Wichita St. @ East Carolina preview

After dominating the Missouri Valley Conference for most of the past decade, Wichita State made the move to the American Athletic Conference this season. And it hasn't taken long for the fifth-ranked Shockers, who begin a two-game road trip on Thursday night at East Carolina, to make a strong impression.

The Shockers, who are tied for first place with 13th-ranked Cincinnati, have hit the ground running in conference play, opening with a 10-point victory at Connecticut (72-62) and then cruising to easy home wins over Houston (81-63) and South Florida (95-57). During the AAC's coaches' conference call on Monday, USF coach Brian Gregory said Wichita State is "as good of a team as there probably is in the country" while Houston coach Kelvin Sampson added, "Wichita State completely changes the dynamic of this league. This is their year." East Carolina, meanwhile, begins a three-game homestand that also includes a Sunday date with Houston. "Now we are going to see the elite amongst the elite in Wichita State and Houston this upcoming week," Pirates coach Michael Perry said.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (13-2, 3-0 AAC): The Shockers lead The American in scoring offense (85.1 points per game), field goal percentage (49.0), rebounding margin (plus-10.5), assists (18.6), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and 3-pointers (9.8). Sophomore guard Landry Shamet leads the team in scoring (16.1) and assists (4.7), has connected on 39-of-74 3-pointers (52.7 percent) and is considered a potential first round NBA pick. Shaquille Morris, a 6-8, 279-pound senior, is second in scoring (12.2) and leads the team in blocks (29) while senior Darral Willis Jr. is also averaging in double figures (11.6) .

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (7-8, 1-3): Perry was elevated to interim head coach when Jeff Lebo resigned on Nov. 29 after a 2-4 start and has piloted the Pirates to a 5-4 record since including a 67-65 victory at South Florida on Jan. 3 for their only conference win. ECU leads the AAC in 3-point field goal defense (30.5 percent) and is led offensively by senior guard B.J. Tyson who leads the team in scoring (15.7) for the third time in four seasons. Isaac Fleming, a senior transfer from Hawaii, is second in scoring (12.7) while averaging a team leading 4.8 assists while junior swingman Kentrell Barkley also is averaging double digits (12.4) and is second on the team in rebounding (6.4) behind 6-10 senior forward Jabari Craig (6.9).

TIP-INS

1. Wichita State's nine-game road winning streak is the longest in the nation, and the Shockers own the most road wins (44-6) and highest road winning percentage (88.0 percent) in Division I since the start of the 2013-14 season.

2. The Shockers leads the AAC and rank 14th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (41.3) and have made at least 12 3-pointers in all three of their conference games.

3. Tyson needs 105 points to pass former SMU guard Nic Moore (1,462 points) to become the leading scorer in American Athletic Conference history.

PREDICTION: Wichita State 85, East Carolina 73