WICHITA, Kan. (GoShockers.com) –
EMPORIA STATE at WICHITA STATE
Sunday, Oct. 27 | 6:30 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan. | Charles Koch Arena
TV: None
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM with Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl
Exhibition Ticket Special: Seats in select sections are only $10 for the first opportunity to see the 2024-25 Shockers in action.
OPENING TIPS
• Year 2 of the Paul Mills era opens with an exhibition tune-up vs. Northeastern State Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena.
• The game will not be televised, but fans can listen on KEYN 103.7 FM.
• Wichita State has won 29-straight preseason exhibitions dating back to 2001.
• This will be the first meeting between Wichita State and Northeastern State.
• Since 1973, when the NCAA reorganized into three Divisions, Wichita State is 36-0 in regular season games against non-DI programs and 25-0 in preseason exhibitions.
• Wichita State opens its 118th season next Monday, Nov. 4 on the road at WKU. The Shockers open away from Charles Koch Arena for the first time since 2003 when Wichita State started the season at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.
• It’s the first true road game to begin a season since 1992 when Wichita State opened the 1992-93 season in Tuscaloosa, Ala., against Alabama.
• Wichita State returns three starters and seven letterwinners from the 2023-24 roster, including three of its top five scorers.
• Fifty-one (51.0) percent of the scoring from last year’s team is back for the Shockers, led by second leading scorer Harlond Beverly (11.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 3.2 APG).
• An experienced backcourt features a total of 353 combined starts between Beverly, Xavier Bell (11.3 PPG), Bijan Cortes (4.3 PPG) and transfers Justin Hill (Georgia) and AJ McGinnis (Lipscomb).
• Quincy Ballard (7.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 74 BLK) anchors the frontcourt on the heels of a record-breaking season of efficiency. Ballard shattered the single season school record for field goal percentage and also had top five marks in blocks per game and total blocks.
• Joining Ballard on the low block are newcomers Zane Meeks (Arizona State) and Croatian big man Matej Bošnjak.
• Ronnie DeGray III (5.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG) and Saint Peter’s transfer Corey Washington bring versatility, scoring and rebounding to the forward position.
• KenPom ranks the Shockers 101st nationally in its preseason rankings.
• Wichita State was picked to finish 4th in the American Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll – its highest projected finish since 2021. The league’s coaches project UAB to win the conference.
WE > ME
• With the late arrival of Matej Bošnjak to the roster this summer, Wichita State had no scholarships remaining. Enter redshirt senior Harlond Beverly. Beverly volunteered to give his scholarship to Bošnjak and classify as a walk-on during his final season of collegiate basketball.
• In an interview with the Wichita Eagle, Beverly said: “I’m just grateful to be in this position where I can play Division I basketball while getting my Bachelor’s and working toward my Master’s degree. It’s really just a blessing to be in college. I’ve been to two really good schools and that’s really going to be helpful for my future, so I understand how helpful college can be. If I can help someone else get a full-ride scholarship, like one of my teammates, then I don’t mind being the one to sacrifice when it’s beneficial to our team.”
• Head Coach Paul Mills said in that same interview: “In order to be a part of it, you have to make sacrifices and this is a pretty substantial one on his part. I would tell you that he not only volunteered to do it, he was eager to do it, to be honest with you.”
WICHITA STATE IN PRESEASON EXHIBITIONS
• Wichita State defeated Rogers State in last year’s exhibition, 74-53. The Shockers led by just four at halftime, but outscored the Hillcats, 40-23, in the second half to run away with the win.
• WSU is 63-10 all-time in preseason exhibitions with 29-straight wins. Its last setback came Nov. 1, 2001 to Athletes First.
• The Shockers are 26-0 in preseason exhibitions since CKA’s 2003 renovation.
• The closest call in that stretch came in 2016 against Augusta (Ga.) University. All-American Keshun Sherrill hit six threes and scored 28 of his 33 points after halftime to help the Jaguars whittle a 20-point Shocker lead down to a single point near the 4:00-mark. WSU recovered for a 73-67 victory and went on to post a 31-5 record that year.
• The most-lopsided win came the following year against Newman (113-55, +58). A Shocker team ranked No. 7 in the preseason AP Poll hit 35 free throws, scored 52 points in the paint and finished +19 on the glass. WSU’s bench accounted for 70 of the 113 points.
• Since 2003, when the NCAA reorganized into three divisions, WSU is 61-0 against non-D-1 programs (36-0) regular season, 25-0 exhibitions).
• Five Shockers have scored at least 20 points in a Charles Koch Arena exhibition game, most recently Shaquille Morris who finished with a record 24 points in that 2016 scare against Augusta.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… Improve their record to a sparkling 0-0.
… Give them 30-straight exhibition wins since 2001.
… Make them 27-0 in preseason exhibitions since Charles Koch Arena’s 2003 renovation.
… Make them 1-0 vs. Northeastern State.
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… Snap a 29-game exhibition winning streak.
… Be their first exhibition loss since Nov. 1, 2001 to Athletes First.
… Be their first to a Division II program.
… Still make them 0-0.
UP NEXT
• Wichita State is 3-3 all-time vs. WKU with all three wins coming in the last three meetings.
• Wichita State is 0-1 vs. the Hilltoppers in Bowling Green.
• This will be the first trip to Bowling Green since 1941 – the first-ever matchup between Wichita State and WKU.
• WKU is the 5th most experienced team in the country this season.
