SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men’s basketball team (10-13, 4-7 AAC) saw its two-game homestand produce exceptionally tight finishes, but the Roadrunners came out on the losing end of a pair of one-point contests with Tulane and East Carolina. This week, the Roadrunners have two away from the Convocation Center, opening on Wednesday at Wichita State (13-10, 3-7 AAC) at Charles Koch Arena. UTSA defeated the Shockers, 88-75, on Jan. 11 in Austin Claunch’s first American Athletic Conference win. Wednesday’s game with the Shockers will be broadcast on UTSA radio and steamed live on ESPN+ with a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.
On the Air and on the Web
Wednesday’s 6:30 p.m. matchup at the Charles Koch Arena will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Shane Dennis (play-by-play) and Bob Hull (analyst) on the broadcast call.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett (play-by-play) covering the action. As always, the broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
Wichita State Athletics will also provide Live Stats.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
The Roadrunners have been battling lately in conference play, but a pair of second-half opponent comebacks left last week with two single-point losses at home and UTSA on a two-game losing skid – despite solid performances on both sides of the ball. In their last win, the Roadrunners came out on top of one of the nation’s toughest defenses while topping North Texas in Denton to start the month. Pacing UTSA over the past week with a 24.5 ppg average and seven threes, Marcus Millender has risen to the occasion in conference play and has collected nine double-figure outings toward his 13.6 ppg average. Topping the Roadrunners on the season, Primo Spears ranks 12th nationally among NCAA scorers and third in the American Athletic Conference at 20.2 ppg. The consistent perimeter threat, Damari Monsanto leads the AAC and ranks 12th nationally with 3.27 threes per game, shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc – while UTSA leads the AAC and ranks 33rd in the NCAA with a team average of 9.7 threes per game on an AAC fifth-best 35.4 percent. Still pacing the Roadrunners on the boards, Jonnivius Smith is third in the AAC with 7.7 rpg in addition to 1.5 blocks on average.
The Roadrunners are fifth in the conference in scoring at 77.1 ppg, while producing the second-most fast break points in the league at 16.2 ppg (eighth nationally). The Roadrunners are also among the best chaos creators on defense, using the 17th-most steals per game in the country (9.5) to force 15.1 turnovers per game. Protecting the ball themselves, UTSA also leads the conference with a +4.0 turnover margin.
About the Series
The Roadrunners and Shockers will meet for just the fifth time after UTSA defeated Wichita State at the Convocation Center on Jan. 11, dropping 15 threes on the Shockers. UTSA was led by Millender and Raekwon Horton at 21 and 19, combining for eight triples in the 13-point win – head coach Austin Claunch’s first American victory. Wichita State leads the series 3-1. In the last trip to Wichita, where WSU is 3-0 in the series, UTSA dropped a tough road loss at Charles Koch Arena last Feb. 7, with an 84-64 loss.
About the Wichita State Shockers
Despite their middle-of-the-league numbers in most statistics, the Wichita State Shockers have been sitting at the bottom of the AAC standings most of the year and are 13-10 with a 3-7 AAC record heading into Wednesday’s UTSA matchup. In the second year under Paul Mills, WSU has found a little footing in the past week, coming off two consecutive road victories at Charlotte (66-58) on Tuesday and South Florida (75-70) on Sunday. This season, Wichita State is 8-4 at home overall and 1-3 in home AAC games.
A team willing to run, putting up 11.2 ppg on the fast break, the Shockers focus their efforts inside the arc, sitting dead last in the AAC with just 16.9 threes per game, making only 5.1 on a 30.1 percent team average from beyond the arc. From the field, the Shockers shoot 45.4 percent and average 74.5 ppg, but register the AAC’s fourth-best 37.7 rebounds per outing – pacing the league with 26.7 defensive boards per game.
Xavier Bell has risen to the top of the four WSU double-figure scorers, averaging 14.3 ppg, while Georgia transfer Justin Hill is at 13.3 ppg – the pair combine for the bulk of WSU’s threes with 23 and 26, respectively, in addition to 25 steals apiece. Saint Peter’s transfer Corey Washington also averages 13.3 ppg, along with 7.5 rpg and 24 steals on the year. Quincy Ballard paces the squad with an AAC second-best 8.9 rpg, an AAC-high 1.86 blocks per game, while chipping in 10.6 ppg.
Up Next
UTSA remains on the road to extend the current road swing into the central Midwest, taking on Tulsa on Saturday afternoon at the Reynolds Center. Next time at home for the Roadrunners is Wednesday, Feb. 19 against South Florida at the Convocation Center.
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