Wichita State Shockers (21-4, 12-2)
at
No. 17 Creighton Bluejays (21-4, 11-3)
4 p.m. (if the New Mexico State game runs long, catch the opening on espn3.com)
Sat., Feb. 11, 2012
CenturyLink Center (17,260)
Radio: KNSS 1330 - Mike Kennedy/Bob Hull
TV: ESPN2 - Mark Neely/Stephen Bardo (also seen on espn3.com)
Quickly... Wichita State travels to No. 17 Creighton in the second meeting between the two teams this season. WSU has already completed the MVC home-and-home series against Bradley, SIU, Evansville, Indiana State and UNI.
-WSU has six players who average between 8.8 and 14.3 points a game. Garrett Stutz is at the top of the list with 14.3 points a game after averaging 21.0 points over the last seven games.
-WSU is the winner of 11-of-12 and 19-of-21, including two eight-game win streaks this season. WSU's longest win streak under head coach Gregg Marshall was nine games during the 2009-10 season.
-WSU is 13-1 at home, with the only loss a MVC home game, 68-61, to Creighton on Dec. 31 in Wichita. A year ago, WSU lost four games in Charles Koch Arena. Nine times has WSU lost only one game at home, with the last time 2009-10. Prior to that it was 1987-88.
-WSU has a plus-15.0 point margin of victory (7th in NCAA on Feb. 10) and a plus-6.2 rebound margin (24th in NCAA on Feb. 10). Scoring offense of 77.9 points a game is 22nd.
- WSU has played only eight true road games (7-1: 1-non-con/7-MVC). Its only true non-conference road game was at Tulsa Dec. 7, where it won, 77-67. WSU was 9-2 in true road games in 2010-11.
-Wichita State is 16-3 on the road since the beginning of 2010-11.
-Senior center Garrett Stutz sat out the SIU game Jan. 21 after playing through the pain Jan. 18 at UNI with a back injury, but scored 23, 27, 25, 24 and 10 points, respectively, since sitting out.
-This week WSU was 31st with 31 points in the AP poll and 38th with five points in the ESPN poll.
-WSU will close the regular season with two of five games at home,while the road schedule includes the Feb. 18 Bracketbuster at Davidson.
After Today... WSU plays host to Missouri State at 7 p.m., Wed., Feb. 15. The game can be seen on Kansas 22.
On 20 Win-Seasons... With the win against Indiana State, WSU reached a 20-win season for the 14th time in history, and the third-straight time. The Shockers set the school record with 29 wins a year ago. WSU has won 20 games in back-to-back seasons eight times, including three stretches of three-straight 20 win seasons. WSU last won at least 20 games for three-straight seasons from 2003-04 to 2005-06 with 21, 22 and 26, respectively.
Last Time Out...Senior Joe Ragland led Wichita State's hot shooting by pacing the Shockers with a game-high 19 points, including five three pointers, in an 82-57 win against UNI.
The Shockers shot 55.9 percent for the game (33-of-59) and a season-high 63.2 percent from three-point range (12-of-19) to pick up their Missouri Valley Conference-leading 12th league win of the season. Wichita State improved to 21-4 overall and 12-2 in Valley men's basketball play in front of a home crowd of 10,241.
David Kyles scored 16 points off the bench and went 4-for-4 from behind the three-point arc as Wichita State matched a season-high with 12 made treys. Garrett Stutz, the MVC Player of the Week, picked up his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Toure' Murry also finished with double-digit scoring (12 points) and Demetric Williams led all players with six assists Wednesday.
Stutz Earns POW... Garrett Stutz averaged 24.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in WSU's two wins last week, and for his effort was named the MVC Player-of-the-Week. His 24 points against Indiana State pushed him past the 1,000-point mark for his career, while his 15 rebounds against the Sycamores helped him to his eighth double-double of the year.
For the week, he shot 57 percent (17-30) from the field and 82.4 percent (14-17) from the line. At Missouri State, he had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and against Indiana State he had 24 points and 15 rebounds.
