Men's Basketball | 12/31/2025 11:13:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
The post-Houston American Conference men's basketball era is in its third season, which can serve as a tiebreaker after the reshuffling of 2023.
 
Is Memphis, last season's regular season and tournament champion, in charge? Or is the 2023-24 season – with USF the regular-season champion, UAB tournament champ and Memphis in fifth – more the norm?
 
The Tigers are a disappointing 5-7 this season, but five of their losses are to teams in the Pomeroy top 60. Memphis' win over Baylor is one of the few strong wins by a conference team. Considering the strength of schedule, Memphis's No. 33 defensive efficiency rating in Pomeroy's stats may end up as the conference's decisive factor.
 
While Tulsa is 12-1, consider Memphis the favorite until proven otherwise. Memphis' nonconference performance, however, at least opens the possibility of a mystery race, more like 2024. That season, USF was picked ninth in the preseason coaches poll. The Bulls won the American by two games. Charlotte, picked 13^th, finished third.
 
The most interesting trend in the new-look American's world is parity and tense final minutes. In 2023-24, the American ranked first nationally in Pomeroy's compilation of close games (decided by four points or less or overtime) with 28 percent of conference games at that mark. Blowouts (19 or more points) were rare – the American ranked No. 22 out of 31 conferences.
 
Last season, the American ranked fourth in close games and 26^th in blowouts.
 
If that trend holds, January and February will be full of entertaining games with a race that is meaningful. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in conference tournament need to win three games to secure an NCAA bid. Nos. 1 and 2 can do it with two wins in Birmingham in March.
 
Those top four spots are critical and the top two are precious for a collection of teams unlikely to generate an NCAA at-large resume.

The Shockers (8-5) open American Conference play at 3 p.m. Wednesday (today) at UAB (9-4) and continue on the road at Charlotte on Jan. 3. Both games are on ESPNU. The first home conference game is Jan. 7 vs. Rice.
 
Three items that will determine Wichita State's success in the American race:
 
The Shockers must play well in early January – The Shockers play their first two conferences and four of their first six on the road.
 
That's a tough way to start, but a few wins puts Wichita State in a great spot when the dates even out. The reward is five of seven at home – with one of those road trips to Tulsa – starting in late January.
 
There is no better way to convince fans to return to Koch Arena than picking up road wins over the next two weeks. The Shockers started American play 1-7 last season before rallying to finish 8-10. In 2023-24, an 0-6 started doomed them.
 
As their 8-5 record shows, the Shockers own mixed results away from Koch Arena. They are 1-1 in road games with a 62-59 loss at Boise State and an overtime win at Northern Iowa. They are 0-3 at neutral site games, two of them one-possession scores in the final minute.
 
Coach Paul Mills sees those games as ones decided by smarts, toughness and 50-50 balls. The Shockers made those plays against UNI and he hopes that shows the way forward.
 
"You can see us early making tough plays (vs. the Panthers)," he said. "You're not all of a sudden going to play well on the road. We've made tough plays the past few days (in practice) and that has to be consistent."
 
Make free throws – This one will be on the minds of all fans until the Shockers inspire more confidence at the line. A 13-of-28 performance in a three-point loss to DePaul is hard to forget.
 
Wichita State ranks ninth in the American by shooting 68.9 percent from the line. The good news is several of the Shockers who have the ball in their hands most often are either excellent foul shooters or show the potential to make foul shots at a solid rate.
 
Leading scorer Kenyon Giles makes 82.9 percent of his free throws. He is the Shocker who will have the ball in his hands late in games or late in the shot clock. Guard Dre Kindell is 25 of 31 (80.6) percent from the line and drawing fouls with increasing frequency over his past four games.
 
Forward TJ Williams is slumping at the line lately but remains at 71.2 percent after making 33 of his first 39 free throws. Center Will Berg is at 69 percent after making 13 of his past 14. Center Emmanuel Okorafor is at 70.8 percent, a marked improvement over his previous seasons. Williams, Berg and Okorafor are strong offensive rebounders, which means they should draw fouls often.
 
Forward Karon Boyd, also because of his strong offensive rebounding, could be a key figure to turning this stat into a positive. He is shooting 55.9 percent from the line. He has significantly improved his three-point shooting as a Shocker through practice. If can make progress at the line, his impact will grow in American play.
 
Continue to win the possessions math – Wichita State is excellent at two important areas – limiting turnovers and offensive rebounding. It ranks No. 17 nationally in offensive rebound percentage, tops in the American, by grabbing 38.9 percent of available offensive boards. It is No. 31 in turnover percentage (14.4 percent).
 
With those areas leading the way, the Shockers have taken 37 more shots than their opponents. At the line, they are outscoring opponents 202-162.
 
Those are numbers that can go a long way toward winning.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.