[3] WICHITA STATE (23-11) at [2] OKLAHOMA STATE (20-14)
NIT Second Round
Sunday, March 22, 2026 | 7:30 p.m. CDT
Stillwater, Okla. | Gallagher-Iba Arena
 
TV: ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg & Mark Adams
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy, Dave Dahl and Bob Hull
 

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OPENING TIPS
• The Wichita State Shockers are in Stillwater to face the No. 2 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys in NIT Second Round action Sunday night at 7:30 PM on ESPN2.
• Wichita State is making its 15th appearance in the NIT and second straight. The Shockers hosted an NIT game for the first time since 2011 when they rattled off five straight wins to win the championship.
• Wichita State is 12-13 all time in the NIT, which includes one NIT title (2011). Of the four No. 3 seeds in the 2026 NIT, Wichita State is the only one to advance to the second round. George Mason, Yale and Colorado State all lost at home.
• At 13-5, Wichita State tied for second in the American standings with Tulsa. Wichita State's 13 American Conference victories were the most since 2017-18.
• Wichita State has its first 20-win season since 2019-20.
• Paul Mills now has 57 wins through his first three seasons at Wichita State, tied for 2nd most in school history.
• Three Shockers earned American Conference honors, led by First Team All-Conference & All-Newcomer Team selection Kenyon Giles. Will Berg was named the Sixth Man of the Year and • Karon Boyd was named to the Third Team. Berg and Giles were also on the American All-Tournament Team.
• Wichita State is one of the top offensive rebounding teams in the country at 14.8 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 28 straight games of 10+ offensive rebounds.
• Dillon Battie is coming off his first career double-double behind a career-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. Over his last 6 games, he's averaging 11.7 PPG and 5.5 RPG on 61% FG Pct.
Giles has scored 10+ points in 30 of the 34 games this season, including 17 games of 20+ and 2 games of 30+.
• He scored 20+ in 6 straight games, 5th longest in school history, before it was snapped on March 7 vs. FAU.
• 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' 17 20-point efforts are 4th most in a single season.
• Giles is currently averaging 19.1 PPG for the season, which would be the highest by a Shocker since Jason Perez in 2000.
• His 19.1 PPG ranks 2nd in the American. In league play, Giles ranks 2nd at 21.3 PPG with 12 20-point outings in 18 games. Giles' 12 games of 20+ in conference play are second most in school history only behind Xavier McDaniel's 15.
• Giles ranks 6th nationally in total 3-pointers made (116) and 9th in 3-pointers/game (3.41). His 7 made 3-pointers vs. Tulsa in the semis set a school conference tourney record.
• His 116 made three-pointers are the most in a single season at Wichita State. He broke the record on March 1 at UTSA.
• Giles is one of only four players in the country with 100 made three-pointers, 45 assists and 50 steals.
• Will Berg ranks 4th in the American in rebounding at 8.2 per game. His 3.36 offensive rebounds per game rank 3rd. In conference games, he averaged 3.6 o-boards, second most.
• Karon Boyd (82) and Berg (112) account for 38.7% of Wichita State's offensive rebounds this season.
• Six different Shockers have recorded a double-double: Berg (9), Boyd (4), Williams (2), Battie (1),  Michael Gray Jr. (1) and Emmanuel Okorafor (1).