41 Becomes 41st...No. 41 Garrett Stutz became the 41st Shocker to reach 1,000 career points with his 24-point out-put against Indiana State on Saturday. With 10 points Wednesday, his 1,026 points now ranks 37th, while he needs two points to pass 36th and Bob Troegle's 1,028 from 1975-79.
Murry Does It all... Senior Toure Murry is on pace to reach the Top 10 in WSU career scoring, and is already there in games played, three-pointers, free throws made, assists and steals. He is currently 13th on the WSU scoring chart with 1,448 points, needing 97 to reach 10th and Greg Carney's 1,545 from 1967-70. He also ranks second in steals behind Jason Perez (222/1996-00) with 167, seventh in three-pointers with 132, fifth in assists with 396, ninth in free throws with 352, and fourth in games played with 131.
Stutz Doubles Up... Garrett Stutz picked up his ninth double-double of the season against Indiana State with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
WSU-UNI Series...Creighton leads the overall series, 53-43, which includes a 68-61 win on Dec. 31, 2011 in Wichita.
Last Meeting... The No. 21 Creighton Bluejays, led by 19 points from Antoine Young, defeated the Wichita State Shockers, 68-61, in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,506 fans at Charles Koch Arena on Dec. 31, 2011.
Carl Hall scored 17 points, and also pulled down a career-high 13 boards for the Shockers. Senior point guard Joe Ragland added 12 points for his eighth-straight double-figure game. David Kyles also chipped in 11 points for WSU.
Young was one of four Bluejays to score in double figures on Saturday night, with Gregory Echenique and Doug McDermott scoring 12 each, and Grant Gibbs tallying 11 points. McDermott, the second-leading scorer in the nation coming into the game at 24.8 ppg, added a team-high seven rebounds.
MVC Wildcard TV Weekend... The Missouri Valley Conference has selected the Drake at Wichita State men's basketball game at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 25, to complete the league's Wildcard Weekend on FOX Sports Midwest, FOX Sports Indiana, FOX Sports Kansas City, FOX College Sports, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and the ESPN family of networks.
Bracketbusting... Wichita State will travel to play Davidson College on Saturday, Feb. 18, at noon eastern time in Charlotte, North Carolina in the 10th annual Sears BracketBusters event, and the contest will be televised live on either ESPN or ESPN2.
The Shockers are one of 26 teams selected to be a part of the BracketBusters event on the ESPN family of networks. Drake, Creighton, Missouri State and Northern Iowa are the other Missouri Valley Conference schools to be selected for a televised game ESPNU's 2012 BracketBusters Selection Show.
Reaching 100...WSU Head Coach Gregg Marshall won his 100th game at WSU with the defeat of Evansville Jan. 25th. In five seasons as the Shockers head coach he has a record of 103-59. With the win, he became just the fourth coach in WSU history to win 100 games. He is currently fourth on the all-time wins list behind Mark Turgeon (128). Of the four coaches, he is the second-fastest behind Gene Smithson to 100.
2011-12 is Gregg Marshall's fifth season as the Shockers' head coach. He brought WSU from 11 wins in his first season, to a school-record 29 and an NIT championship last season. Marshall has a 296-142 career record and is 102-59 at WSU.
Reaching for 300... Gregg Marshall is three wins from 300 for his career, and carries a 297-142 career record and is 103-59 at WSU.
Ninth Double-Double... Garrett Stutz picked up seven of his nine double-doubles of the season during Valley play. At Bradley, he had 14 points and 10 rebounds, at Evansville he had a career-high 29 points and 10 rebounds and against Illinois State he had 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also had 16 points and 13 rebounds against the Braves in Wichita, 25 points and 10 rebounds at Missouri State, 24 points and 15 rebounds against Indiana State and 10 points and 12 boards against UNI. His non-conference double-doubles came against Colorado (14-11) and Temple (13-11).
