CHARLOTTE (13-9, 7-2) at WICHITA STATE (13-9, 5-4)
Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026 | 6:30 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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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State plays its second straight game vs. a team atop the conference standings when Charlotte comes to town.
• Wichita State is 19-10 all time when playing on Feb. 4.
• At 5-4 in league play, Wichita State is off to its best start since the 2020-21 season when the Shockers began 7-2.
• Two of Wichita State's five wins in American play have come when trailing by 13 or more.
• Seven of Wichita State's nine losses have come by 6 points or fewer.
• Through 22 games Wichita State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country at 15.0 per game - good for 5th nationally. That mark would be the best in a single season in school history.
• Kenyon Giles has scored 10+ points in 20 of the 22 games this season, including nine 20-point games. Giles matched or scored career high in three of the first four conference games.
• Giles is currently averaging 18.2 PPG for the season, which would be the highest by a Shocker since Jason Perez in 2000.
• His 18.1 PPG ranks 3rd in the American. In league play, Giles ranks 4th at 20.1 PPG with five 20-point outings in nine games.
• He poured in a career-high 33 points vs. North Texas, the most by a Shocker since Markis McDuffie (34) in 2019.
• In his 33-point explosion vs. North Texas, Giles was 13-for-17 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from beyond the arc. His 13 made field goals were the most by a Shocker since Cleanthony Early on Jan. 9, 2013.
• Giles averaged 24.8 PPG over the first four conference games until he was held to a season-low 2 points at Florida Atlantic.
• Giles ranks 11th nationally in total three-pointers made (75) and 14th in three-pointers made per game (3.41). 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.
• His 75 made three-pointers are already 6th most in a single season at Wichita State.
• Giles is one of only eight players in the country with 75 made 3-pointers on 40.0% shooting or better from beyond the arc.
• In American play, no player in the league is playing more minutes per game than Giles at 39.0.
• 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 5th in the American in rebounding at 8.3 per game. His 3.6 offensive rebounds per game rank 3rd. In conference games, he's averaging a league best 4.0 offensive rebounds.
• Karon Boyd (54) and Berg (75) account for 39.2% of WSU's offensive rebounds this season.
• Four different Shockers have recorded a double-double through the first 21 games: Berg (5), Boyd (3), Gray Jr. (1) and TJ Williams (1).
• Michael Gray Jr. recorded his first career double-double vs. Rice, tying a career-high with 25 points and grabbing a career-high 10 boards.

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. CHARLOTTE
• Wichita State and Charlotte met only once in the Niners' first season as a member of the American. The Shockers made the trip out to the Queen City on Feb. 18 and fell 72-61.
• After dropping the first meeting with the 49ers, Wichita State bounced back to sweep the series last season, winning 68-59 in Wichita and 66-58 in Charlotte.
• This was Wichita State's third consecutive year traveling to Charlotte, but this will be just Niners' second ever trip to Koch Arena.

SCOUTING CHARLOTTE
• Led by third year head coach Aaron Fearne, Charlotte enters the matchup at 13-9 and 7-2 in league play.
• Since dropping their league opener, the Niners have gone 7-1 in the eight games since.
• Fearne had the interim tag removed on Feb. 13, 2024 officially making him the 14th head coach in Charlotte history.
• Fearne was appointed interim head coach on June 7, 2023, following a successful tenure as an assistant coach with Charlotte spanning five years, and was promoted to associate head coach before the 2022-23 season. During his time as associate head coach, Charlotte achieved significant milestones, including 22 victories, the most since the 2000-01 season, and the program's first postseason tournament title with a victory in the CBI Tournament.
• He took over the Charlotte program after Ron Sanchez resigned after five seasons as the head coach. The Niners went 72-78, capped by 22 wins this past season – the most since 2001 – and the CBI Championship, the Niners' first-ever post-season tournament title
• Before joining Charlotte, Fearne spent nine seasons as head coach and eight seasons as an assistant coach with the Cairns Taipans of Australia's National Basketball League, leading the team to the NBL finals twice and earning Coach of the Year honors in 2015. Additionally, he served as head coach of New Zealand's U-19 National Team in 2018.
• In his first season at the helm of the 49ers, Fearne led Charlotte to a 19-12 overall record, a 13-5 mark in conference play, and the first top-three league finish since 2006. Nineteen wins in the regular season were the most since 2012-13.
• The 49ers tied a pair of program records with 13 conference victories (set in 1997-98) and 13 wins at Halton Arena (set in 2019-20). Charlotte also recorded its first-ever eight-game conference winning streak in program history and the first win over a ranked opponent at home since 2010 and the first overall since 2013.
• After going 3-15 in conference play last season, Charlotte was picked to finish last in the American Preseason Coaches Poll.
• The 49ers have rung in the new year swiftly with seven wins in eight games to rise into a tie for first in the American Conference standings. It marks Charlotte's best start to a calendar year since opening 2024 with an 8-1 record, courtesy of an eight-game conference winning streak, and comes after the program was picked to finish last in the American preseason coaches' poll. Last Wednesday's road win marked the first time since 2010 that Charlotte has won four consecutive league games away from Halton Arena.
• Ben Bradford scores a team-high 13.5 points per game to go with 37 assists and 28 steals.
• Anton Bonke averages nearly a double-double with 11.0 points and 8.3 rebounds on 58.8 percent shooting. He also blocks nearly 2.0 shots a game. He ranks top 25 nationally in offensive rebounds per game.

