Good morning, Shocker Nation! Wichita State WBB hosts Charlotte for a crucial conference matchup tomorrow (Saturday, March 1), at 2 p.m. CT, as the Shockers look to jump the 49ers in the AAC standings. A Shocker win would even the regular season head-to-head results, sending the tiebreaker to each team's record vs. teams high in the conference standings.

Wichita State currently holds the advantage with its win over Rice (No. 8) as opposed to Charlotte's win over Memphis (No. 10). Both teams have one more game after Saturday, which will determine the final tournament seeding.

What else are we mixing into today’s edition of the Shocker Brew? Find out below!

🏀 Xavier Bell joins this weeks Roundhouse Podcast
🥎 Opening weekend at Shocker Invitational
🌾 ​ And much, much more!

🌾 ONE BIG THING

Ain’t No Pep Talks Like a Paul Mills Pep Talk. We’ll be over here, watching this on a loop.

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 The Bell Tolls For Thee. Wichita State guard Xavier Bell—who earned AAC Player of the Week honor on Monday—joins the podcast to talk about what's going right for him and the Shockers. We discuss the change in pace that's helped the offense, why Bijan Cortes is boosting that area with his role as a connector and Ronnie DeGray III’s contributions to defense with his hard-nosed play.

Bell also tells us what it means to play at home and follow in the path of former Shockers such as Xavier McDaniel (his namesake), Aubrey Sherrod, Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and others.

👂🏼 : LISTEN HERE

🔼 Friday Night Re-Do. Wichita State dropped its 2025 home opener to the No. 16/15 Oklahoma State Cowgirls 11-2 in five innings on Thursday evening at Wilkins Stadium.
 
After Wichita State starter Alex Aguilar got the first two batters out on four pitches in the top of the first inning, the Cowgirls jumped on the Shocker arm, recording four hits with two outs to score three runs and take an early 3-0 lead.

The Shockers face the Missouri Tigers tonight at 5:30 PM at Wilkins Stadium.

🔼 It’s On Like Donkey Kong. Wichita State track and field heads to Birmingham, Ala. for the AAC Indoor Championships today (Feb. 28) and tomorrow (March 1) at the Birmingham CrossPlex. Competition will run from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and 9:15 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. on Saturday.
 
The Wichita State men seek to knock of the projected favorite, South Florida, to win their first-ever AAC indoor team title. The Shocker women continue to battle for higher team finishes as both Wichita State teams finished fifth at the indoor championships a season ago.

🔼 Turnovers Proved Costly. Wichita State MBB saw its six-game win streak come to a halt Thursday night in an 80-72 loss to the second-place UAB Blazers in Charles Koch Arena.

UAB came into the game ranked near the very bottom in the nation forcing turnovers, but its trapping defense had the Shockers uncomfortable. Twelve of Wichita State's (17-11, 7-8) 17 turnovers came in the second half. UAB scored 26 points off those 16 Shocker miscues.

Corey Washington recorded his eighth double-double behind a season-high 24 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.

🤔 SHOCKER TRIVIA

FBF (Flashback Friday) For This TBT (The Basketball Tournament). We recently announced that Wichita will serve as one of the regional locations for the 2025 The Basketball Tournament (TBT). How many years has Wichita hosted a TBT regional?

Think you got it? Scroll down to see if you know your stuff!

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📆 LOOKING AHEAD

*All times CST

Friday, Feb. 28
👟 Track & Field @ AAC Indoor Qualifier
⚾️ Baseball vs. Cal State Fullerton @ 3 p.m. | Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
🥎 Softball vs. Missouri - Shocker Invitational @ 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Shocker Invitational Tournament Central

Saturday, March 1
👟 Track & Field @ AAC Indoor Qualifier
🥎 Softball vs. South Dakota State - Shocker Invitational @ 12:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Shocker Invitational Tournament Central
🎾 Women’s Tennis @ Abilene Christian @ 12 p.m.
⚾️ Baseball vs. Cal State Fullerton @ 2 p.m. | Listen | Live Stats | Tickets
🏀 Women’s Basketball vs. Charlotte @ 2 p.m. | Live Audio | Live Stats | Tickets
🥎 Softball vs. Nebraska - Shocker Invitational @ 5:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Shocker Invitational Tournament Central

Sunday, March 2
⛳️ Women’s Golf @ MountainView Intercollegiate in Tucson, Arizona - Spring Schedule
NEW TIME! ⚾️ Baseball vs. Cal State Fullerton @ 12 p.m. | Listen |Live Stats | Tickets
🥎 Softball vs. South Dakota State - Shocker Invitational @ 2:30 p.m. | Live Stats | Shocker Invitational Tournament Central

🌾 Click here to see the full Wichita State Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Five!

This summer will be the sixth year Wichita has hosted a TBT regional, continuing its reign as the longest running location in TBT's 11-year history. The 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event will be played at Charles Koch Arena, July 18-23.

🌾 It’s Fri-YAY, Shocker Nation!