TEMPLE (15-11, 7-6) at WICHITA STATE (17-10, 9-5)
Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 | 5:00 p.m. CDT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
 
TV: ESPN2 with Joe Malfa & John Williams
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
 

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Champions Weekend - Join us as we honor the 1975-76, 2005-06 and 2015-16 Missouri Valley Conference Championship teams.
Mike Kennedy Night - The first 1,000 fans will receive a Mike Kennedy pennant, and the legendary voice of the Shockers will be recognized at halftime.

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OPENING TIPS
• The Shockers and Owls meet on Champions Weekend when WSU welcomes back three MVC Championship teams.
• At 9-5, Wichita State is currently tied for second in the American standings with Tulsa.
• Wichita State is 18-6 all time when playing on Feb. 21.
• Wichita State has played four overtime games this season, tied for the most in a single season. The Shockers are 3-1 in those games.
• Wichita State has played multiple double overtime games this season, the first time since 1962-63.
• Seven of Wichita State's 10 losses have come by 6 points or fewer.
• Through 27 games Wichita State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country at 14.6 per game - good for 4th nationally. That mark would be the best in a single season in school history.
• Wichita State currently owns the longest streak in the nation with 21 straight games of 10+ offensive rebounds.
• TJ Williams is coming off his best games as a Shocker. He scored a career-high 27 points, including 11 in the two overtimes.
• Kenyon Giles has scored 10+ points in 24 of the 27 games this season, including 13 games of 20+ and 2 games of 30+.
• Giles is only the fourth Shocker since 2000 to have multiple games of 30 or more points in a season, joining Jason Perez (1999-00), Joe Ragland (2011-12) and Markis McDuffie (2018-19).
• Giles' 13 20-point efforts are tied for 6th most in a single season in school history.
• Giles is currently averaging 18.8 PPG for the season, which would be the highest by a Shocker since Jason Perez in 2000.
• His 18.8 PPG ranks 3rd in the American. In league play, Giles ranks 2nd at 20.7 PPG with 9 20-point outings in 14 games.
• Giles ranks 12th nationally in total 3-pointers made (88) and 21st in 3-pointers/game (3.26). Xavier Bell led the Shockers in made 3-pointers last season with 35 for the whole year. Giles needed only 12 games to surpass that total this season.
• His 88 made three-pointers are already 3rd most in a single season at Wichita State. He is just 11 shy of tying the program record of 99 set by Colby Rogers in 2024.
• Giles is one of only three players in the country with 85 made three-pointers, 40 assists and 40 steals.
• He poured in a career-high 33 points vs. North Texas, the most by a Shocker since Markis McDuffie (34) in 2019.
• Giles has been named to the State Farm College 3-Point Championship Watch List.
• Will Berg recorded career highs in rebounds (15) and blocks (4) at USF. He's the first Shocker to post 15 rebounds and 4 blocks in a game since Garrett Stutz on Feb. 4, 2012.
• Berg ranks 4th in the American in rebounding at 8.2 per game. His 3.5 offensive rebounds per game rank 3rd. In conference games, he's averaging a league best 3.9 offensive rebounds.
• Berg has scored 10+ in each of the last three games.
• Karon Boyd (66) and Berg (93) account for 40.3% of Wichita State's offensive rebounds this season.
• Four different Shockers have recorded a double-double through the first 27 games: Berg (6), Boyd (4), Michael Gray Jr. (1) and Williams (1).

