The NCAA basketball tournament starts Thursday in Indianapolis with No. 11 seed Drake (25-4) vs. No. 11 seed Wichita State (16-5).
Showtime is 4:27 p.m. Channel: TBS.
BOTTOM LINE: Drake and Wichita State are set to collide in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament. Wichita State lost 60-59 to Cincinnati on Saturday, while Drake fell 75-65 against Loyola of Chicago on March 3.
STEPPING UP: Tyson Etienne has averaged 17 points to lead the charge for the Shockers. Alterique Gilbert is also a primary facilitator, accounting for 10.3 points and 4.1 assists per game. The Bulldogs have been led by Tremell Murphy, who is averaging 10.2 points and 5.2 rebounds.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Gilbert has either made or assisted on 41 percent of all Wichita State field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has 22 field goals and 28 assists in those games.
SCORING THRESHOLDS: Wichita State is 15-0 when scoring at least 68 points and 1-5 when falling shy of that total. Drake is 24-0 when it puts up 68 or more points and 1-4 on the year, otherwise.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Shockers are 15-0 when they score at least 68 points and 1-5 when they fall shy of that total. The Bulldogs are 24-0 when they score at least 68 points and 1-4 on the year when falling short of 68.
DID YOU KNOW: Wichita State has made 8.3 3-pointers per game as a team this year, which is second-best among AAC teams. The Shockers have averaged 10.6 3-pointers per game over their last five games.
