Tulsa at Wichita State (-5) - 5:00pm Pacific - Game 785-786

I remain very high on the Shockers.  They fell behind by double digits early in last game at SMS due in part to a pair of technical fouls but cut the lead to only one by half-time and outscored the Bears 47-28 in the second half for a convincing 18 point road win.  They did this despite leading scorer and top all around player Jamar Howard only playing 13 minutes due to foul trouble.  WSU has only played twice at home this season and both were easy double digit wins over Northern Arizona (upset UNLV last time out) by 17 and Rockhust by 25.  This is almost like a home opener as it will be the first sellout of the season.  In my opinion, there is a very good chance the Shockers will go undefeated at home this year.  They are that good.

 

Tulsa lost a lot of talent from last season.  Five of their top seven scorers are gone including longtime stalwarts forward Kevin Johnson and guard Dante Swanson.  Only two players return who averaged more than 10 minutes a game last season.  They are counting on six newcomers to fill roles including three true freshman that are averaging double digit minutes.  The Golden Hurricane are 1-3 on the road this year and that includes losses at Oral Roberts and Georgia State.  They are coming off a confidence building win over New Mexico State but the Aggies were blown out twice by UTEP and head coach Lou Henson called the Miners a much better team than Tulsa.

 

Shocker fans are calling this "Beat Tulsa Week."  Tulsa has won 11 straight games in this series including 5 straight on the Shockers home floor.  Some payback is definitely in order tonight.  The game will feature the dedication of the Charles Koch Arena at half-time and and school all-time greats Cleo Littleton, Xavier McDaniel, Antoine Carr, Dave Stallworth and Cliff Levingston will be in attendance.  They even had a separate Legends Night on Friday to honor the players.  This is a big game for the Shockers and I expect nothing short of a convincing win.

 

Wichita State  1 UNIT