Wichita St. @ Southern Methodist preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 3, 2019 ) Wichita St. 67, Southern Methodist 55

Wichita State will look to remain on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble when it travels to Southern Methodist on Sunday with a possible bye in the American Athletic Conference tournament at stake. The Shockers will face a tall task as the Mustangs have lost just once at Moody Coliseum all season and are undefeated there in conference play.

The Shockers narrowly avoided being swept by Temple on Thursday in a game that could have doomed its chances at making the big dance, but now the first loss against the Owls represents their only bad defeat on the season. "It showed us that we can make plays down the stretch, as well," Shockers sophomore guard Jamarius Burton said after the game. "We've been in several ball games where we didn't make the plays that we needed to win the game. Today just shows that we can be in a tough game like this and come out with a better outcome." The Mustangs have thrived on their strong offense this season, leading the conference with 74.4 points per game and a 45.4 field goal percentage, but has mustered just 57 and 58 points, respectively, in its last two games. The Shockers are likely to be able to stand up to that offense as they boast a 38.9 field goal percentage defense that ranks third in the AAC and 22nd in the country, and have held 20 of 28 opponents below 40 percent shooting.

TIME: 4 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (21-7, 9-6 AAC): Leading scorer Erik Stevenson has lost 2.5 points off his season scoring average since the start of conference play, thanks in part to scoring single-digits in 10 of the 15 contests. Junior Trey Wade, who hadn’t scored more than 11 points since November, was inserted back in the starting lineup against Temple and responded by dropping a career-high 21 points on 89 percent field goal shooting. Senior center Jaime Echenique has produced back to back double-doubles, averaging 12 points and 12.5 rebounds in that span and has reached double figures in the last four games.

ABOUT SOUTHERN METHODIST (19-8, 9-6): In addition to leading the team with 15 points per game, sophomore guard Kendric Davis leads the AAC with 6.9 assists per game, seventh-best in the nation. Junior Tyson Jolly is averaging 16.8 points in his last four games and has shot over 90 percent from the free-throw line in that span, well above his season average of 78.8 percent. Sophomore forward Feron Hunt has struggled the last three games, failing to score five points, including a scoreless effort against Tulane, making just two shots in that time.

BUZZER-BEATERS

1. Wichita State has won three of the four meetings as AAC opponents.

2. SMU is 12-0 when holding opponents below 40 percent field goal shooting.

3. Shockers freshman point guard Grant Sherfield, who averages 7.8 points, did not play against Temple due to a coaching decision and his status remains up in the air.

PREDICTION: SMU 77, Wichita State 73