Scoring, Margin and D Fence...WSU leads the Valley-only stats in scoring at 76.7, scoring margin at plus-12.9, allowing just 63.8 ppg and in field goal percentage defense at 40 percent.
Charity Stripe... In its last 10 games, WSU is 168-of-209 (80.0) from the free throw line. Murry has been clutch for the Shockers at the line, in his last 14 games, he knocked down 50-of-60 (83%) and is 26-for-31 (84%) in the last six.
On Stutz' Steppin' Out... The senior center has scored double-figures in 12 of the last 14 games he played, and has moved up to seventh in the Valley with his 14.3 ppg. He had a career-high 29 points in the win at Evansville. That effort eclipsed his previous career-high of 24 points in the NIT semi-final against Washington State.
Balanced Scoring...Six Shockers are scoring 8.8 points per game or more led by Stutz' 14.3. Ragland is running a close second behind him at 12.8 ppg. Murry (12.4), Carl Hall (9.2), David Kyles (9.0) and Ben Smith (8.8) are next. The six are helping the Shockers score 77.9 ppg, which is second behind Creighton in the MVC.
Balanced Rebounding...Led by Garrett Stutz' 8.2 rebounds a game, which is third in the Valley, and backed by Carl Hall's 5.5 a game, the majority of rebounding is also spread between the same group between 8.2 and 2.9 a game.
Balanced Minutes...Even the Shockers' minutes are balanced with seven players averaging between 28.8 minutes and 23.3 minutes a game.
Winning Percentage Climbing... Wichita State endured a six-game losing streak during the 2008-09 season, but finished 11-6 down the stretch. Overall since that streak, including this season's 21-4 start, head coach Gregg Marshall is 86-28 in his last 114 games for a 74 percent winning percentage.
Marshall Loves the 80s... Gregg Marshall is 79-4 in his career when his teams score 80 or more points, which includes a 25-1 record in the last four-plus seasons at WSU. He is also 15-0 when his teams have scored 90-plus points in his 14-plus seasons as a head coach. In 2010-11, WSU was 7-0 when scoring more than 80 points, and was 3-0 when scoring more than 90.
In 2011-12, he is 10-1 when scoring more than 80, 3-0 when scoring 90 or more, and 1-0 when scoring more than 100.
Stutz' Rebounding Up... Senior Garrett Stutz averaged 3.5 rebounds a year ago, but is grabbing the boards at a greater pace in 2011-12. Through 24 games he has played, he is averaging 8.2 boards a game. He had a career-high 15 against Indiana State in Wichita, and has had 10 double-figure rebounding games, including eight in Valley play.
Attack the Boards... Since Gregg Marshall arrived, WSU has out-rebounded 128-of 162 opponents, which includes all but three opponents in 2011-12. WSU carried a plus-8.4 rebound margin a year ago, which ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA all season. WSU is currently at plus 6.3 a game after out-boarding UNI which is 24th in the NCAA.
More Career Record Lists... Senior David Kyles ranks fifth with 147 career three pointers. In addition, senior Garrett Stutz ranks seventh in blocks with 94.
Ragland Tearing it Up... Joe Ragland, who scored a career-high 31 points against UNLV earlier this season, scored in double figures eight-straight games, but broke the streak with just six points at Evansville. He bounced back with 20 points at SIU. He now totals 17 double-figure scoring games this season, including eight of the last 10 games he's played.
Hall Heats Up December... Carl Hall has 12 double-figure scoring games, including a stretch that spanned the month of December where he scored seven-of-eight double-figure games and averaged 12.6 ppg. On Dec. 31, he also scored a team-high 17 points against No. 21 Creighton. He also had a career-high 13 rebounds. Against Bradley, he had 10 points and eight boards in only 19 minutes of play.
Triple OT... The three-overtime loss to Drake was just the fourth triple-overtime game in Shocker history. WSU has now played in two, three-overtime games in the past two seasons as it won against Indiana State, 93-83, on Jan. 22, 2011.
