WICHITA STATE (5-4) at NORTHERN IOWA (7-1)
Saturday, Dec. 6 | 7:00 p.m. CDT
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center
 
TV: ESPN+ with Eric Braley & Kevin Lehman
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State seeks its first true road win of the season when the Shockers head to Cedar Falls to face an old rival.
• Wichita State is 14-5 all time when playing on Dec. 6. This is the first year since 2020 playing on the date.
• Wichita State has outrebounded eight of its first nine opponents and is outrebounding its opponents by an average of 9.2 boards per game.
• Wichita State recorded its third game this season with 90+ points in a 95-69 win over Mount Marty on Dec. 2.
• Wichita State shot a season-high 61.4% from the field vs. Mount Marty, marking the first time since March 2, 2023 vs. Houston the Shockers have converted 60% of its field goals.
• Kenyon Giles has scored 10+ points in all nine games this season, including three 20-point games. He's matched a season high with 24 twice in wins over Loyola and Milwaukee.
• Giles is converting 43.9% of his attempts from long distance (29-for-66) this season, 2nd in the American.
• No Shocker has ever made 20 three-pointers through the team's first five games of a season. Xavier Bell led the Shockers in made three-pointers last season with 35 for the whole year.
• Giles ranks 20th nationally in 3-pointers made (29) and 40th in 3-pointers made per game (3.22).
• 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.
• Brian Amuneke had a breakout game vs. Western Kentucky in the Bahamas, scoring a season-high 11 points off the bench. He followed that up with another 11-point outing vs. Mount Marty on Dec. 2. After starting the season 3-for-17 from the field and 1-for-10 from 3-point range over the first 7 games, he's 8-for-14 and 4-for-7 from deep in the last 2.
• Dre Kindell has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.89, good for 31st nationally and tops among all players in the American.
• Karon Boyd recorded his second double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds vs. Colorado State. Both were season highs. Boyd then set a new season high in points vs. WKU with 15.
• 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 98 after a 5-4 start to the season. Seven of Wichita State's potential 13 non-conference opponents are ranked in the Top 80 of KenPom's preseason rankings.
• 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 NORTHERN IOWA
• Entering his 20th year at the helm of the Northern Iowa program, Ben Jacobson is the school's all-time winningest coach. He boasts an overall record of 381-246 (.608 winning percentage).
• He has guided the Panthers to four NCAA Tournament appearances and four NCAA victories. Jacobson is a five-time MVC Coach of the Year and ranks second all time in the MVC coaching victories. He also ranks first in the league record book for MVC-only wins with 209.
• Under Jacobson, UNI placed in the top half of the MVC during 14 seasons. Prior to him joining the staff in 2001, the Panthers had only finished in the upper half twice since joining the conference in 1991.
• UNI was picked second in the MVC Preseason Poll, while three Panthers were named to the MVC Preseason Watchlist: Leon Bond III, Trey Campbell and Ben Schwieger.
• Bond leads the Panthers in scoring at 13.0 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting from the field and three-point range to go with 5.0 rebounds.
• Campbell leads UNI in assists (26) and steals (19), while scoring 12.3 points per game. His 2.38 steals per game rank 33rd nationally.
• UNI leads the nation in scoring defense at 55.4 points per game, and also ranks Top 25 nationally in field goal percentage defense (4th), turnovers per game (10th), assists-turnover ratio (12th), turnover margin (15th) and three-point defense (16th).

