Shocker basketball extends streak, captures No. 2 seed with FAU senior-day win
Wichita State gave its seniors a senior day to remember and kept its late-season surge rolling with an emphatic 88-70 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday afternoon at Koch Arena.
In front of another energized home crowd, the Shockers honored Kenyon Giles, Emmanuel Okorafor and Karon Boyd before the game, then watched all three play central roles in finishing off the regular season in style.
Wichita State closed the regular season at 21-10 overall and 13-5 in the American, locking up the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament and a triple bye into the semifinals in Birmingham. Giles led the way with 17 points and four steals, Okorafor added a career-high 16 points with six rebounds and Boyd chipped in 12 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Shockers slammed the door with a dominant defensive finish, holding FAU without a field goal over the final 11:46 and closing the game on a 28-9 run.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Wichita State locks up No. 2 seed in American Conference tournament
Wichita State’s reward for its late-season surge is the No. 2 seed in the American Conference tournament and a direct path to the semifinals. With the top-two seed, the Shockers earned a triple bye and won’t play until 4 p.m. Saturday at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
That puts Wichita State just two wins away from its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2021.
The Shockers closed the regular season at 21-10 and head into postseason play as one of the hottest teams in the league, riding a six-game winning streak and having won 11 of their last 13 games. WSU’s semifinal opponent will come from the other side of the bracket, with No. 3 seed Tulsa looking like the most likely matchup if the higher seeds hold. The other possibilities are whichever teams land in the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 10 spots once the regular season fully wraps up.
The Shockers will be looking for their first conference tournament championship since 2017 when they swept the Missouri Valley regular-season and tournament crowns in their final year in the conference.
2. Dillon Battie steals the show on senior day
It may have been senior day at Koch Arena, but sophomore Dillon Battie made sure the spotlight found him. In the best game of his young career, the 6-foot-9 forward from Dallas delivered a career-high 22 points on 9-of-10 shooting to go with 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals in a performance that showed just how much his game has evolved this season.
Battie was a picture of patience and poise around the basket. Rather than forcing shots, he played under control, methodically backing down defenders, staying balanced on two feet and using a series of shot fakes to create clean looks at the rim.
His growth was never more evident than midway through the second half, when WSU fed him in the post after an offensive rebound. Battie calmly sized up the mismatch, backed his man down, pump faked and finished for an easy bucket that pushed the lead to 67-61 and forced FAU into a timeout.
That basket came during a decisive 11-0 surge that turned a one-point deficit into a 71-61 lead.
But the highlight of Battie’s day — and arguably the game — came in transition, when he caught a pass ahead on the fast break and brought the Roundhouse to its feet with a windmill dunk that fittingly gave him a career high.
3. Shockers’ rebounding trumps Owls’ hot shooting in first half
FAU star Kanaan Carlyle delivered one of the best individual halves by a WSU opponent this season, erupting for 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. And it wasn’t as if the Shockers were letting him waltz into clean looks, either. Carlyle was simply on another level, drilling a series of difficult jumpers despite strong contests and helping the Owls shoot a blistering 55% from the field before halftime.
But Wichita State had an answer, and it came from the formula that has carried the Shockers all season. Even while FAU was scorching the nets, WSU kept itself in control by pounding the offensive glass and cashing in on extra chances. The Shockers posted a 40% offensive rebounding rate in the first half and turned eight offensive rebounds into a commanding 14-2 edge in second-chance points.
That work was fueled in large part by Battie, who had 13 points and five rebounds by halftime, while T.J. Williams added eight points to help WSU take a 43-41 lead into the break.
This story was originally published March 7, 2026 at 5:02 PM.
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