Valley Margins...The 43-point win over SIU was WSU's second-biggest in an MVC game. This season's team has accounted for three of WSU's top seven margins of victory in a MVC game. WSU's 39-point win at Bradley on Dec. 28 was the largest win margin on the road for the WSU.
Historic Numbers... In the first Valley game this season, WSU handed Bradley its worst home loss in 108 seasons of basketball and its worst loss in 60 MVC seasons. WSU defeated Bradley by the largest margin in the 126-game series and won by its largest margin in an MVC road game. WSU defeated Bradley by 39 in the first meeting and by 37 Jan. 13 in Wichita.
50-Point Wins... With the 94-44 win against Chicago State, Wichita State collected its eighth 50-plus win in history, and its fourth since 1980. WSU's largest margin of victory was March 6, 1907 when it defeated Sterling, 99-31, while its last 50-plus win was a 102-46 win (56) on Dec. 17, 2006. The 49-point win against Newman (102-53) ranks ninth in history.
Getting Votes...Wichita State received votes in the Dec. 12, Dec. 19 and 26, Jan. 16th and 23rd AP polls, and the Dec. 26, Jan. 9, Jan. 16 and Jan. 23rd ESPN/USA Today polls. In the Jan. 23 poll, WSU was 31st with 28 points in the AP poll and 39th with 29 points in the ESPN poll. This week, WSU was 31st with 31 points in the AP poll and 38th with five points in the ESPN poll.
On the 16th, WSU was 36th with three points in the AP poll and 34th with 13 points in the ESPN poll. On Dec. 12, WSU was 40th with one point. On Dec. 19, WSU was 33rd, and Dec. 26 WSU was 33rd. WSU was 40th in the Dec. 26 USA Today poll and 36th in the Jan. 9 and 12th polls.
Life on the Top 25 Edge... Prior to late December, the Shockers were last receiving votes on Feb. 14, 2011 when they were 32nd in AP poll. Here is a look back at life on the edge in 2010-11:
•Feb. 7, 27th in AP Poll/32nd in ESPN/USA Today poll.
•Jan. 31, 38th in AP/43rd in ESPN/USA Today poll.
•WSU did not receive votes for the week of Jan. 24.
•Jan. 17, 39th in ESPN/USA Today/43rd in AP poll.
•Jan. 10, 42nd in ESPN/USA Today/44th in AP poll.
•Jan. 3, 31st in ESPN/USA Today and 33rd in AP poll.
•Dec. 27, 35th in ESPN/USA Today and 37th in AP poll.
•Dec. 20, 40th in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
•Dec. 3, 40th in ESPN/USA Today and 39th in the AP poll.
•Nov. 29, 39th and 42nd in the two polls, respectively.
•Nov. 22, 34th in the getting votes in both.
•Nov. 15, 33rd in both polls released.
•WSU's votes put them at No. 32 in the Preseason ESPN Top 25 listing.
Last Ranking and 2009-10 Getting Votes...Prior to the 2010-11 season, WSU received votes in the Feb. 8, 2010 AP Top 25 poll, which marked the fourth week in the 2009-10 season. WSU also had five points in the Feb. 1, 2010 AP Top 25 poll. Earlier in 2009-10, WSU also received votes in both the Dec. 21 and Dec. 28 AP Top 25 polls. WSU also got one point in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll Dec. 28. Prior to that, WSU last received votes on Jan. 8, 2007.
WSU was last ranked Dec. 25, 2006 (16th in the AP after a season high of 8th). WSU's highest ranking was No. 1 for two games in 1964-65. WSU has six times played the No. 1 team in the country.
Friday the 13th Win... Friday's game was the first Wichita State game on Friday the 13th since the 1980-81 season. WSU defeated Southern University, 95-70, on March 13, 1981 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The game was played at Levitt Arena.
Century Mark.. With the 102-53 win against Newman, the WSU reached the Century mark for the first time under head coach Gregg Marshall. WSU last reached 100 points during 2006 against Maryland-Baltimore County.
