Keys to win, how to watch and bet Wichita State basketball game vs. Central Arkansas

The 2022-23 college basketball season officially tips off on Monday, as the Wichita State Shockers men’s basketball team plays host to the Central Arkansas Bears in a 7 p.m. game at Koch Arena streaming on ESPN+.

Here are the three keys to a win for WSU followed by other information, including the betting line and odds for the matchup.

Key No. 1: Transition defense

Central Arkansas had the 16th-highest transition rate in the country last season, per Synergy, with the fast break making up more than a fifth of its total possessions. Head coach Anthony Boone has told the media he wants his team to run just as much this season.

The problem? The Bears were one of the worst teams in transition last season. Per Synergy, the Bears ranked No. 348 out of 350 teams tracked in points per possession (0.90) in transition last season.

Still, UCA’s need for speed should pose a good opening-night challenge for a WSU team acclimating so many newcomers to its team. UCA hasn’t proven capable of capitalizing on every mistake in transition, which is good for WSU’s brand-new lineups that will surely have growing pains matching up in transition, and the Bears will push enough times to force the Shockers to communicate, track back quickly and match up in transition — all valuable skills to work on early in the season.

Camren Hunter, a 6-3 sophomore guard, is liable to pull down a rebound and attack the rim before the defense can get set, while Masai Olowokere, a 6-5 junior wing, is a role player who is particularly effective running the floor.

WSU should try to limit its live-ball turnovers and refrain from chasing fruitless opportunities for an offensive rebound to prevent UCA from doing damage with its fast breaks.

Key No. 2: Defending post-ups

Central Arkansas is a rare team that still prefers trying to score through the post-up, but Boone has made the Bears so effective in the old-school play because he has embraced a new-school style of posting up his guards.

The guard to watch on Monday will be Camren Hunter, who averaged 14.1 points and was the ASUN’s Freshman of the Year last season. The 6-3 guard was deadly against other guards, scoring 1.22 points per possession on 46 post-up attempts last season, per Synergy.

WSU’s Craig Porter has displayed the defensive chops to probably dissuade Hunter from trying to post him up, but WSU junior Xavier Bell will have to be weary when Hunter passes to the wing and cuts through — he loves to stop his cut, pin the defender on his hip and use his left hand to score.

WSU will also have to worry about the matchup with Eddy Kayouloud, a 6-foot-7, 230-pound stretch center who burned the Shockers for 23 points in their 2019 meeting at Koch Arena.

Kayouloud can score with either hand and pumped in 1.31 points per possession on 59 post-up attempts last season, which ranked No. 2 in the country with at least that amount of attempts, per Synergy. He can also make defenses pay for leaving him outside, as he has drilled 35% of his three-pointers the last two seasons.

WSU’s three-man rotation of Kenny Pohto (6-11), James Rojas (6-6) and Quincy Ballard (7-0) will almost always have the height advantage, but it will be interesting to see how each of the three try to defend a versatile big man like Kayouloud.

Key No. 3: Pound the glass and attack the basket

Because Central Arkansas prefers to play a smaller lineup with five players who can shoot three-pointers, it offers almost no rim protection in its lineups.

Per Hoop-Math.com, UCA gave up the 11th-most shots at the rim in the country and ranked No. 336 in the country (opponents shot 64.7%) on those attempts at the rim.

The message to WSU guards should be clear: attack the rim without fear.

The lack of size is also the source of UCA’s rebounding problems, as the Bears were well below the national average in defensive rebounding percentage and were routinely hurt on offensive rebound putbacks. That means high-motor players like Gus Okafor and Jaykwon Walton could feast on the glass and give WSU plenty of second-chance opportunities.

Synergy also shows UCA’s pick-and-roll defense was one of the worst in the country last season, allowing the fourth-most points per possession for ball handlers and the most points per possession for rollers.

For an offense that almost primarily runs the pick-and-roll, the matchup is a tantalizing one for WSU. Porter has been described as a ball-screen maestro this offseason by WSU coaches and should have a chance to showcase his skills against a lacking UCA defense.

But if WSU’s guards aren’t decisive, then UCA’s switch-everything coverage scheme could present initial problems. But the Bears’ bigs were vulnerable against ASUN competition last season and their lack of communication and urgency switching allowed sharpshooters with the ball to bomb away freely from the perimeter.

Central Arkansas at Wichita State basketball game preview

Records (last year): UCA 11-20, WSU 15-13

When: 7 p.m. Monday

Where: Koch Arena, Wichita (10,506)

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM

KenPom says: WSU 85, UCA 65

Betting line: WSU -17.5

Series: 1-0 WSU (1-0 in Wichita)

Last meeting: 95-69 WSU win at Koch Arena on Dec. 5, 2019

Projected starting lineups

Central Arkansas Bears

Note: All statistics are from the 2021-22 season.

Coach: Anthony Boone, fourth season, 25-51

Wichita State Shockers

Note: All statistics are from the 2021-22 season. * designates statistics from a previous school.

Coach: Isaac Brown, third season, 31-19

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

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Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.