EASTERN KENTUCKY (4-8) at WICHITA STATE (7-5)
Sunday, Dec. 21 | 4:00 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
 

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Sunday Funday - Enjoy 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs and 4 drinks for just $100.
Scheels Junior Shocker Club Day - All Scheels Junior Shocker Club members can receive an exclusive gameday experience.
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State wraps up non-conference play Sunday afternoon when Eastern Kentucky visits the Roundhouse.
• Wichita State is 19-9 all time when playing on Dec. 21. This is the third straight year playing on the date. Dec. 21 is also recognized as World Basketball Day. The United Nations formally recognizes that World Basketball Day will be observed annually on Dec. 21.
• All 5 of Wichita State's losses have come by 6 points or fewer.
• Wichita State has outrebounded 10 of its first 12 opponents and is outrebounding its opponents by an average of 7.4 boards per game.
• Through 12 games Wichita State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country at 14.5 per game - good for 16th nationally. That mark would be the best in a single season in school history.
• Wichita State recorded its third game this season with 90+ points in a 95-69 win over Mount Marty on Dec. 2. Wichita State had only two games with 90+ points all last season.
• Kenyon Giles has scored 10+ points in all 12 games this season, including four 20-point games. He's matched a season high with 24 twice in wins over Loyola and Milwaukee.
• Giles ranks 34th nationally and 2nd in the American in 3-pointers made (36).
• No Shocker had ever made 20 three-pointers through the team's first five games of a season until Giles this season. Xavier Bell led the Shockers in made three-pointers last season with 35 for the whole year. Giles needed only 12 games to surpass that total this season.
• Michael Gray Jr. broke out of a scoring slump vs. Mount Marty with 18 points on 5-of-6 from three-point range. He scored 16 of those 18 in the first 7:00 minutes of the 2nd half.
• Gray followed up that performance with a 15-point, 4-rebound, 4-assist game at UNI. He was 3-for-6 from three-point range and 7-for-7 at the free throw line.
• Over his last four games, Gray is shooting 11-for-22 (50.0%) from three-point range.
• Dre Kindell scored a career-high 19 points on a 5-of-6 shooting and 8-of-9 free throws vs. Wofford on Dec. 17.
• Three different Shockers have recorded a double-double through the first nine games (Karon Boyd, TJ Williams and Berg). Berg and Boyd each have two double-doubles.
• Paul 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 opened the season ranked No. 128 according to KenPom, but have jumped to 97 after a 6-5 start to the season. Four of Wichita State's 11 non-conference opponents have been ranked in the Top 100 on KenPom, including three in the Top 65.
• Wichita State's win at UNI was its highest rated road win via KenPom since defeating Oklahoma State in 2021.

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 EASTERN KENTUCKY
• A.W. Hamilton has elevated Eastern Kentucky basketball to new heights during his eight seasons with the Colonels.
• In his first seven seasons as head coach, the Colonels broke 104 program records. In 2022-23, Hamilton led the team to 23 wins, the third most in one season in program history. Hamilton has coached two of the five winningest teams ever in addition to one of only seven regular season conference championship teams.
• Hamilton led EKU to the 2023-24 Atlantic Sun Conference Regular Season Championship. It was the first regular season conference title for the Colonels in 45 years (1979). Hamilton was chosen as the ASUN Coach of the Year and the NABC District III Coach of the Year. He is the first coach in program history to be named conference coach of the year two times.
• EKU was picked to finish second in the ASUN Media Poll and third in the ASUN Coaches Poll.
• Montavious Myrick was picked by head coaches as the ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and chosen to the Preseason All-ASUN Team.
• The Colonels are among the nation's top offensive rebounding teams. Their 14.8 offensive rebounds per game rank 12th nationally, slightly ahead of Wichita State.
• Four Colonels average double figures, led by Juan Cranford Jr. at 13.1 points per game. He is their top three-point threat at 36.8 percent on 87 attempts.
• Austin Ball puts up 11.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game, but is converting just 40.7% of his field goal tries.
• Myrick leads the colonels in rebounding with 8.2 per game to go with 10.0 points and 16 steals.
• Turner Buttry has dished out a team-best 35 assists and scores 10.8 points per game - all off the bench.

WORLD BASKETBALL DAY
• Join the NBA and NCAA Family in celebrating the 3rd annual World Basketball Day, as we honor the game and its ability to bring people together from around the world. The United Nations formally recognizes that World Basketball Day will be observed annually on Dec. 21 – the day Dr. James Naismith first introduced the game of basketball at the Springfield YMCA in 1891.
• World Basketball Day is a day to celebrate the game we all love. More than 450M people around the world play the game and 1.2B are fans highlighting the increasingly global reach of basketball. Fans everywhere are invited to take part in this celebration of the game.

KG THE BUCKET
• Kenyon Giles leads the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game through the first 12 games of the season. He had three 20-point games in November, becoming the first Shocker since Markis McDuffie in 2018 to have three 20-point performances in the month of November.
• Giles has scored 209 total points this season - 121 of those have come after halftime. The 5-10 guard scores 57.9 percent of his points in the second half. He has scored fewer than 10 points after halftime just five times this season, which includes one scoreless second half vs. Prairie View A&M. Against PVAMU he scored all 15 of his points in the first half.