Oklahoma Ben... Oklahoma City native senior Ben Smith bested his career-high by five when he scored 22 points against Chicago State on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, which included 3-of-6 from the arc.
A Good Two Weeks...Joe Ragland and Carl Hall earned MVC Weekly honors for the week of Nov. 28, and followed up with good performances against Utah State and Tulsa. •Joe Ragland averaged a team-leading 15 points and shot 52.6 percent (10-19) in WSU's two wins. He scored 19 points in WSU's win against Utah State and had 11 at Tulsa. He also averaged 5.0 rebounds for the week, and 3.5 assists.
• Carl Hall averaged 11 points and 2.5 rebounds in WSU's two games. He had 11 points in each, while shooting 50 percent (8-16) for the week.
MVC Weekly Honors Swept...Joe Ragland and Carl Hall were named MVC Player and Newcomer of the Week for the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 4.
Ragland netted a career-high 31 points as WSU dismantled No. 18 UNLV Rebels, 89-70, in the MWC-MVC Challenge. For the week, he shot 77.8 percent (14-18) from the field, and 84.6 percent (11-13) from the arc in the two wins. He also made seven of his eight free throw attempts. Against UNLV, he made 9-of-12 shots, including 8-of-9 from the arc, as the first Shocker player since Paul Miller in 2006 to score more than 30 points. Against Fullerton, he had 15 points.
Hall averaged 18 points and 5.5 rebounds in WSU's two victories. He scored a career-high 19 points and had eight rebounds in WSU's win against Fullerton. He then had 17 points and three rebounds against UNLV on 70 percent (7-10) shooting.
Top 25 Foes... The win against No. 18 UNLV marked the first time Wichita State had beaten a Top 25 non-conference opponent since it took down No. 16 Texas Tech, 85-83, on December 19, 2009 inside Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers are 1-2 against the Top 25 this season with the loss to Alabama, 70-60, in Puerto Rico. WSU's second ranked loss was to No. 21 Creighton on Dec. 31.
Runnin' Down the Rebels... WSU's 89-70 win over No. 18 ranked UNLV was the most lopsided victory by a MVC school over a Top-25 team since 1999. Missouri State defeated No. 20 Tennessee by 30 points in the 1999 NCAA Tournament.
Joe vs. the Rebels From the Arc... Senior Joe Ragland came one three-pointer from tying the Shocker record for treys in a game with the eight he had against UNLV. The eight tied with Maurice Evans' eight against Illinois State on Dec. 12, 1998. Jason Perez holds the record with nine against Missouri State on Jan. 2, 2000. The 12 treys WSU made as a team was tied for fourth.
Topping a Top 25: UNLV... Joe Ragland netted a career-high 31 points as WSU dismantled No. 18 UNLV Rebels, 89-70, in the MWC-MVC Challenge.
The win marked the first time WSU had beaten a ranked non-conference opponent since it took down No. 16 Texas Tech, 85-83, on December 19, 2009. It was the first meeting between the Shockers and UNLV since January 10, 1979.
Ragland was one of four Shocker players to hit double-digits, as guard Toure' Murry, and big men Hall and Stutz followed suit. Hall finished with 17, Stutz with 13 and Murry with 11 to go along with his team-high eight assists. Ragland and David Kyles led the Shockers with five rebounds apiece.
Going Downtown... Wichita State won its second-ever game in downtown Wichita's INTRUST Bank Arena, but UAB Head Coach Mike Davis would have still played there than inside Charles Koch Arena. After Friday's 68-46 loss, Davis said, "It would have been 40 over at Koch Arena. I'm glad we played here instead of over there, because if we couldn't handle this situation, it would have been really crazy." The Shockers also won a year ago against Tulsa, which was the first-ever collegiate basketball game held at the new INTRUST Bank Arena, 82-79.