THE SERIES VS. OKLAHOMA STATE
• Oklahoma State holds a lopsided, 33-11 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1932 and included 24 Missouri Valley Conference contests between 1945 and 1957, however Wichita State has taken three of the seven matchups since the series' 2016 revival.
• This will be the eighth meeting between the schools in an 11-year span.
• The road team had won seven straight in the series until last year's NIT meeting in Stillwater, with Oklahoma State victories at the Kansas Coliseum (2002), INTRUST Bank Arena (2016, 2022) and Charles Koch Arena (2020). The Shockers won at Gallagher-Iba Arena in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
• WSU's three-game win streak from 2017-21 in Stillwater comes on the heels of eight decades of futility. Shocker teams were 2-15 prior (2-14 at GIA).
• The series began Dec. 12, 1934 when the teams were know as the Oklahoma A&M Aggies and the University of Wichita Shockers. The Aggies' 24-17 victory was their first under a young head coach named Henry Iba.
• Iba, of course, stuck around for many more years. He's the coach of record for 31 of the 43 games in the series.
• WSU is 5-8 against OSU coaches not named Iba.
• The Cowboys got a sizeable headstart, winning 18 of the first 19 meetings between 1934 and 1953. Since 1965, WSU teams are a combined 6-8 against OSU.
• OSU was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference for 31 years and won 19 of the 24 conference meetings against the Shockers between 1945 (when Wichita joined) and 1956 (when OSU made its exit).
• The most important series meeting took place in the 1965 Midwest Regional Final at K-State's Ahearn Fieldhouse. The Shockers stuck with their starting-five for all 40 minutes in a 54-46 victory. Kelly Pete finished with 19 points and nine rebounds to go with 12 points from Vernon Smith and 11 from Dave Leach. WSU scored on its first nine possessions, then spent the next 35 minutes milking the clock to secure a Final Four bid.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
• This will be the Cowboys' 44th postseason tournament bid and 15th NIT. They've made the quarterfinals in each of their last three appearances (2018, 2023, 2025).
• Oklahoma State improved from 12-20 to 17-18 in Steve Lutz's first season, reaching the 2025 NIT quarterfinals. The progress continued in year two with a 20-14 record and another 20-spot jump in the NET.
• Oklahoma State has played the nation's 34th hardest schedule, per KenPom, while facing the 14th toughest collection of opposing defenses.
• The Cowboys rank among the nation's highest scoring teams, averaging 84.3 points (22nd), including 88.8 inside Gallagher-Iba Arena.
• Oklahoma State also ranks 24th nationally in free throw makes (18.7) and 26th in attempts (24.8).
• Lutz has helped restore home court advantage in Stillwater with a 28-9 home record over two seasons (17-1 vs. non-conference opponents).
• Six Cowboys are averaging at least 9.8 points, led by guards Anthony Roy (17.2 ppg) and Vyctorius Miller (10.9 ppg) who have combined to knock down 132 three-pointers on 38.5 percent accuracy.
• Point guards Kanye Clary (4.8 apg, 2.34 A:TO) and Jaylen Curry (3.6 apg, 2.63 A:TO) set the table for the Cowboys' offense.
• Oklahoma State's front court has been thinned by injuries, most notably honorable mention All-Big 12 forward Parsa Fallah, who tore his ACL in late February. In his absence, the Cowboy front court has gotten a lift from senior forward Christian Coleman (9.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg) and a group of underclassmen bigs that includes 6-11 freshman Benjamin Ahmed.

WICHITA STATE IN THE NIT
• Wichita State is making its 15th appearance in the NIT with an all time record of 12-13 after defeating Wyoming in the First Round.
• Each of the last three times Wichita State won its first game of the NIT, the Shockers went on to win at least three or more games (2019 semifinals, 2011 champions, 2005 round of 16).
• Wichita State is the only No. 3 seed to advance to the Second Round of the NIT. George Mason, Yale and Colorado State all lost at home in their first round games.
• Two No. 4 seeds were also upset in the first round (Utah Valley and UC Irvine).
• Wichita State is 5-5 in the Round of 32 and 2-4 in the Round of 16.
• As an underdog, Wichita State is 6-2 all time in the NIT.
• Wichita State is 3-2 against teams in the 2026 NIT (2-1 vs. Tulsa, 1-0 vs. Wyoming and 0-1 vs. Colorado State).

NIT NUGGETS
• The 2026 NIT bracket consists of 32 teams with seeds assigned to the top 16 and the remaining schools placed by geographic fit.
• The top four seeds in the Tulsa Region are No. 1 Tulsa, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Wichita State and No. 4 UC Irvine. Tulsa hosts Stephen F. Austin, Oklahoma State hosts Davidson and UC Irvine hosts UNLV in the other first round matchups.
• Wichita State has a long history with Tulsa and Oklahoma State, while former Wichita State standout Matt Braeuer is in his first season as the head coach at Stephen F. Austin.
• The winner of the eight team bracket advances to Indianapolis for the semifinals and championship (Apr. 2 and 5). The semifinals will be held at Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse and the championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
• This is the 89th edition of the NIT. Its first 82 champions were crowned exclusively at New York City's Madison Square Garden (1938-2019), however, since the COVID-19 pandemic, the final site has rotated between host cities: Frisco, Texas (2021), Madison Square Garden (2022), Las Vegas (2023) and Indianapolis (2024-2026).
• The NIT in Indianapolis is part of a massive weekend that will also include championship games from all three NCAA men's divisions.