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. TEMPLE
• Temple grabbed a 9-6 lead in the all-time series after winning each of the last three matchups - its longest win streak since joining the American.
• The Owls snapped Wichita State's three-game win streak with a win in Philadelphia on Jan. 7, 2024. Temple has now won back-to-back-to-back games vs. the Shockers for the first time as league members.
• This season marks the fifth time in nine seasons that Wichita State and Temple will face off only once during the regular season. The Shockers do not make the return trip to Philadelphia in 2026. This is the first time since 2022 that the Shockers don't play at Temple.
• Wichita State and Temple did not meet during the 2021-22 season. The lone matchup was scheduled to be played in Philadelphia, but was canceled due to COVID. Wichita State had four games canceled that season - all on the road.
• Closely contested games have been the norm in this series. Ten of the 12 have been decided by eight points in either direction and three have gone to overtime.
• In a rare home-and-home season series, the Shockers dropped both games to the Owls in 2024.  Temple won the first round in Philadelphia, 68-61, behind 34 combined points from Hysier Miller and Steve Settle. The Owls knocked down 12 three-pointers and forced 18 Wichita State turnovers.
• In the rematch over a month later, Wichita State jumped out to a 10-point halftime lead only to see the Owls claw back to force overtime. Temple went on to outscore the Shockers in OT, 11-6, to complete the regular season sweep, 72-66.
• Temple grabbed 52 total rebounds in that matchup, including 22 offensive rebounds.
• Wichita State won the lone matchup in 2023, 79-65, in Philadelphia. Four players finished in double figures, including a double-double for James Rojas with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 5 steals.
• Both teams made 10 three-pointers, combining to go 20-for-50.
• Wichita State led by 8 at halftime, but Temple fought back to behind a 13-0 run to take a 62-58 lead with 6:23 to go. From there Wichita State would close the game on a 21-3 run to win going away. Temple went more than 5:00 minutes without a score, as the Shockers scored 15 straight points.
• The Shockers have twice eliminated the Owls from the American Conference Championship with quarterfinal wins. They did it in back-to-back seasons (2018 and 2019).
• Behind 24 points from Landry Shamet (6-of-8 3FG), Wichita State knocked out Temple in the 2018 quarterfinals, 89-81.
• In the 2019 quarterfinals, 6th-seeded Wichita State upset 3rd-seeded Temple, 80-74, thanks to 34 points from Markis McDuffie.
• The teams played three times prior to Wichita State's move to the American, including twice in the 1980s under the late John Chaney. On Dec. 22, 1983, Temple ended Wichita State's 22-game home winning streak (a school record that stood for more than three decades) with a 78-73 victory. Junior All-American Xavier McDaniel played all 40 minutes and tallied 24 points and 18 rebounds.
• A year later (Jan. 27, 1985), the Owls squeezed out a 62-60 win in the championship game of the Pizza Hut Shoot Out. The Shockers held a 51-42 advantage with 8:56 remaining, but Tim Perry's three-foot jumper at the buzzer capped a furious Temple comeback.
• In the 2011 Puerto Rico tipoff, the Shockers battled back from down eight at the 7:00-mark to force overtime, but Temple won 78-74 in extra time behind 23 points from Ramone Moore. • Toure' Murry scored a game-high 24 for the Shockers, who went on to win 25 of their next 27 games en route to an NCAA bid.
• A Wichita State player has topped 20 points in 10 of the 12 American era meetings with Temple. Justin Hill was the ninth different Shocker to do it, scoring 25 in a loss at Temple on Jan. 3, 2025. McDuffie is the only Shocker to top the 20-point mark against the Owls twice.
• No player for either side has scored fewer than 14 points in a game.