TULSA LEFTOVERS
• Wichita State dropped to 78-67 all time vs. Tulsa, including three straight losses.
• The loss was just Wichita State's second of the season by more than six points.
• The Shockers are 17-14 when playing on Feb. 1.
• Wichita State fell to 9-7 in February under Paul Mills.
• Wichita State is 0-5 under Mills when the opponent scores 90 points.
• Wichita State is 2-8 this season when trailing at the half.
• Wichita State was outrebounded for just the third time. The Shockers were a season-worst -9 on the glass.
• Wichita State's 29 total rebounds were a season low.
• Tulsa's 60.0% shooting was a season high for an opponent and the highest since 2024 when Memphis shot 64.7%.
• Kenyon Giles finished with a team-high 17 points, marking his 20th game in double figures this season.
• Giles has made at least one three-pointer in 21 of the 22 games and multiple 20 of the 22.
• He has multiple steals in each of the last four games.
• Karon Boyd recorded his 15th game in double figures with 10 points.
• Will Berg set a new career high with 16 points on a career-best six made field goals.
• Dre Kindell added his ninth game in double figures with 11 points.
• TJ Williams reached double figures for the first time since Jan. 3 at Charlotte.

KG THE BUCKET
• Kenyon Giles has nine 20-point games this season with five of those coming in the first seven conference games with 26 at UAB, 27 at Charlotte,  a career-high 33 vs. North Texas, 22 at USF and 27 vs. 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.
• Giles' 33 points are tied for the 3rd most by a player in the American Conference this season, trailing only USF's Wes Enis (36) and Tulsa's David Green (34).
• 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 1,086 career points with 246 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.

VALENCIA SIDELINED FOR SEASON
• Wichita State's depth took a hit right after Christmas when junior forward Jaret Valencia went down with a season ending achilles injury during practice. Prior to the Christmas break, Valencia had been playing his best basketball of the season.

FROM BEHIND THE ARC AND BEYOND
• Kenyon Giles is spearheading the long range bombing. He ranks 11th in the NCAA in total 3-pointers made (75), 14th in three-pointers per game (3.41), 23rd in three-point attempts (182) and 39th in three-point percentage (41.2%).
• At the current pace, Giles is on track to break the single season school record for three-pointers made per game (3.41). His 8.27 three-point attempts per game would also be the second 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 24 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).

FASTEST TO 60
• Kenyon Giles became the fastest Shocker to reach 60 made three-pointers in a single season in program history on Jan. 11 vs. North Texas. Giles needed only 17 games to make his 60th three-pointer of the season, three fewer games than former Shocker, Tyson Etienne.

CRASHIN THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
• KenPom ranks Wichita State 7th nationally in offensive rebound percentage at 39.1%. The Shockers average 15.0 offensive rebounds a game, which ranks 5th 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.
• Four Shockers have 30 or more offensive rebounds this season. The quartet of Will Berg, Karon Boyd, TJ Williams and Emmanuel Okorafor make up 61.7 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 7 steals to reach 100 and 13 rebounds to reach 750.
• 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 36 assists to reach 250 career assists.
• Michael Gray Jr. is 48 assists away from 150 for his career. He is 10 games shy of his 100th career game.
• Emmanuel Okorafor needs 20 rebounds 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 4
• 1967 – Trailing 49-38 with 13:29 left, the Shockers outscored visiting Saint Louis 25-12 the rest of the way to notch an exciting 63-61 win. Warren Armstrong's follow shot in the final minute put Wichita State in front, 62-61, and Ron Washington added a free throw for the final margin.
• 2012 – Garrett Stutz became the 41st member of Wichita State's 1,000-point club, finishing with 24 points and 15 boards. The Shockers edged visiting Indiana State, 71-66, to improve to 20-4.
• 2017 - Wichita State exploded for 51 points in the second half in a dominant 86-45 home win over Illinois State. Illinois State was just 4-of-22 from three-point range and committed 19 turnovers. Conner Frankamp scored a game-high 18 points behind four three-pointers.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 14-9 this season and 6-4 in American Conference play.
... Move them to 3-2 all time vs. Charlotte and even the season series at 1-1.
... Make Paul Mills 48-43 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 154 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,705-1,288 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... Drop them to 13-10 this season and 5-5 in American Conference play.
... Move them to 2-3 all time vs. Charlotte and give the 49ers the season sweep.
... Make Paul Mills 47-44 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 153-128.
... Drop their record to 1,704-1,289 all time.

GAME 24: at TULANE                                                             
• Wichita State leads the series with the Green Wave, 8-5 and 3-2 in New Orleans.
• The Shockers and Green Wave only meet once this season.
• Tulane enters the matchup at 13-9 and 4-5 in American Conference play. The Green Wave started league play 3-0, but have dropped five of their last six. Tulane snapped a five-game skid at Memphis on Sunday.
• Ron Hunter is in his seventh season as the head coach at Tulane, owning a record of 102-97.