BOARD MEN
• In Wichita State's wins at UTSA on March 1 and in the NIT vs. Wyoing, the Shockers grabbed a season-high 55 rebounds. The 55 rebounds are the most in a game since Wichita State grabbed 67 vs. Savannah State on Nov. 28, 2017.
• Under Paul Mills, Wichita State has pulled down 50+ rebounds in a game seven times.
• Twenty-one of those 55 rebounds at UTSA came on the offensive end, marking the fourth time this season with 20+ offensive rebounds. This is the first season since 1999-00 the Shockers have had 4 games of 20 or more offensive rebounds.

20 WINS
• Wichita State recorded its 20th win of the season on the road at UTSA on March 1. It marks the first 20-win season since 2019-20 when the Shockers won 23 games. Since joining the American Conference in 2017-18, Wichita State has surpassed the 20-win mark four times including this season. This is 23rd time in program history with 20+ victories.
• Paul Mills is just the sixth Shocker coach to reach the 20-win mark by his third season on the bench, joining Ralph Miller (27 wins in Year 3), Gary Thompson (21 wins in Year 1), Gene Smithson (26 wins in Year 3), Eddie Fogler (22 wins in Year 1 and 20 wins in Year 2) and Gregg Marshall (25 in Year 3).

WYOMING LEFTOVERS
• Wichita State improved to 11-3 all time vs. Wyoming with three straight wins over the Cowboys.
• Wichita State moved to 12-13 all time in the NIT, marking the first postseason win since 2019 when they advanced to the NIT semifinals.
• Wichita State's 15 home wins are tied for 7th most in school history.
• The Shockers are 4-2 when playing on March 17.
• Under Mills, Wichita State is 48-11 when leading at the half and 47-5 when leading at the 5:00-minute mark.
• Wichita State has tied or outrebounded 30 of its 34 opponents this season.
• Wichita State has had 10 or more offensive rebounds in 28 consecutive games.
• Wichita State's 55 rebounds tied a season high. It's the fifth game this season with 50 or more rebounds.
• Wichita State was +21 on the glass, its second highest rebounding margin of the season.
• Wichita State had two players with double digit rebounds.
• Kenyon Giles scored 15 points, marking his 30th game in double figures this season.
• Giles has made at least one three-pointer in 33 of the 34 games and multiple 29 of the 34. He's made at least one three-pointer in 15 consecutive games.
• TJ Williams recorded his second double-double of the season with a game-high 17 points and 14 rebounds. His 14 rebounds set a new career high. He produced that double-double in just 18 minutes of action.
• Williams has 13 games of 10+ points this season.
• Emmanuel Okorafor pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to go with 9 points.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...                                                                     
... Make them 24-11 this season and advance them to the quarterfinals of the NIT.
... Improve their all time record in the NIT to 13-13.
... Be their first NIT quarterfinal appearance since 2019.
... Make them 12-33 all time vs. Oklahoma State.
... Make Paul Mills 58-45 as Wichita State head coach.
... Give Mills 164 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,715-1,290 all time.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...                                                                     
... End their season at 23-12.
... Make them 12-14 all time in the NIT.
... Drop them to 11-34 all time vs. Oklahoma State, and be their third straight loss vs. the Pokes.
... Make Paul Mills 57-46 as Wichita State head coach.
... Lower Mills' career record to 163-130.
... Drop their record to 1,714-1,291 all time.

GAME 36: NIT - UNLV/TULSA                                                                         
• Wichita State is 80-67 all time vs. Tulsa and 4-1 vs. UNLV.
• Wichita State won two of the three meetings against Tulsa this season, splitting the regular season matchups and then eliminating the Hurricane in the semifinals of the American Conference Championship.
• UNLV is 18-16 after upsetting No. 4 seed UC Irvine in the NIT First Round.