Wichita State handles Austin Peay at Koch Arena. Here are 3 key takeaways
The most unusual number on Wichita State’s box score Saturday night was the zero next to Kenyon Giles’ name.
The Shockers’ leading scorer was held without a point for the first time in more than three years, but it hardly mattered in a 76-60 victory over Austin Peay at Koch Arena.
Dillon Battie delivered a career-high 27 points and 11 rebounds, Jordan Frison orchestrated the offense with nine assists and WSU found enough production elsewhere to overcome Giles’ rare scoring drought.
The victory improved Wichita State to 3-1 and extended its home winning streak to seven games.
Now comes the Shockers’ first true road test, a Wednesday trip to Loyola Chicago for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Here are three takeaways from Saturday’s performance.
1. Austin Peay shut down Kenyon Giles. Wichita State made it pay
Austin Peay was willing to let just about anyone beat it Saturday night, as long as that someone wasn’t Kenyon Giles.
At least, that’s how the Governors’ defensive strategy appeared.
They swarmed the 5-foot-10 guard with two defenders seemingly every time he touched the basketball, determined to force the ball out of his hands before he could find room to operate.
The approach produced a remarkable result: Giles finished scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in 32 minutes, including a pair of air balls.
It was his first game without a point since March 21, 2023, when he was a true freshman at Radford. It also snapped his streak of 21 consecutive games with a made 3-pointer, which ranked among the longest in WSU history.
But the Governors paid a price for their obsession with Giles.
Every additional defender sent his direction created an opportunity somewhere else. Instead of forcing shots through Giles, the Shockers increasingly exploited the advantages his defensive attention created.
Frison was particularly effective at recognizing those openings. The senior point guard finished with nine assists in 19 minutes, setting up four different teammates for 3-pointers and repeatedly finding the right pass when Austin Peay’s defense was compromised.
WSU finished with 19 assists on 29 made baskets and had four players score at least nine points.
That’s a meaningful development for a team that relied heavily on Giles last season, when he averaged 19.1 points and made a school-record 125 3-pointers.
The threat of Giles remains central to WSU’s offense. Saturday demonstrated that his scoring doesn’t necessarily have to be.
2. Dillon Battie shows just how dangerous he can be
With Austin Peay determined to make someone other than Giles beat it, Dillon Battie had an emphatic response.
The 6-foot-9 junior delivered the best scoring performance of his college career, pouring in 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers, while adding 11 rebounds for a double-double.
But it wasn’t just the production that made Battie’s performance impressive. It was the variety.
He scored WSU’s first four points with a pair of layups, including a finish in transition. He attacked the rim, knocked down a 3-pointer, converted second-chance opportunities and supplied one of the game’s highlights with a soaring alley-oop dunk off a pass from Jahari Long late in the first half.
His rebounding was equally important. Battie collected eight defensive boards and three offensive rebounds, giving WSU an athletic presence around the basket on a night when it didn’t dominate the glass as thoroughly as usual.
For a player who averaged 7.6 points last season, Saturday was another illustration of his growing offensive responsibilities.
And Battie wasn’t the only WSU big man displaying a more diverse skill set.
William Berg returned after sitting out Wednesday’s win over Friends and scored 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting with nine rebounds.
His most memorable basket came with 15:06 remaining, when the 7-foot-2 center camped out in the corner and buried the first 3-pointer of his college career off a pass from Frison.
Those are the kinds of developments that could make WSU considerably more difficult to defend.
Giles will undoubtedly have better scoring nights. But the more production WSU can generate from Battie, Berg and its other offensive options, the harder it becomes for opponents to devote their entire defensive game plan to stopping one player.
3. WSU’s veterans prevail, but ball security remains a concern
Saturday’s matchup featured perhaps the most extreme experience disparity in college basketball.
Wichita State entered with the nation’s third-most experienced roster, according to CBB Analytics, while Austin Peay brought the youngest team in Division I to Koch Arena, featuring eight true freshmen among its 12 players.
Yet the Shockers didn’t always look like the more seasoned team.
They trailed 17-16 with 7:21 remaining in the first half before taking a 34-27 lead into halftime.
WSU finally asserted control after the break, outscoring Austin Peay 26-11 over the opening 10-plus minutes of the second half to build a 60-38 advantage.
The Shockers were especially effective defensively, holding the Governors to 31.7% shooting and just 3-of-19 accuracy from beyond the arc.
Austin Peay’s preseason conference player of the year, Rashaud Marshall, managed only three points on 0-of-5 shooting. Zyree Collins scored 24 points, but needed 20 field goal attempts to get there.
Still, one number should concern Paul Mills: 15 turnovers.
After committing 20 against USC, WSU again struggled with ball security against an aggressive defense. Even Frison, for all his playmaking brilliance, committed four turnovers.
The Shockers briefly allowed Austin Peay to trim a 22-point deficit to 14 midway through the second half, with several turnovers helping fuel the Governors’ comeback attempt.
On a positive note, WSU extended its remarkable streak of games with at least 10 offensive rebounds to 34, but it took until the final minute to secure the 10th and keep the nation’s longest active streak alive.
Wichita State had enough experience, size and offensive options to overcome its mistakes against Austin Peay.
But with the first road game approaching Wednesday, protecting the basketball remains an important test for a team hoping to establish itself among the American Conference’s best.
This story was originally published November 14, 2026 at 8:05 PM with the headline "Wichita State handles Austin Peay at Koch Arena. Here are 3 key takeaways."
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