ranked 12th in the country with an 11.4 shot blocking percentage. Rubin also set Loyola's single-season block record back-to-back seasons.
• Also returning for the Ramblers is starting guard Kymany Houinsou. He made 28 appearances for Loyola, averaging 5.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 3.1 apg, 0.7 spg, and 0.2 bpg. He shot nearly 53 percent from the field and posted four double-figure scoring performances.
• Justin Moore returns from a season-ending knee injury. He made nine starts, averaging 7.7 ppg on 41.9 percent
from the field. He was second in the A-10 at the time of injury with 5.3 assists per game.
• Loyola added eight newcomers to this year's roster, including five transfers, two freshman and one international student-athlete.

ALL TIME SERIES VS. LOYOLA
• The Shockers lead 27-9 all-time in a series that stretches back to the early 1960s. This is the 37th meeting overall.
• Wichita State was 11-0 against the Ramblers during its MVC tenure which began in 2013-14.

In Chicago (11-5, WSU)
• WSU has won two-thirds of its trips to Chicago, with a perfect 4-0 at Gentile Arena.
• All four wins have come by 14+ points, though they haven't necessarily been easy. In January 2015 the Shockers trailed 28-23 at halftime but shot a blistering 71% in the second half (15-of-21).
• Rockford, Ill. native Fred VanVleet saved some of his best performances for Chicago. He was a perfect 6-of-6 from the field and 10-for-10 at the foul line in a February 2014 victory that nudged the Shockers' record to 28-0. In 2015, he went 5-for-5 and dished out 10 assists.

In Wichita (13-4, WSU)
• Loyola's last win at the Roundhouse came in 1974. Granted, the teams hadn't met in Wichita for nearly 40 years prior to Loyola joining the MVC.

Neutral Sites (3-0, WSU)
• WSU won the first Arch Madness matchup between the programs last spring in the MVC quarterfinals.

SERIES HISTORY CONTINUED
• In the first ever meeting in March of 1963, Wichita State -- led by one of its all-time greats, Dave Stallworth -- defeated Loyola on its home court, 73-72. That Loyola team would go on to finish 29-2 and win the NCAA title.
• That game marked the beginning of a regular two-game home-and-home series between the two programs. Between 1963-64 and 1975-76, the teams played a total of 25 times before the series tapered off.
• Wichita State defeated 3rd-ranked Loyola at then-Levitt Arena, 92-84 on Feb. 8, 1966, snapping the Ramblers' 14-game win streak. Warren Armstrong's 25 points and 18 rebounds led the way, as did Kelly Pete's 19 points and 10 boards.
• A chance meeting in the finals of the 1989 Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis (a 75-59 Wichita State victory) was the only game between 1976 and 2014.

CONNECT THE DOTS
• Loyola assistant coach Keith Clemons began his collegiate playing career at Vincennes University, which also produced former Shocker and current Cleveland Cavalier, Craig Porter Jr. Clemons and Porter Jr. were both members of the 2018-19 team at Vincennes. Porter played two seasons in Indiana before transferring to Wichita State.

CENTURY MARK
• Wichita State put 105 points on the scoreboard in the win over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 8, marking the first 100-point game for the Shockers since Dec. 22, 2021. The opponent in that 2021 game? Prairie View A&M.
• The 105 points are the most points by a Shocker team since Nov. 28, 2017 when Wichita State scored 112 vs. Savannah State.
• Wichita State has topped the 100-point mark 63 times in program history.
• Wichita State has won 29 straight games when eclipsing 100 points.