SCOUTING TEMPLE
• Led by third year head coach Adam Fisher, Temple enters the matchup at 15-11 and 7-6 in American play, just a game back of Tulsa and Wichita State in the standings.
• The Owls made significant progress in Fisher's second season, improving their regular season win total by five and adding four additional victories in American play. Temple's offense stood out, setting a new program record of 78.8 points per game. With 17 wins, Fisher tied for the second-most wins through two seasons at Temple (33).
• In his first season with Temple, the Owls won 16 games and advanced to the American Conference Championship game for the first time, making an impressive run winning four games in four days. Included in the stretch were victories against third-seeded Charlotte and second-seeded Florida Atlantic.
• A 2006 Penn State alumnus, Fisher was instrumental in helping the Nittany Lions win five straight games before falling to No.5 Purdue, 67-65, in the finals of the Big Ten tournament. Penn State would earn an at-large bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament and, as the No.10-seed, defeated seven-seed Texas A&M (76-59) before ending its season against second-seed Texas (71-66).
• Fisher helped lead Penn State to 23 wins and the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament as the program's Associate Head Coach.
• Temple became just the sixth program in NCAA Division I history to win 2,000 games on December 18. The Owls overcame a double-digit deficit in the second half to defeat Davidson, 62-61, and join five other programs in the exclusive 2,000-win club. Temple joins UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and Duke as the only schools to accomplish the feat.
• Temple was picked to finish 9th out of 13 teams in the Preseason American Conference Coaches Poll.
• Temple ranks in the top five in the conference in multiple categories, including fewest turnovers per game (2nd, 9.1), scoring defense (3rd, 70.7), 3-point percentage (5th, 33.6%), field goal percentage (5th, 44.5%), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 1.41), free throw attempts (5th, 24.3 per game), free throws made (4th, 17.7 per game) and free throw percentage (3rd, 74.4%).
• After ranking last in the conference and 314th nationally in scoring defense at 77.7 points per game allowed in 2024-25, Temple ranks third in the league and 88th nationally by conceding just 70.7 points per game this season. The Owls rank among the best in the league in blocks per game with 4.3, which ranks fifth in the conference and 56th nationally.
• Senior Derrian Ford has thrived this season, averaging a team-best 18.0 points per game, which ranks fourth in the conference. Among conference leaders, Ford ranks third in minutes per game at 35:42, sixth in free throw attempts with 164, and sixth in free throw percentage at 83.5%.
• Sophomore Aiden Tobiason is second on the team in scoring at 14.7 points per game, while leading the team in steals (33).
• Point guard Jordan Mason scores 12.0 points to go with 111 assists to just 44 turnovers this season. He ranks sixth in the American in assists per game and second in assist-turnover ratio (2.5).
• Gavin Griffiths rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.5 points per game. Griffiths leads the Owls in rebounding (5.1 RPG) and blocks (50). He ranks second in the American in blocks as a 6-foot-7 guard.

NO LEAD IS SAFE
• The team leading at halftime has lost eight of the 12 American era matchups between Wichita State and Temple.
• The Shockers lost their first Liacouras Center visit on Feb. 1, 2018 (81-79 in OT). Wichita State led by eight at the intermission and by seven with 5:02 to go  but managed just two more points in regulation. Shizz Alston Jr. made a game-tying layup with seven seconds left plus two go-ahead free throws with 18 seconds to play in overtime.
• Two weeks later in Wichita (Feb. 15, 2018), the Shockers rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit for a 93-86 win, overcoming Temple's arena record 16 triples.
• The following year in Wichita (Jan. 6, 2019), the Shockers led by 13 at the break and by 11 with just over 3:00 to play. Temple scored the last 11 points of regulation to force overtime and went on to win, 85-81.
• Alston hit a three ahead of the halftime buzzer in a 2019 American Championship quarterfinal matchup, but Wichita State rode Markis McDuffie's career-high 36 points to an 80-74 upset.
• Jan. 15, 2020 in Philly, the Shockers led by six at halftime but scored just six points in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Temple roared back to win by 12.
• Feb. 27, 2020 in Wichita, Wichita State erased a seven-point deficit in the last 4:00 with an 11-1 run.
• The Feb. 7, 2021 meeting between the teams featured 20 lead changes (most since CKA's 2003 renovation).
• Temple nearly blew a 9-point halftime lead in the Jan. 7 matchup in 2024, as Wichita State came back from 17 down to tie the game late before Temple pulled away in the final minutes.
• A month later, however, Temple overcame a 10-point halftime deficit in Wichita to steal a win in overtime on the Shockers' home floor.
• Last year, Wichita State led by two at halftime only to see the Owls pull away late for a 91-85 win in Philly. Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 24 points, outdueling Justin Hill's 25.

CONNECT THE DOTS
• Former Wichita State standout Toure' Murry now calls Philadelphia home after his professional career. Murry is a Player Development Associate Coach on the staff for the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers. Murry had NBA stints during his playing days with the New York Knicks, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards.

DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
• In Wichita State's double overtime win at East Carolina, the Shockers had a 5.6% chance to win at the end of regulation according to KenPom. Wichita State trailed by 4 with 12 seconds to go until Kenyon Giles delivered a game-tying 4-point play.
• Wichita State also faced a similar situation in early December at Northern Iowa. The Shockers had just a 5.8% chance to win in overtime until closing the game on a 9-1 run.
• Wichita State's lowest win probability came on the road at South Florida before escaping with an OT win by one. The Shockers had just a 4.5% chance after the Bulls used a 23-3 run at the end of the first half and into the start of the second.