INTRUST Standout...Garrett Stutz scored 17 points in WSU's win against UAB on 70 percent shooting. He was 7-of-10 from the field in just 17 minutes of play, and also made 3-of-4 free throws. He also had three rebounds in minutes limited due to the nature of the 68-46 win.
Murry Surges at Puerto Rico Shootout...Senior Toure Murry averaged 20.7 points a game in Wichita State's three games in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, including 17 points against Colorado, 21 against No. 15 Alabama and a career-high 24 against Temple. He shot 46.9 percent (23-49) for the three games and received votes for all-tournament team honors.
Major Streak... With the win against the Pac-12's Colorado, Wichita State improved to a seven-game win streak against teams from major conferences in Virginia (ACC), LSU (SEC), Nebraska (then-Big 12), Virginia Tech (ACC), Washington State (then-Pac-10), and Alabama (SEC), and Colorado (Pac12). The streak was broken with the loss to No. 16 Alabama in Puerto Rico.
In-Season History... Wichita State has now competed in 51 in-season tournaments dating to the 1946-47 season and carries a 73-58 record. That record includes 13 championships and eight runner-up finishes.
The Shockers' last in-season tournament title was the championship of the Cessna Classic during the 1998-99 season in Wichita. WSU has competed in an in-season tournament in seven of the last eight years, and in six-straight, skipping the 2004-05 season.
The Shockers' highest finish during that time frame is a runner-up finish in the 2003-04 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, USVI. WSU went 2-1 a year ago in the EA Sports Maui Invitational with a loss to eventual National Champion Connecticut in the opening game. (See full tournament history on the last page.)
Home/Season Opener... WSU downed Charleston Southern, 85-57, in the Shockers' 106th season opener, and improved to 88-18 in home openers. WSU is now 78-28 in season openers no matter the location.
Shocker Nation... Wichita State carries a 114 regular-season game streak of more than 10,000 fans in Charles Koch Arena.
Exhibition Action...WSU cruised to an 82-43 win over Emporia State in its lone exhibition game for 2011-12. Garrett Stutz and Joe Ragland each scored 10 points for the Shockers.
Exhibition History... WSU is now 6-0 in exhibitions under Gregg Marshall and 46-10 overall in exhibition games after the win over ESU. WSU last lost an exhibition 16 exhibition games ago during the 2001-02 season to Athletes First.
Inked... Fifth-year head coach Gregg Marshall has announced the signing of Derail Green, Cleanthony Early, Fred Van Vleet and Henry Uwadiae to National Letters-of-Intent to play men's basketball beginning with the 2012-13 season.
Cleanthony Early, a 6-foot-8, 220 pound forward from Sullivan (N.Y) Community College, was the NJCAA Division III Player of the Year in 2011. He will have two seasons of eligibility at WSU.
Green, a 6-7, 190 pound forward from Houston Klein Forest, averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds a year ago as a junior.
Van Vleet, a 5-11, 175-pound guard from Rockford (Ill.) Auburn, is ranked the No. 26 point guard in the class of 2012 by Scout.com. He averaged 18.6 points and 7.5 assists as a junior.
Uwadiae (unn-waa-DEE-A), a 6-10, 210-pound center from Benin City, Nigeria by way of Evelyn Mack Academy of Charlotte, N.C., rounded out the first wave of signees.
WSU Adds Fifth Signee... Teddy Hawkins from Dayton Dunbar High School signed a letter of intent with WSU. Hawkins, a 6-foot-8, 180 pounder from is the fifth member of the WSU's Fall recruiting class.
"I'm more ecstatic now that's he's become a Shocker," Marshall said. "He is the cherry on top of arguably the best recruiting class I've ever been a part of. These five guys are really, really talented and we're very, very excited about what they bring to the table for the future."
Hawkins averaged 16.7 points as a junior, according to the Dayton Daily News, for Dunbar. He was named All-Ohio Division II and the Dayton City League Player of the Year.
"He's a 6-8 kid that can stroke it from deep," Marshall said. "He can guard. He's very, very long. Very skilled."