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. NORTHERN IOWA
• A series that dates back to 1977, Wichita State and Northern Iowa have a storied history that has seen an even all time series. Wichita State holds a one-game lead after last season's win in Wichita.
• Saturday's contest will be just the third ever meeting  outside of Missouri Valley Conference competition.
• Wichita State is 10-16 all time vs. the Panthers in Cedar Falls and enters the matchup winners of three in a row in the series overall.
• Neither team has owned a winning streak longer than four games in the all time series.
• From 1999-2011, Northern Iowa controlled the series, holding a 19-9 advantage, including 10 out of 13 in the mid 2000s.
• The final six years as members of the MVC, Wichita State turned the tables, winning 10 of the last 14 matchups.
• Behind 14 points from Landry Shamet and Darral Willis Jr., Wichita State dominated the final conference matchup in Charles Koch Arena, 73-44. That win gave the Shockers a season sweep of the Panthers after Wichita State won in Cedar Falls exactly one month prior, 80-66. Shamet had a game-high 17 in the victory.
• During the 2016 season Wichita State won the first of three meetings behind a game-high 21 points from Ron Baker, only to see Northern Iowa bounce back to win in Charles Koch Arena and the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.
• The Panthers handed Wichita State its first loss at Charles Koch Arena in nearly three years and put an end to the nation's longest home winning streak (43 games). The Shockers trailed by 11 at halftime and by 15 early in the second half but roared back with a 17-2 run to tie the game at 44 with 11:32 remaining. However, UNI outscored the Shockers 9-6 the rest of the way in a game punctuated by missed shots and opportunities.
• In the MVC semifinals, Wichita State missed its first 18 three-point attempts and finished 2-of-24 for the game (8.3%). UNI advanced to the MVC Finals behind 20 points from Wes Washpun and a three-pointer by Jeremy Morgan with 1:18 to play in OT that snapped a 52-all tie. The Shockers turned the ball over just six times, but three of those came in the overtime period.

KG THE BUCKET
• Kenyon Giles leads the team in scoring at nearly 18 points per game through the first nine 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 159 total points this season - 96 of those have come after halftime. The 5-10 guard scores 60.3 percent of his points in the second half. He has scored fewer than 10 points after halftime just three 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 nine games this season. Last season's team had two all season.
• Kenyon Giles is spearheading the long range bombing. He ranks 20th in the NCAA in total 3-pointers made (29), 40th in 3-point field goals pergame (3.22) and 57th in total 3-point percentage (43.9%).
• 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 is only six three-pointers away from matching the Shockers' three-point leader from a season ago (Xavier Bell - 35).

PROTECT THE ROCK
• Lost in the shuffle during Wichita State's shooting display against Loyola Chicago, the Shockers committed only two turnovers in the game, tying the single game school record for fewest turnovers. The Shockers had two vs. Cincinnati on Jan. 5, 2023 and at Southern Illinois on Feb. 9, 1981.
• Wichita State finished the game with 17 assists on 33 made field goals. The assist-to-turnover ratio of 17:2 (8.50) also tied a single game school record.

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 80 points away from 1,000 in his collegiate career, and played his 100th career game on Nov. 26 vs. Saint Mary's. He needs 15 steals to reach 100.
• Kenyon Giles needs 139 points to reach 1,500 career points. He played his 100th career game on Nov. 8 vs. Prairie View A&M. He needs 8 assists to reach 200 career assists.
• Jaret Valencia is 9 blocks away from 100 career blocked shots.

ON THIS DATE: DECEMBER 6
• 2014 – The eighth-ranked Shockers silenced defending Atlantic-10 champ Saint Louis, 81-52, at INTRUST Bank Arena. They led 45-25 at halftime while holding the Billkens to just five total rebounds.

NOVEMBER 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 went 4-4 in 2025, good for a 17-6 record in November under Mills.
• Under Mills, Wichita State is 12-0 at home, 2-1 on the road and 3-5 in neutral site games in November.

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).

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 6-4 this season.
... Be their first road win of the season.
... Move them to 30-28 all time vs. Northern Iowa and be their fourth straight win over the Panthers.
... Make Paul Mills 40-38 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 146 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,697-1,283 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Drop them to 5-5 this season.
... Make them 0-2 on the road this season.
... Drop them to 29-29 all time vs. Northern Iowa.
... Make Paul Mills 39-39 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 145-123.
... Drop their record to 1,696-1,284 all time.

GAME 11: DEPAUL                                                                 
• Wichita State is 4-5 all time vs. DePaul after the Blue Demons won last season's matchup in Chicago.
• The Shockers are 2-0 vs. DePaul in Wichita.
• The Blue Demons are 5-3 to open the season.
• Now in his second season at DePaul, Chris Holtmann is 18-22 at the helm of the Blue Demons.
• DePaul brought back only four letterwinners from last year's team, but three of them were starters.