WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State travels north to Quebec, Canada on Friday to begin a four-game international exhibition tour. They'll face three area university teams before finishing out the trip against an all-star squad Canadian professionals.
 
Games begins Saturday, Aug. 6 with a Noon Central Time tip against the University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM). WSU makes a day trip to Ottawa to face national powerhouse Carleton University on Aug. 7 (2 p.m. CT), then returns to Montreal to take on McGill University on Aug. 9 (8 p.m. CT) and the IndiSports All-Stars on Aug. 10 (3 p.m. CT).
 
Outside of basketball, the Shockers will enjoy an MLS soccer game, white water rafting, jet boating, and the many sights and sounds of Montreal.
 
Fans can follow the action all week long on GoShockers.com and via social media.
 
Shocker Radio from Canada
Catch play-by-play of all four exhibitions on KEYN 103.7 FM in Wichita or online at GoShockers.com. Mike Kennedy, now in his 37^th year as Voice of the Shockers, and analyst Bob Hull will call the action and host a 30-minute pregame show prior to each contest.
 
WSU Abroad
This is the Shockers' sixth international exhibition tour since 1980, when Gene Smithson led an eventual Elite Eight squad on a summer tour of Yugoslavia. In December of 1984, WSU played two regular season games in Japan at the Suntory Ball. The 1995 team hit Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia during a 17-day exhibition trip. Mark Turgeon's final Shocker team went 3-0 on a Labor Day weekend venture to Vancouver in 2006, and most recently Gregg Marshall led a 10-day tour through Brazil in the summer of 2011.
 
About the Shockers
* Since the start of the 2010-11 season, no other Division I college basketball program has won at a higher rate than Wichita State. The Shockers' .823 winning percentage over the past six seasons leads the nation (177-38).
* That stretch includes a National Invitational Tournament (NIT) title in 2011, a Final Four run in 2013, a historic 35-0 start to the 2014 season, a trip to the 2015 Sweet 16, and two more NCAA Tournament wins in 2016.
* WSU has won three-straight and four of the last five Missouri Valley Conference regular season titles and has qualified for each of the past five NCAA Tournaments.
*Head coach Gregg Marshall begins his 10^th year at WSU and recently became the school's career victories leader (230). Heading into his 19^th season overall, the 2014 consensus National Coach of the Year owns a career record of 424-168.
 
Some Extra Pre-Seasoning:
*This year's international tour – and the 10 additional summer practice sessions leading up to it – will play an important part in getting a young group of Shockers up to speed.
*The 2016-17 squad includes six newcomers, and 10 of the 17 players listed on the roster have been in the program for a season or less.
*Junior big men Rashard Kelly, Zach Brown, Rauno Nurger and Shaquille Morris are the only scholarship players with more than two full years in Gregg Marshall's system.
*Walk-ons John Robert Simon and Zach Bush are the program's only seniors. Bush is the last remaining link to the 2013 Final Four team.
 
Basketball in Canada
*Three of WSU's four opponents on the tour are university teams competing in Canada's equivalent of the NCAA – Canadian Interuniversity Sport (or CIS).
*There are 55 total CIS schools in Canada, though only 47 currently sponsor men's basketball. Schools are divided into four regional associations (sometimes referred to as conferences). Carleton is a member of the OUA (Ontario) and competes in the North Division, while UQAM and McGill are grouped with a handful of other Quebec-based schools in the RSEQ.
*Canadian university teams have more than held their own against NCAA Division I teams over the years, with 21 wins over the past three summers.
*Canadian teams play under FIBA rules, with 24-second shot clocks and generally faster, more physical play (a big advantage in summer exhibitions).
*Players have five years of eligibility instead of four.
*In season, there are no weekly restrictions on practice time for Canadian programs, compared to the U.S., where NCAA teams face a 20-hour cap on athletic-related activities while school is in session.
*While Canadian coaches aren't allowed full team practices during the off-season, they can work with individuals on an unlimited basis. For that reason, the teams are typically well-prepared heading into their summer exhibition games. NCAA coaches have gained more liberties in recent years but are still capped on the amount of time that they can spend with their athletes on skill development.
*CIS schools can offer only partial athletic scholarships, although cost of attendance is generally much lower.
*Simon Frasier is the only Canadian school in the NCAA and competes at the Division II level
*Canadian national champions are determined through a scaled-down version of March Madness. An eight-team bracket is made up six automatic qualifiers (split up among the four conferences, based on size), one host school, and one at-large selection. All games are played at a single venue over a period of four days.
 