TRENDING UP
• With only four conference games remaining, Wichita State has already secured a conference record no worse than .500. At 9-5 in the American, Wichita State has its most conference wins in three seasons and with one more can have its first 10-win conference season since 2021.
• As it stands now, Wichita State is tied for 2nd in the standings with Tulsa, but the Shockers hold the edge in the tiebreaker, which if the season ended today, would give Wichita State a coveted top 2 seed in the conference championship. The top 2 seeds earn a double bye all the way to the semifinals.
• Wichita State hasn't been a top 4 seed in the American Conference Championship since winning the regular season and earning the top seed in 2021.
• South Florida currently has a two-game lead on the other 12 teams, but teams 2-9 are separated by just two losses. Wichita Stat and Tulsa have five losses, while UAB, Temple, Charlotte, Memphis and Tulane have six. Florida Atlantic and North Texas are currently the last two teams in the tournament with seven losses. UTSA has officially been eliminated from the conference tournament, while Rice and East Carolina sit in the other two slots that would not make it to Birmingham.

CHAMPIONS WEEKEND
• Wichita State is set to host an action-packed weekend around a crucial game vs. Temple with conference tournament implications. The Shockers welcome back three Missouri Valley Conference Championship teams. The 50th anniversary of the 1975-76 MVC Championship team, the 20th anniversary of the 2005-06 MVC Championship and Sweet 16 team and the 10th anniversary of the 2015-16 MVC Championship team. Members from all three teams will be recognized at halftime.

MIKE KENNEDY NIGHT
• In conjunction with Champions Weekend, Wichita State's game vs. Temple is also billed as Mike Kennedy Night. In honor of the legendary voice of the Shockers, Kennedy announced his retirement at the conclusion of this academic year. He has been the radio play-by-play voice for 46 years.Kennedy will be recognized at halftime.

EAST CAROLINA LEFTOVERS
• Wichita State moved to 9-4 all time vs. East Carolina, including 4-1 in Greenville.
• The Shockers are 20-24 when playing on Feb. 18.
• Wichita State improved to 13-8 in February under Paul Mills.
• Wichita State improved to 3-1 this season in overtime games. The four overtime games tie a single season school record.
• Wichita State has played multiple double OT games for the first time since 1962-63.
• Wichita State has tied or outrebounded 23 of its 27 opponents this season.
• Wichita State has had 10 or more offensive rebounds in 21 consecutive games.
• Wichita State has never lost under Mills when scoring 90 points. They are 6-0 and 3-0 this season.
• Wichita State improved to 10-39 under Mills when trailing with 5:00 minutes left.
• Two Shockers topped the 20-point mark in a game for a second time this season.
• TJ Williams set career highs in points (27), field goals made (11) and field goal attempts (15).
• Kenyon Giles reached double figures for the 24th time this season and scored 20+ for the 13th time.
• Giles has made at least one three-pointer in 26 of the 27 games and multiple 23 of the 27.
• He has at least one steal in each of the last 11 games.
• Karon Boyd registered his 18th game in double figures, which ranks second on the team.
• Will Berg added his 13th game in double figures this season and third straight.
• East Carolina's Jordan Riley scored 40 points, the most by an opposing player this season.

KG THE BUCKET
• Kenyon Giles has 13 20-point games this season with nine of those coming in the 14 conference games with 26 at UAB, 27 at Charlotte,  a career-high 33 vs. North Texas, 22 at USF, 27 vs. ECU, 23 vs. Charlotte, 24 vs. South Florida, 31 vs. Tulsa and 24 at ECU. His 33-point outburst vs. the Mean Green marked the most points by a Shocker since Markis McDuffie scored 34 on March 15, 2019 vs. Temple. Giles scored his 33 points on an ultra-efficient 13-of-17 from the field, a perfect 4-of-4 beyond the arc and 3-of-3 at the free throw line. His 13 made field goals were the most since Cleanthony Early made 13 on Jan. 9, 2013 when he dropped a career-high 39 on SIU. Giles was also the first Shocker since Landry Shamet on Nov. 20, 2017 to go 4-of-4 or better from three-point range.
• His 13 games of 20 points or more are tied for 6th most in a single season in program history with Antoine Carr and Markis McDuffie.
• He's only the fourth Shocker since 2000 to have multiple 30-point games in a season.
• He started his hot streak when he scored a then career-high tying 26 at UAB in the American Conference opener. Twenty-four of those 26 came from beyond the arc when he knocked down a career-high 8 three-pointers. His 8 three-pointers tied for the second most in a single game in school history, one shy of the school record held by Jason Perez's 9. The last Shocker to make 8 three-pointers in a game was Joe Ragland 14 years ago on Dec. 4, 2011.
• Three days later he poured in a new career-high 27 at Charlotte behind six more three-pointers.
• He had three 20-point games in November, becoming the first Shocker since McDuffie in 2018 to have three 20-point performances in the month of November.

