WSU (9-11, 1-6) at Tulsa ( 2-5, 11-8) Game Thread

[forevershockerfan]

Tulsa is led by PJ Haggerty and Cobe Williams. This Season, Tulsa is 10-2 at home overall. They average over 3000
fans per home game. Memphis only beat Tulsa 78-75. SMU defeated Tulsa 103-70. Oral Roberts beat them 79-70. If the Shockers win, both teams will be 2-6 in the AAC. This Conference win would be a 2-0 Shocker streak.

A Shocker win would give us a 77-63 series win. Many of you remember the intense battles of times past. When Tom Kosich was on Shocker radio with Mike Kennedy at times. FSF called in on a pregame show before playing Tulsa and reminded him of his winning tip in at Tulsa for the win years before that night. Tom got excited and animated and called it "the shot that was heard around the world." Fun Times playing against Nolan Richardsons coaching and Paul Pressey's tougher than nails Defense. Fast Forward when Ricky Ross played for Tulsa here at 21st and Hillside.

Shockers 77

Hurricanes 63.

[wichshock65]

OPENING TIPS
• The first of two regular season meetings between Wichita State and Tulsa tips off Wednesday night at 6 p.m. on ESPNU in the Donald W. Reynolds Center.
• Wichita State is 20-13 all time when playing on Jan. 31.
• The Shockers lead the series with Tulsa, 77-63. The Shockers have won three straight and are 12-2 against the Golden Hurricane since joining the American.
• Tulsa is 11-8 overall and 2-5 to begin conference play. After dropping its first four conference games, Tulsa broke into the win column with a 107-78 win over UTSA on Jan. 17.
• The Golden Hurricane snapped a 19-game losing streak on the road with a win at Rice on Saturday.
• Wichita State is coming off a 77-72 win over SMU on Sunday in Charles Koch Arena, snapping an eight-game losing streak - its longest since 2000-01.
• The win over SMU (KenPom 37) is the highest ranked KenPom win since defeating No. 5 Houston on Feb. 18, 2021.
• Wichita State ranks 22nd nationally in rebounds per game and 20th in defensive rebounds per game. In conference games, Wichita State's rebounding numbers have taken a hit, averaging only 35.9 rebounds per game.
• Quincy Ballard ranks 15th nationally in blocks (46). He had tied a career-high with 7 vs. East Carolina on Jan. 24. Ballard has 14 games with multiple blocks.
• Ballard has scored 10 or more points in four of the last nine games. He had three total in the first 11 games of the season. In the last nine games, he's 32-for-41 (78.0%) from the field.
• Per KenPom the American Athletic Conference is ranked the 9th best conference in the NCAA.

SCOUTING TULSA
• Led by second year head coach Eric Konkol, Tulsa enters the matchup at 11-8 and 2-5 in league play.
• After posting a 5-25 record in his first season at the helm, Konkol's 2023-24 team has already doubled its win total from a season ago.
• Konkol came to Tulsa following seven seasons at Louisiana Tech, where he compiled a 153-75 record. He won 46 games in his first two seasons, the most for any previous LA Tech head coach, and his 153 career victories is the third-highest win total in school history.
• Konkol's teams produced six seasons with 20+ wins and finished among the top 3 in Conference USA standings five of his seven years.
• Konkol returns to where he began his start in collegiate coaching. He was a student assistant coach for Tulsa's 2001 NIT Championship team under Head Coach Buzz Peterson.
• 2023-24 brings a new look to the University of Tulsa as the lineup will feature 11 new players and only two returners from last season's squad. Tulsa was tasked with replacing 96 percent of its scoring from a season ago and only sophomore Jesaiah McWright and senior Ari Seals return.
• Tulsa was picked to finish 10th in the Preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll.
• The Golden Hurricane have relied on redshirt freshman PJ Haggerty to carry the load thus far in 2023-24. Haggerty averages 19.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. His 19.3 points per game leads the country among qualifying freshmen.
• Haggerty has a knack for getting to the foul line, with 133 makes and 167 attempts (79.6 percent). He ranks 9th nationally for makes and 10th in attempts, and is the conference leader in both categories.
• CBSSports named Haggerty Freshman of the Week on Jan. 9, and the publication has Haggerty listed as the top freshman in the nation as of Jan. 22.
• In conference play, Haggerty is averaging 23.0 points and 5.6 rebounds.
• Cobe Williams is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 per game and has a team-high 75 assists and 43 steals. Williams leads Tulsa in three-pointers made (37) and three-point attempts (110).
• Jared Garcia is the top rebounder (6.0) and shot blocker (27) for the Golden Hurricane, while shooting 34.7% from beyond the arc.
• Tulsa scores 78.1 points per game on 44.5% shooting from the field and 34.6% from three-point range. The Golden Hurricane are one of the nation's best teams at getting out in transition where they average 15.00 fastbreak points, good for 26th nationally. They are also Top 25 in free throws made and attempted per game.
• Defensively, Tulsa's opponents average 72.4 points on 41.3% shooting. They force 14.4 turnovers, including 8.5 steals a game.