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SHOCKER TOUR OPPONENTS:

UQAM Citadins
Saturday, Aug. 6 – Noon CT/1 p.m. ET
Montreal, Quebec / UQAM Sports Centre
 
While not a traditionally strong program, UQAM basketball appears to be on the rise under second-year head coach Nate Philippe who posted a 19-17 record in his debut season after inheriting a squad that had won just 11 games in the two previous years combined. Most of the key contributors from UQAM's 2015-16 squad, including a talented backcourt trio, are scheduled to return. Fourth-year small forward Kewyn Blain -- the school's first-ever All-Canadian selection -- averaged 17.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.7 steals in 2015-16 on his way to conference player of the year honors.
 
CARLETON Ravens
Sunday, Aug. 7 – 2 p.m. CT/3 p.m. ET
Ottawa, Ontario / Ravens' Nest
 
Carleton University's men's basketball dynasty draws frequent comparisons to UCLA's run of success under John Wooden in the 1960s and 70s. The Ravens are six-time defending national champions and have won 12 of the last 14 CIS titles (2003-07, 09, 11-16). The architect is seven-time national coach of the year, Dave Smart, who also serves as assistant with the Canadian Senior National Team. Since 2002-03, Carleton has won over 94 percent of its games against fellow-CIS schools (448-26, .945). That success has also translated well to summer exhibitions. Carleton owns 23 wins and has played near .500 basketball against NCAA Division I teams on its home soil. Since 2012, the Ravens are 17-10 against D-I's in Canada, with a long list of high-profile victims including Wisconsin (2013), Memphis (twice in 2014) and Baylor (2015).
 
MCGILL Redmen
Tuesday, Aug. 9 – 8 p.m. CT/9 p.m. ET
Montreal, Quebec / G. Donald Love Competition Hall
 
Sometimes referred to as "the Harvard of Canada," McGill University's downtown Montreal campus is regarded as one of the most beautiful in the world with Mount Royal serving as a backdrop. McGill men's basketball has been the class of the RSEQ in recent years, winning four-consecutive regular season titles and three of the last four RSEQ Tournaments. McGill ranked as high as third nationally during the 2015-16 season and finished seventh in the final top-10 poll. Being the "Harvard of Canada" means a roster full of smart kids who make heady plays. The prototypical Redmen team goes 11 to 12 players deep, and all of them compete hard.
 
INDISPORTS ALL-STARS
Wednesday, Aug. 10 – 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET
Montreal, Quebec / College Jean-de-Brebeuf
 
While less cohesive than WSU's three university foes, the Shockers will face a major physical challenge against the IndiSports All-Stars. The roster contains a mixture of Canadian pros who are currently playing overseas or in NBL Canada.
 

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RECENT SUMMER RESULTS
CIS vs. NCAA Division I

2016: WSU is one of 10 D-I's heading north in 2016. Florida A&M, Fairleigh Dickinson, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Stetson are also scheduled to make appearances in Quebec.
 
2015: Last summer CIS schools picked up three wins in 14 games against NCAA Division I programs. The NCAA's most successful rep was Texas Tech, which went 4-0 with wins over Carleton, Ottawa and McGill (three teams that eventually qualified for the CIS Final 8).
*Carleton def. Valparaiso and Baylor,
*Ottawa def. Murray State.
 
2014: CIS schools went 8-26 against NCAA Division I's.
* Ottawa def. Indiana, Vermont, and Illinois-Chicago
* Carleton def. Vermont, Illinois-Chicago and Memphis (twice) 
* Windsor def. IPFW
 
2013: CIS schools went 10-27 against NCAA Division I's, with Carleton grabbing a marquee win over a Wisconsin team that would go on to play in the next two Final Fours.
* Carleton def. Towson, TCU and Wisconsin 
* Alberta def. Little Rock and Arkansas State 
* Windsor def. The Citadel (twice) 
* Ottawa def. TCU
* Calgary def. Little Rock 
* McGill def. Siena