WICHITA STATE (8-5, 0-0) at UAB (9-4, 0-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 31 | 3:00 p.m. CDT
Birmingham, Ala. | Bartow Arena
 
TV: ESPNU with Pete Sousa & King McClure
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State opens American Conference play on the road at UAB on New Years Eve.
• Wichita State is 8-7 all time when playing on New Years Eve. This is the first time Wichita State has played on New Years Eve since 2022.
• Wichita State is 3-5 in conference openers since joining the American Conference and has dropped its last four league lid-lifters.
• Wichita State (8-5) posted a winning non-con record for the 28th consecutive season but were 1-5 in games decided by 6 points or fewer with close setbacks against NET No. 26 Saint Mary's (neutral), No. 40 Boise State (away) and No. 51 Colorado State (neutral).
• Wichita State's 26 assists vs. Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 21) were the most since the Shockers had 29 vs. UT Martin on Nov. 16, 2019.
• Wichita State has outrebounded 11 of its first 13 opponents and is outrebounding its opponents by an average of 8.6 boards per game.
• Through 13 games Wichita State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country at 14.5 per game - good for 15th nationally. That mark would be the best in a single season in school history.
• After missing the DePaul game with a sprained ankle, Will Berg has returned to average 14.5 ppg and 9.5 rpg over the last two games on 80% FG (8-10) and 92.9% FT (13-14).
• Karon Boyd scored a career-high 22 points - 18 in the first half - vs. Eastern Kentucky (Dec. 21). Boyd is a career 29.3% 3-point shooter, but is at a career-high 40.5% this season.
• Kenyon Giles has scored 10+ points in 12 of the 13 games this season, including four 20-point games. His double figure streak was snapped vs. EKU at 12 in a row. He's matched a season high with 24 twice in wins over Loyola and Milwaukee.
• 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. is shooting 12-for-24 (50.0%) from three-point range over his last five games.
• Dre Kindell ranks 25th nationally and 1st in the American in assist-turnover ratio at 3.62.
• Three different Shockers have recorded a double-double through the first 13 games (Karon Boyd (2), TJ Williams and Berg (3)).
• The Shockers opened the season ranked No. 128 according to KenPom, but have jumped to 95 after an 8-5 start to the season. Four of Wichita State's 13 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.

THE SERIES VS. UAB
• This is just the eighth meeting all-time between Wichita State and UAB.
• UAB's men's basketball program has only been around since 1978. Gene Bartow sat on the bench for 18 seasons as the head coach, and now the Blazers play in Bartow Arena.
• Three of the first four meetings came in Wichita: Levitt Arena, Charles Koch Arena and INTRUST Bank Arena.
• The lone contest in Birmingham prior to last season came in 1982 when the Shockers squeaked out an 89-88 win in overtime behind 24 points from Aubrey Sherrod.
• The series started in 1981 when the Blazers made the trip to Wichita for a December matchup in Levitt Arena.
• Greg Dreiling, Tony Martin and Antoine Carr led the Shockers to a 75-60 win in that 1981 matchup.
• A thriller in Birmingham broke out in 1982. Wichita State shot nearly 65% from the field and the five starters scored all but five of Wichita State's points in an 89-88 overtime win.
Sherrod (27) and Zarko Durisic (24) combined for 51 points and Xavier McDaniel recorded a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds.
• A low-scoring affair took place in the 2007 matchup in Charles Koch Arena. Robert Vaden dropped a game-high 23 for the Blazers, but it wouldn't be enough. The rest of the team went just 9-for-29 from the field.
• Phillip Thomasson (15) and Matt Braeuer (12) combined for 27 to lead the Shockers to victory.
• Only the second NCAA game to be played in the new downtown arena, INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita State used a strong second half to pull away from UAB on Nov. 25, 2011, 68-46.
• Wichita State led by just seven at halftime, but outscored the Blazers, 39-24, in the second half to win going away.
• Garrett Stutz was the lone Shocker in double figures with 17. UAB's Cameron Moore finished with a game-high 18.
• The Blazers shot just 32.1 percent overall and missed 15-of-16 attempts from beyond the arc.