TJ WILL.I.AM
• Redshirt freshman TJ Williams recorded a double-double in just his second career game in the win over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 8. The Wichita native finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. He's the first Shocker freshman to post a double-double since Dexter Dennis on March 15, 2019 vs. Temple. No Shocker has had a game with these numbers in the last 25 years.
• He is the first freshman in American Conference history to have a 10-10-5 game, while going 10-for-10 at the free throw line.
• Williams is only the 5th freshman to record a 10-10-5 game and shoot 100% at the free throw line in American Conference history, joining Houston's Jarace Walker (March 24, 2023), UCF's Taylor Hendricks (Dec. 21, 2022), UConn's Christian Vital (Jan. 28, 2017) and ECU's Kentrell Barkley (Jan. 27, 2016).
• Since 2007, only one other freshman, nationally, has posted a 10-10-5 and 10-for-10 free throw game in the NCAA. That was Campbell's Jonathan Rodriguez on Feb. 8, 2007 vs. Stetson.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Karon Boyd is 137 points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career, and 4 games shy his 100th career game. He needs 18 steals to reach 100.
• Kenyon Giles needs 245 points to reach 1,500 career points. He played his 100th career game on Nov. 8 vs. Prairie View A&M. He needs 18 assists to reach 200 career assists.
• Jaret Valencia is 12 blocks away from 100 career blocked shots.

ON THIS DATE: NOVEMBER 13
• 2007 – Wichita State made its debut under head coach Gregg Marshall, winning 61-56 over Arkansas Pine-Bluff. Marshall would go on to win 330 more over 13 seasons.
• 2012 – The Shockers avenged an NCAA tournament loss from the previous year with a 53-51 road win at VCU. Malcolm Armstead delivered the game-winner -- a 17-foot jumper with 3.8 seconds left.
• 2021 – Ricky Council IV scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Shockers past upset-minded South Alabama in Koch Arena. The Shockers escaped despite shooting just 37% from the field.

NOVEMBER/FEBRUARY SUCCESS
• Wichita State has experienced early season success over the last three seasons since Paul Mills arrived on campus. The Shockers were 7-1 during the month of November in 2023 and finished 2024 at 6-1. The Shockers are off to a 2-0 start in 2025, good for a 15-2 record in November under Mills.
• Under Mills, Wichita State is 10-0 at home, 2-0 on the road and 3-2 in neutral site games in November.
• With Wichita State's 6-1 February last season, the Shockers are 9-6 under Mills.

NON-CONFERENCE NOTABLES
• Wichita State will face five first-time foes in the non-conference slate (UNC Asheville, Boise State, Mount Marty,  Wofford and Eastern Kentucky).
• Wichita State is a perfect 10-0 all time vs. current members of the Big South (UNC Asheville).
• The Shockers could play five teams ranked in the Top 80 of KenPom's preseason rankings (Vanderbilt, #19; Boise State, #53; Saint Mary's, #55; VCU, #60; Virginia Tech, #71; DePaul, #78; Colorado State, #79).
• Wichita State has won 10 of its last 14 non-conference true road games, dating back to the 2019 NIT run. The Shockers have two true non-conference road games in 2025 (Boise State and Northern Iowa).

GILES PICKED PRESEASON FIRST TEAM
• Senior guard Kenyon Giles was named Preseason First Team All-Conference by the American coaches. Giles, a transfer from UNC Greensboro averaged better than 15 points per game on 40 percent shooting from three-point range as a junior at UNCG.
• Giles is just the fourth Shocker to earn American Preseason All-Conference honors and first since Tyson Etienne in 2021. Three of the four Shockers to collect preseason accolades have been named to the first team (Giles, Etienne and Landry Shamet). Markis McDuffie was a second team selection in 2018.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 3-0 this season for the third straight season.
... Move them to 28-9 all time vs. Loyola, and be their 12th straight win over the Ramblers.
... Make Paul Mills 37-34 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 143 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,694-1,280 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Drop them to 2-1 this season.
... Snap an 11-game win streak vs. the Ramblers, and drop them to 27-10 all time against Loyola.
... Make Paul Mills 36-35 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 142-119.
... Drop their record to 1,693-1,281 all time.

GAME 4: AT BOISE STATE                                                                         
• Wichita State and Boise State have never met on the hardwood prior to next Tuesday's road tilt.
• The Shockers own a .500 record against all but three members of the Mountain West all time.
• Boise State is led by 16th year head coach Leon Rice.
• The Broncos are 2-1 on the season after dropping their season opener to DII Hawai'i Pacific at home.