TAMPA, Fla., (Jan. 8, 2023) – Two teams who have yet to win an American Athletic Conference game meet this afternoon when South Florida hosts Wichita State at the Yuengling Center.
The Bulls have come up short in conference games at Memphis and at home to Temple on Wednesday.
The Shockers fell Thursday night to Cincinnati 70-61 despite committing just two turnovers. WSU has also suffered defeats to East Carolina and Central Florida.
BullsInsider.com has your quick facts and how to watch the Wichita State game:
Quick Facts
Matchup: USF (7-8; 0-2) vs. Wichita State (7-8; 0-3)
Date: Sun. Jan. 8
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Tampa, Fla. | Yuengling Center
Watch: ESPN+
Radio: 102.5 The Strike HD-2 & Bulls Unlimited (TuneIn)
History: USF is 1-7 all-time against Wichita State. The Bulls’ lone victory over the Shockers came on Jan. 22, 2019. WSU has won six straight vs. USF and won the only meeting between the teams last season 73-69 at Charles Koch Arena.
The Opponent: Head coach Isaac Brown had to overhaul the Wichita State roster, replacing over 80 percent of the team's points and minutes from last season. WSU was picked eighth out of 11 teams in the American Athletic Conference preseason poll.
Craig Porter Jr., a fifth-year senior point guard, is the Shockers’ lone returning starter from last season. He and sophomore big man Kenny Pohto are the only holdovers from the 2021-22 active roster.
Porter Jr. averages a team-best 12.4 points. A year ago, he became the first player in AAC history to finish among the conference’s top-10 in blocks, assists and steals. The 6-foot-2 fifth-year senior is on track to do it again in 2022-23, averaging 1.71 blocks (2nd), 3.6 assists (7th) and 1.57 steals (8th). What Porter Jr. doesn’t do well is shoot free throws. He is making fewer than 65 percent of his attempts.
Four of the top-5 scorers are transfers, led by junior wing Jaykwon Walton (Georgia/Shelton State) who averages 11.7 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds with three double-doubles.
Photo has started every game he has appeared in this season averaging 22 minutes per. The 6-foot-11, 235-pounder is an inconsistent rebounder but Photo grabbed seven rebounds against Cincinnati and posted a double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds vs. ECU. At UCF, Photo was virtually invisible going for 3 points and 1 rebound in 29 minutes. Against the Bulls last season, Photo played 15 minutes, scored 3 points and grabbed 3 rebounds.
WSU’s last two foes (ECU and UC) combined to sink 23-of-54 threes (.426). Prior to that, the Shockers had held opponents to a paltry .275. WSU enters the weekend ranks among the nation’s top-10 in field goal percentage defense (t-9th, .372).
Defensively WSU is mostly man (76.4 percent) but is playing more zone than in recent seasons. We saw a 2-3 matchup zone and some 1-3-1 zone defense. The Shockers have several back court pressure defenses from three-quarter court nuisance, to zone trap and straight man.
Keys To A Win
USF must attack the paint on offense and defend it on defense. Take care of the ball against the WSU pressure. Bring the fight to the Shockers they are a physical team. Make shots and own the glass at both ends of the court.
