Abilene Christian @ Wichita St. preview

Wichita State will take the court as a Top 25 team for the first time since the end of the 2017-18 season when the 25th-ranked Shockers host Abilene Christian on Sunday. The Shockers moved into the spot by taking down their predecessor, then-No. 25 VCU, with an impressive 73-63 victory Dec. 21 for their 10th consecutive win at home.

Shockers coach Gregg Marshall called on his team to play an angrier style of basketball and they did just that during their win over VCU as they outscored the Rams 12-0 in points off turnovers and won the paint battle 24-10 during the game’s first 20 minutes. “The emphasis was for us to be the tougher team,” Shockers guard Jamarius Burton told reporters after his 10-point, eight-rebound performance. “We didn’t want them to come in our building and out-tough us, so we just went out there today and tried to play tougher than them.” Center Jaime Echenique, Wichita State's only senior, had a massive impact in a limited role against the Rams as he scored 12 of his team-high 14 points before halftime and finished with six rebounds and three blocks in 15 minutes. Abilene Christian has won five games in a row after a 2-5 start and most recently opened its Southland Conference schedule with a 77-71 road victory over preseason favorite New Orleans and a 79-61 home win against Nicholls.

TV: 3 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT ABILENE CHRISTIAN (7-5): The Wildcats are forcing the third-most turnovers per game in the country entering Saturday at 20.8 while their opponents are turning it over 7.8 more times than them per game - a margin that ranks first nationally. Senior guard Payten Ricks, who is averaging a team-best 13.6 points, was 2-for-11 from the floor in the win over Nicholls and finished with 12 points, five steals and four assists. Center Kolton Kohl finished with a career-best 22 points and game-high eight rebounds against Nicholls while sophomore Damien Daniels had four points and a game-high six assists.

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (10-1): Freshman Grant Sherfield matched Echenique with 14 points against VCU while fellow rookie Tyson Etienne went 2-for-5 from 3-point range and has made a team-best 28 triples this season on 45.2 percent shooting. Sophomore guard Erik Stevenson leads the team with 13.2 points per game and although he was held to eight points on 2-of-9 shooting against the Rams, he chipped in with a career-high five steals. Junior transfer Trey Wade has started all 11 games in his first season with the Shockers and is averaging a team-best 7.4 rebounds while his 24.6 minutes are second on the team to Stevenson (28.2).

TIP-INS

1. Wichita State is 55-10 in December games this decade - the fourth-most wins in the month behind No. 3 Duke, third-ranked Kansas and No. 5 Arizona.

2. The Shockers were ranked 26th nationally with a 1.33 assist-turnover ratio while the Wildcats 1.26 ratio has them ranked 32nd.

3. Wichita State is 5-0 all-time against Abilene Christian and is 17-2 against current members of the Southland Conference – including a 95-69 victory against Central Arkansas on Dec. 5.

PREDICTION: Wichita State 84, Abilene Christian 61