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UCF (12-5, 4-3 AAC) vs WICHITA STATE (9-7, 0-4 AAC)
WSU -4
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 26, 2022 | 7:00 PM CT
WICHITA, KANSAS| CHARLES KOCH ARENA
TV: ESPN+ with Shane Dennis & Bob Hull
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM https://www.radio.com/keyn/listen
SERIES: Wichita State leads 7-0 (4-0 in Wichita)
LAST MEETING: February 10, 2021 in Orlando (WSU, 61-60)
GAME NOTES:
- Wichita State returns to action for the first time in 10 days when it welcomes the UCF Knights to Charles Koch Arena (7 p.m., ESPN+).
- Last week's games against Temple (Jan. 19) and SMU (Jan. 23) were postponed due to health and safety protocol within the WSU program. The latter will be made up Feb. 3 in Dallas.
- COVID-19 has made it tough for the Shockers to find much of a rhythm this year. Their Dec. 29 opener at ECU was called off after a similar pause within the ECU program. WSU was without key players in a pair of close home losses to Tulane (67-68) and Cincinnati (57-61).
- Rescheduled games will make for a brutal February. After playing just four times in 34 days, Wednesday night begins a stretch of six games in 14 days.
- The Shockers are 0-4 in league play for the first time since the 2008-09 season when they opened their Missouri Valley Conference slate with six-straight setbacks. That team rallied for an 8-10 finish and has posted a winning conference record in every season since.
- WSU's four-game losing streak is its longest since a five-gamer during the 2018-19 campaign. That skid ended on Jan. 16, 2019 with a home win over UCF.
- WSU is 7-0 against UCF (all since joining the AAC). The Shockers have won all four meetings in Wichita and are 3-0 in Orlando. The Knights are 41-32 (.562) against the rest of the league over that five-year span.
- The teams meet again in a little under two weeks – Tuesday, Feb. 8 – in Orlando.
- WSU swept last year's home-and-home by a razor-thin margin, overcoming an eight-point deficit in the final 4:00 for a 93-88 overtime win in Wichita. Tyson Etienne scored a career-high 29 points to lead the way. Two weeks later in Orlando, WSU pulled out a 62-61 victory. UCF's Darius Perry (27 points) scored two baskets in the final 17 seconds but missed a potential game-winner at the horn.
- Etienne, the AAC preseason player of the year, ranks among the league leaders in scoring (14.9), three-pointers (2.60) and minutes (34.1).
- Craig Porter Jr. leads the team in the rare combo of assists (3.1) and blocks (1.07).
- Morris Udeze (11.3 ppg) is WSU's leading rebounder (5.9) and is coming off his first double-double performance of the year (12 pts, 11 reb) against Cincinnati.
- KenPom rates the Shocker defense 39th in efficiency. WSU leads the conference in defensive rebound percentage (.735) and is holding foes to 29.5% from three.
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