Wichita State Shockers at Kansas Jayhawks Preview, Prediction, and How To Watch

The Numbers
How to Watch
Game Coverage
Opponent Team Form
Players to Watch
Matchups to Watch
Prediction

The Kansas Jayhawks did more than just survive when they traveled out to the desert to take on the Arizona Wildcats, and because of that dominant victory, they are looking at their first ranking of the season. But still standing in their way is a home matchup against the Wichita State Shockers.

With that, let's take a deep dive into today's game. Here are the essentials:

The Numbers

Editor's Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are provided by CBB Analytics. CBB Analytics is a new stats website in college hoops, covering both men and women's basketball in D-I, D-II and D-III. You can follow them on Twitter @CBBAnalytics

Kansas: 8-0 (Massey 21st Overall, 33rd offense, 50th defense)

Wichita State: 8-1 (Massey 95th Overall , 132nd offense, 125th defense)

Line: KU -22.0

O/U: 133.0

The Jayhawks lead the all-time series with the Shockers 32-7, the most lopsided series for the program. Kansas is on a two-game winning streak and has won 9 of the last 11. The last matchup was last season, when Kansas won 68-55 in Wichita.

How to Watch

Sunday, December 11th, 2:00 p.m. CST

Lawrence, KS: Allen Fieldhouse

TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

- Brian Hanni (Play-by-Play), Jill Dorsey-Hall (Analyst)

Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

- Steven Davis (Play-by-Play), David Lawrence (Analyst)

Webcast: Kansas Online Radio

Game Coverage

Follow along during the game for live updates from the Blue Wings Rising Twitter account.

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Opponent Team Form

The Shockers are coached by head coach Keitha Adams, who is coaching in her sixth season at Wichita State while amassing a 70-79 record. She is 0-3 all-time against the Jayhawks.

The Shockers are coming off a season where they finished 24-16 overall and 5-11 in the American Athletic Conference.

According to CBB Analytics, they have the 135th rated offense and 92nd rated defense on a per-possession basis against the 110th rated Strength of Schedule so far. On the season, the team is shooting 43.5% overall, but they are a middling 30.9% from three-point range, with a respectable 73.6% from the free throw line. They don't shoot many threes, with only 18.7% of their shots coming from beyond the arc.

Wichita State averages 71.6 points per game, 42.9 rebounds per game, 14.0 and they turn the ball over an average of 12.3 times per game.

Players to Watch

The Shockers have a few players to watch out for, especially Trajata Colbert, the senior forward who only leads the team in blocks, but it's an all around player who comes in second in almost every major category. While she only has one double-double outing on the season, she has been just a single score or rebound away in three other games.

She is joined in the post by Jane Asinde, who leads the team in rebounding and is especially proficient on the offensive end.

DJ McCarty leads the team in scoring at 14.2 points per game, but is also an excellent passer, leading the team with 3.8 assists per contest. Also on the perimeter is the closest the team has to a three -point sharpshooter in Shamaryah Duncan, who is making 50% from beyond the arc but takes less than 3 per game.

Matchups to Watch

With how much the Shockers look to go inside and shoot inside the arc, the play of Taiyanna Jackson will be critical here. But she will need to get some help to avoid multiple players flying in from around the court. To help with that, Chandler Prater and Ioanna Chatzileonti will need to work to deny driving lanes, or at least alter them enough to let Jackson do her work.

On the perimeter, I will be interested to see whether the Wichita State offense will look to shoot from beyond the arc a bit more. If Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin can make life difficult on the perimeter, then it could be a really long day for the visitors.

Prediction

I was worried about the game in Arizona because I don't think I was accounting probably for how well this team is defensively. Sure Arizona missed some shots they would usually make, but the Jayhawks harassed the Wildcats defense with pressure after the opening salvo and turned that into offense.

I think the Jayhawks can do the same thing here, making life very difficult for Wichita State and letting Kansas cruise to a victory.

Kansas 87, Wichita State 63.

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