SCOUTING UAB
• Led by sixth year head coach Andy Kennedy, UAB enters the matchup at 9-4 after non-conference play. Kennedy recorded his 400th career win in the Blazers' non-conference finale vs. UNC Asheville.
• Kennedy returned to his alma mater where he is the second leading scorer in program history. A two-time SEC Coach of the Year and winningest coach in the University of Mississippi history, • Kennedy coached at Ole Miss from 2006-2018, before spending two years as a commentator for ESPN and the SEC Network.
• He led the Blazers back to the NCAA Tournament during the 2023-24 season for the second time in three years even after losing five of their six leading scorers from the previous season.
• In his third season at the helm in Birmingham, he led UAB to a program-record 29 wins marking the Blazers' third-straight season of 20+ wins. He is one of just five active head coaches with 20+ wins in 14 of their first 17 seasons.
• UAB has new faces on the roster, as the Blazers have brought in six DI transfers, four JUCO transfers, two walk-ons, and two freshman. The only returner from a year ago was walk-on Joey Kahn.
• UAB was picked to finish 4th in the preseason coaches poll, one spot ahead of Wichita State.
• The Blazers have four double digit scorers, led by Chance Westry at 16.0 points per game. He converts 50.7% of his field goal attempts and adds 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and nearly 2.0 steals a game.
• DePaul transfer Jacob Meyer is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 per game.
• UAB is one of the top rebounding teams in the country with three players grabbing more than 7.0 rebounds per game. Evan Chatman leads the way at 8.9 per game. Daniel Rivera and • Kyeron Lindsay-Martin add 7.2 boards a game.

KG THE BUCKET
• Kenyon Giles leads the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game through the first 13 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 218 total points this season - 130 of those have come after halftime. The 5-10 guard scores 59.6 percent of his points in the second half. He has scored fewer than 10 points after halftime just six 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.

GRAY AREA
• In Wichita State's eight wins, Michael Gray Jr. is averaging 10.8 points on 48.8% shooting (20-for-41) 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 five games since, he's averaging 10.8 points on 51.5% (17-for-33) shooting from the field and 50.0% (12-for-24) from three-point range.

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 four of the first 13 games this season. Last season's team had two all season.
• Kenyon Giles is spearheading the long range bombing. He ranks 41st in the NCAA in total 3-pointers made (39), 48th in three-point field goals per game (3.00) and 77th in three-point percentage (40.2%).
• At the current pace, Giles is on track to break the single season school record for three-pointers made per game (3.00). His 7.46 three-point attempts per game would be the third-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 14th nationally in offensive rebound percentage at 38.9%. The Shockers average 14.5 offensive rebounds a game, which ranks 15th 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 20 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 62 points to reach 1,500 career points. He played his 100th career game on Nov. 8 vs. Prairie View A&M. He needs 49 assists to reach 250 career assists.
• Michael Gray Jr. is 19 assists away from 100 for his career. He is 19 games shy of his 100th career game.
• Emmanuel Okorafor needs 16 rebounds to reach 200 for his career.
• Jaret Valencia is 94 points shy of 600 and 7 blocks away from 100 career blocked shots.

ON THIS DATE: DECEMBER 31
• Wichita State is 8-7 all-time on New Year's Eve. The last win was a 67-47 home win over Drake in 2015. Wichita State last played on New Years Even in 2022 - a home loss to East Carolina, 79-69.
• 2004 – Kyle Wilson dropped 24 points in only 21 minutes off the bench in a high scoring affair vs. Evansville, 91-81. Randy Burns added 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists on 5-of-7 three-pointers.
• 2014 – Wichita State overcame travel issues and a scrappy Drake team for a 66-58 win in its Missouri Valley Conference opener. The team departed for Des Moines on the eve of the game via charter plane but quickly returned to Wichita's Eisenhower Airport due to a malfunctioning landing gear sensor. The Shockers boarded a new plane on the morning of the game and arrived in time for their regular pregame shoot around. Hours later, they finished off Drake behind 23 points from Ron Baker. It was victory No. 19 in a 27-game MVC winning streak.

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 faced five first-time foes in the non-conference slate (UNC Asheville, Boise State, Mount Marty,  Wofford and Eastern Kentucky).
• The Shockers played four teams ranked in the Top 80 of KenPom's preseason rankings (#53 Boise State, #55 Saint Mary's, #78 DePaul, #79 Colorado State).
• Wichita State has won 11 of its last 16 non-conference true road games, dating back to the 2019 NIT run. The Shockers had two true non-conference road games in 2025 (Boise State and Northern Iowa).

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 9-5 this season and 1-0 in American Conference play.
... Make them 1-0 to open conference play for the first time since 2020-21.
... Be their third consecutive win.
... Move them to 6-2 all time vs. UAB and snap a two-game losing streak vs. the Blazers.
... Make Paul Mills 43-39 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 149 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,700-1,284 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Drop them to 8-6 this season and 0-1 in American Conference play.
... Be their fifth straight loss in conference openers.
... Move them to 5-3 all time vs. UAB and be their third straight loss in the series.
... Make Paul Mills 42-40 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 148-124.
... Drop their record to 1,699-1,285 all time.

GAME 15: at Charlotte                                                                
• Wichita State leads the all time series with Charlotte, 2-1, including a 1-1 mark in Charlotte.
• The Shockers have won each of the last two meetings with the 49ers.
• The 49ers went 6-7 in the non-conference portion of their schedule.
• Charlotte's first three conference games are all in the friendly confines of Halton Arena.
• Aaron Fearne is in his 3rd season as the head coach at Charlotte and owns a career record of 36-41.