THE SERIES VS. TULSA
• The Shockers lead the series,77-63, and have won 20 of the last 23. They're 12-2 in the AAC era.
• Tulsa is WSU's third-most-played opponent behind Drake (151) and Bradley (142). This is meeting No. 141 in a series that began in 1931. The teams were rivals in the Missouri Valley Conference from 1945-96 before reuniting in the AAC in 2017.
• Including non-conference games, the teams have met at least once in each of the last 13 seasons going back to 2010-11.
• Since joining the AAC, WSU has faced Tulsa more times than any other foe. This is the 15^thmeeting in seven years.
• Eric Konkol is the 20^th-different Tulsa coach that WSU has faced in the series, while Paul Mills is WSU's 16^th.

IN TULSA // TLS, 36-32
• The Shockers have narrowed the gap in recent years, thanks to an 8-4 mark at the Reynolds Center.
• WSU is 5-1 in its six AAC visits. The lone loss came on a long buzzer-beater (Feb. 1, 2020).

IN WICHITA // WSU, 43-23
• The Hurricanes last won in Wichita on Dec. 8, 2001. The Shockers have won the last 11 home meetings (10 at CKA, one at INTRUST Bank Arena).
• WSU has won just over two-thirds of the games played inside the Roundhouse (1955-pr.), 37-16.

NEUTRAL SITES // TLS, 4-2
• Five of the six games have come in conference tournament settings, most recently in 2023 when the team squared off in the first round of the AAC tourney.
• WSU's lone victory came in the 1988 MVC Tournament.
• Tulsa picked up a pair of Arch Madness wins in the 1990s and edged the Shockers in the 1958 All-College.

RECORD BOOK WATCH
• Quincy Ballard is on pace to shatter the single season school record for field goal percentage.
• Through 20 games Ballard is shooting 70.0% (63-for-90) from the field. The current school record is 61.6% by Steve Grayer set in 1987-88.
• That number would rank 2nd nationally but to qualify players must average 5 FGM per game. Currently Ballard is at 3.3 FGM per game.
• On the defensive end, Ballard is trending towards a top five season blocking shots. He's currently third on the single season blocks per game list.
• Ballard needs just 5 blocks to move into the top 10 on the single season total blocks list.

A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... Make them 10-11 this season.
... Make them 2-6 in AAC play.
... Give them back-to-back wins for the first time since November.
... Make them 21-13 all time on Jan. 31.
... Give Paul Mills 116 career coaching victories.
... Run their record to 1,667-1,256 all time.
... Make them 78-63 vs. Tulsa all time.
... Be their 4th straight win over the Hurricane.

A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... Make them 9-12 this season.
... Drop them to 1-7 in AAC play.
... Make Paul Mills 9-12 as Wichita State head coach.
... Drop them to 20-14 all time on Jan. 31.
... Drop their record to 1,666-1,257 all time.
... Make them 77-64 all-time vs. Tulsa.
... Snap a 3-game win streak vs. the Hurricane.

[forevershockerfan]

Around 30 minutes to game time. If the Shocks play smart and team ball, they will gain a very winnable game on the cold and lonely road.

[Kung Wu]

Upside backward 2s. We lose.

[Kung Wu]

Ballard block!

[Kung Wu]

Ballard skyhook!

Ridgnal nails x2!

[Kung Wu]

Time for a little cab sauv!

[wichshock65]

Great start.

[shockerfan]

Pretty good start. Good pace and flow overall

[Kung Wu]

Seems we might be finally establishing an identity. And it's not at all bad, if so!

[pinstripers]

God shooting covers a multitude of flaws

[shock-it-to-me]

Ugh

[wichshock65]

DR

[shocktown]

Neil Strom III on the floor for Tulsa?

[Kung Wu]

Beverly, nice steal and layup!