KB 1K
• Karon Boyd eclipsed the 1,000 career point mark on Jan. 3, 2026 at Charlotte. He entered the game 12 points shy and finished the game with 21 - his second 20-point game of the season.
• Boyd now has 1,140 career points with 300 of those coming this season at Wichita State. He joins teammate Kenyon Giles as the two members of the 1,000 point club on this year's team.

FROM BEHIND THE ARC AND BEYOND
• Kenyon Giles is spearheading the long range bombing. He ranks 12th in the NCAA in total 3-pointers made (88), 21st in three-pointers per game (3.26), 9th in three-point attempts (232) and 79th in three-point percentage (37.9%).
• At the current pace, Giles is on track to break the single season school record for three-pointers made per game (3.26). His 8.59 three-point attempts per game would also be the most in a single season at Wichita State. He's already entered the single season Top 10 list for total three-pointers and is only 11 shy of tying the school record.
• 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 OFFENSIVE GLASS
• KenPom ranks Wichita State 12th nationally in offensive rebound percentage at 37.9%. The Shockers average 14.6 offensive rebounds a game, which ranks 4th 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.
• Five Shockers have 30 or more offensive rebounds this season. The quintet of Will Berg, Karon Boyd, TJ Williams, Emmanuel Okorafor and Dillon Battie make up 70.4 percent of Wichita State's offensive rebounds.

MILESTONE WATCH
• Karon Boyd scored his 1,000th career point on Jan. 3 at Charlotte and played his 100th career game on Nov. 26 vs. Saint Mary's. He needs 5 steals to reach 100 and 33 rebounds to reach 800.
• Kenyon Giles surpassed 1,500 career points on Jan. 7 vs. Rice. He played his 100th career game on Nov. 8 vs. Prairie View A&M. He needs 26 assists to reach 250 career assists. He is 12 three-pointers away from breaking the single season record.
• Michael Gray Jr. is 31 assists away from 150 for his career. He is 5 games shy of his 100th career game.
• Emmanuel Okorafor needs 1 rebound to reach 250 for his career.
• Jaret Valencia is 94 points shy of 600 and 7 blocks away from 100 career blocked shots.

ON THIS DATE: FEBRUARY 21
• 1947 – The Shockers snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 29-23 win at Tulsa. Wichita trailed 18-15 halftime but held the hosts to five points (a field goal and three free throws) in the second half.
• 2024 – Wichita State led by 17 at halftime and held Tulsa to 2-of-20 from three-point range in a 79-63 home win. The Shockers forced 22 turnovers - 15 of them steals. Colby Rogers scored a team-high 19 points and Wichita State avenged a road loss at Tulsa less than a month prior. PJ Haggerty led all scorers with 24 during his second of four stops in his collegiate career.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 18-10 this season and 10-5 in American Conference play.
... Move them to 7-9 all time vs. Temple and 4-4 vs. the Owls in Wichita.
... It would snap a three-game losing streak vs. the Owls.
... Make Paul Mills 52-44 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 158 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,709-1,289 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Drop them to 17-11 this season and 9-6 in American Conference play.
... Move them to 6-10 all time vs. Temple and 3-5 vs. the Owls in Wichita.
... Be their fourth straight loss to the Owls.
... Make Paul Mills 51-45 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 157-129.
... Drop their record to 1,708-1,290 all time.

GAME 29: at MEMPHIS                                                                     
• Memphis leads the series vs. the Shockers 22-15. The Shockers have lost their last seven games in Memphis.
• Wichita State is seeking its first regular season sweep of the Tigers since joining the American.
• Memphis enters the matchup at 12-14 and 7-6 in American Conference play.
• Penny Hardaway is in his eighth season as the head coach at Memphis.