Tulsa comes calling on No. 9 Wichita State

Nov 29, 2014 - 3:52 PM Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Familiar foes add another chapter to their rivalry, as the Tulsa Golden Hurricane do battle with the ninth-ranked Wichita State Shockers at Charles Koch Arena on Saturday afternoon.

Tulsa comes in sporting a 3-2 record, as the team has sandwiched a pair of losses around a three-game win streak. The team's latest effort resulted in a 73-58 setback to Oklahoma State in the championship game of the MGM Grand Main Event in Las Vegas on Thanksgiving.

It's obviously quite early, but Wichita State has been perfect in rattling off three straight victories to tip off the 2014-15 campaign. The Shockers have posted comfortable wins over New Mexico State (71-54), Memphis (71-56) and little known Newman (105-57).

Wichita State owns a 63-60 advantage in the all-time series with its former Missouri Valley Conference rival, and the Shockers have won the last six meetings.

Poor shooting proved to be Tulsa's undoing in its recent clash with Oklahoma State, as the team hit just 34.8 percent of its field goal attempts, which included a 4-of-15 showing from 3-point range. Conversely, the Cowboys drained 51.9 percent of their total shots, and they committed only eight turnovers. Shaquille Harrison paced the Golden Hurricane with 17 points, while James Woodard and Rashad Ray pitched in with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Woodard (12.4 ppg) and D'Andre Wright (11.0 ppg) are the only two players averaging in double figures for Tulsa on the season, as the team as a whole is netting only 61.6 ppg on typical shooting efforts of .404 overall and .307 from long distance. Fortunately, the defensive performance has been top-notch, with foes scoring a mere 55.4 ppg in hitting only 38.1 percent of their total shots, which includes a poor 26.6 percent showing from beyond the arc.

Wichita State dominated Newman in every aspect of their meeting last weekend, as the Shockers led 67-33 at the half and emptied the bench from there to allow 15 guys to get in on the action. Of those, 13 scored, led by Ron Baker with 18 points. Darius Carter added 15 and Fred VanVleet had 12 for a Wichita State team that drained 52.2 percent of its field goal attempts, including 10 3-pointers. At the defensive end, the Shockers held their overmatched opponent to only 32.1 percent field goal efficiency, while easily winning the rebounding battle, 57-27.

Baker heads a list of four double-digit scorers, as he nets 18.3 ppg. Cotton Tekele is next with 13.5 ppg, while Carter and VanVleet aren't far off the pace with 12.0 and 11.0 ppg, respectively. As a collective unit, the Shockers are lighting up the scoreboard for 82.3 ppg while permitting only 55.7 ppg. They are +12.3 in rebounding margin, and +7.3 in turnover differential.