FROM BEHIND THE ARC AND BEYOND
• Wichita State's offense was lethal from three-point range in the wins over Loyola and Prairie View. The Shockers splashed in a new school record 16 three-pointers in the win over Loyola Chicago on Nov. 13, converting 50 percent of their attempts for the game.
• Wichita State has made 10+ three-pointers in three of the first 12 games this season. Last season's team had two all season.
• Kenyon Giles is spearheading the long range bombing. He ranks 34th in the NCAA in total 3-pointers made (36), 44th in three-point field goals per game (3.00) and 83rd in three-point percentage (39.6%).
• At the current pace, Giles is on track to break the single season school record for three-pointers made per game (3.00). His 7.58 three-point attempts per game would be the second-most in a single season at Wichita State.
• Giles was one of only five players in the country this season to make at least 20 three-pointers through the first five games of the season.
• He is the first Shocker in program history to knock down 20 three-pointers in the first five games of a season.
• To put that into perspective, Giles needed only 12 games to pass the Shockers' three-point leader from a season ago (Xavier Bell - 35).

CRASHIN THE GLASS
• Wichita State ranks 17th nationally in offensive rebound percentage at 39.5%. The Shockers average 14.5 offensive rebounds a game, which ranks 16th in the country. At the current rate, that average would easily break the single season program record. The school record was set back in 1995-96 at 13.8 offensive rebounds per game.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Karon Boyd is 41 points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career, and played his 100th career game on Nov. 26 vs. Saint Mary's. He needs 13 steals to reach 100 and 19 rebounds to reach 700.
• Kenyon Giles needs 89 points to reach 1,500 career points. He played his 100th career game on Nov. 8 vs. Prairie View A&M. He needs 2 assists to reach 200 career assists.
• Michael Gray Jr. is 22 assists away from 100 for his career. He is 20 games shy of his 100th career game.
• Emmanuel Okorafor needs 21 rebounds to reach 200 for his career.
• Jaret Valencia is 98 points shy of 600 and 8 blocks away from 100 career blocked shots.

ON THIS DATE: DECEMBER 21
• 1954 – Cleo Littleton scored 33 points to help 14th-ranked Wichita defeat Houston, 86-80, in the All-College Tournament at Oklahoma City's Municipal Auditorium.
• 2010 – In the first college basketball game played at the new INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita State downed its old rival Tulsa, 82-79.
• 2019 – Wichita State knocked off No. 25 VCU in Charles Koch Arena, 73-63. Four Shockers reached double figures, including Jaime Echenique with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.
• 2024 – Led by Xavier Bell's game-high 24 points and double-doubles from Corey Washington and Quincy Ballard, the Shockers defeated in-state rival, K-State in the Roundhouse, 84-65. Wichita State trailed by four at halftime, but went on to outscore the Wildcats, 55-32 in the second half. It marked Wichita State's first win over K-State since 2001.
• 2025 – This is the third consecutive year Wichita State has played on the 21st.

GRAY AREA
• In Wichita State's seven wins, Michael Gray Jr. is averaging 11.6 points on 48.7% shooting (19-for-39) from three-point range and 12-of-13 (92.3%) at the free throw line. Conversely, in the Shockers' five losses Gray is averaging just 5.2 points on 30.3% (10-for-33) from the field and 5-for-21 (23.8%) from beyond the arc.
• Gray went through a slump during the three games in the Bahamas, scoring just 6 total points on 2-of-19 shooting. In the four games since, he's averaging 12.3 points on 50.0% (15-for-30) shooting from the field and 50.0% (11-for-22) from three-point range.

WORKING OVERTIME
• Wichita State is 1-0 in overtime this season after a road OT win at Northern Iowa on Dec. 6, 74-69. The Shockers trailed by five with 2:35 remaining in OT, but closed the game on an 11-1 run. TJ Williams scored seven of those 11 points.
• Wichita State is 24-40 all time in overtime games on the road, having won its last four. Wichita State's last overtime game on the road came at South Florida on Dec. 22, 2020. Wichita State defeated the Bulls, 82-77.
• Over the last four seasons Wichita State is 4-4 in overtime games. The Shockers are 66-79 in overtime games all time.
• The Shockers are 3-2 in overtime under head coach Paul 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).
• The Shockers could play five teams ranked in the Top 80 of KenPom's preseason rankings (Boise State, #53; Saint Mary's, #55; DePaul, #78; Colorado State, #79).
• Wichita State has won 10 of its last 15 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).

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 8-5 to finish the non-conference portion of the schedule.
... Move them to 1-0 all time vs. Eastern Kentucky.
... Make Paul Mills 42-39 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 148 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,699-1,284 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Drop them to 7-6 this season.
... Be their second home loss in the last three games.
... Move them to 0-1 all time vs. Eastern Kentucky.
... Make Paul Mills 41-40 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 147-124.
... Drop their record to 1,698-1,285 all time.

GAME 14: at UAB                                                                
• Wichita State leads the all time series with UAB, 5-2, including a 2-0 mark in Birmingham.
• The Shockers haven't won a conference opener since 2020-21.
• The Blazeres went 8-4 in the non-conference portion of their schedule.
• Andy Kennedy is in his 6th season as the head coach at UAB and 19th overall.