Game Notes: Wichita State (PDF) | Utah (PDF)

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(No. 25/24) UTAH (7-1) at WICHITA STATE (4-4)
Dec. 12, 2015  | 2:30 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan./INTRUST Bank Arena

Telecast --
On Air: ESPN2
Streaming: http://es.pn/1R7mye9 / WatchESPN App
Announcers: Rich Hollenberg & Mark Adams

Radio --
On Air: KEYN 103.7 FM
Online: goshockers.com/watch
Announcers: Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl

Social Media ---
Twitter: @GoShockers, @GoShockersLive
Facebook: facebook.com/WichitaStateUniversityAthletics
Instagram: instagram.com/goshockers
Exposure: goshockers.exposure.co
 

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OPENING TIPS
• Wichita State looks to finish out a difficult two-game sweep and re-establish itself as a national contender against No. 25 Utah (7-1), Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

• The Shockers (4-4) regained some confidence with Wednesday night's 56-50 win. Though still not 100 percent following an early rash of injuries, WSU made a strong impression, holding a UNLV team that has already picked up two wins over Top-15 teams this year, to 33 points below its season average.

• An injury-depleted WSU missed out on chances for NCAA Tournament resume-boosting wins during the month of November with losses to four top-100 teams, but now has an opportunity to make ammends with a victory over UNLV (No. 75) in hand and Utah (No. 9) on deck.

• WSU and Utah play the back half of a home-and-home series. A year ago in Salt Lake City, then-No. 25 Utah withstood a furious comeback and ended the eighth-ranked Shockers' 35-game regular season winning streak in a 69-68 OT thriller.

• WSU now owns the nation's second-longest home court winning streak at 35 games, trailing only Arizona (43). NC Central's 71-69 loss to Howard on Monday ended the Eagles' 38-game streak.

• Saturday's game marks WSU's sixth journey downtown since INTRUST Bank Arena opened its doors in 2010. The Shockers are 5-0 in the building, with wins over Tulsa, UAB, Southern Miss, Tennessee and Saint Louis.

• WSU will play in front of a capacity crowd downtown for the second-straight year. The 2014 game reached sellout status just over 24 hours before tipoff. By contrast, this year's game sold out nearly two months in advance. Shocker fans scooped up all 15,004 seats in just 22 days.

• A future 2018 NCAA Tournament site, INTRUST Bank Arena is hosting its eighth NCAA men's basketball game in six years. Kansas State (which has made two previous appearances) ups that total to nine next Saturday when it takes on Colorado State.

• The Shocker have been without starting forward Anton Grady (9.0 pts, 6.0 reb) - who suffered a spinal concussion on Nov. 27 and has missed the last three games – and freshman guard Landry Shamet (8.7 pts, 1.7 steals) – who is healing from a stress fracture.

• WSU dropped three-straight games during All-American point guard Fred VanVleet's four-game absence from the starting lineup. In the two games since his return, VanVleet has averaged 14.0 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals, and the Shockers are 2-0.

• VanVleet's impact may be just as pronounced on the defensive end. In his time on the bench, WSU's three Division I opponents averaged 73.3 points and shot 47 percent from the field. In VanVleet's first two games back, WSU has allowed just 51.5 points

• Kansas transfer Conner Frankamp made his much-anticipated debut against UNLV on Wednesday and sank two crucial free throws in the last 30 seconds to give the Shockers a two-possession lead.

• In home games against AP nationally-ranked teams, WSU is 36-42 all-time (5-1 under Marshall)… Overall, Marshall's Shocker teams are 10-11 against the AP Top-25, with wins in seven of the last 11.


THE SERIES WITH UNLV
• Utah leads the all-time series 7-1 and has won two of the three meetings in Wichita.
• The Utes and Shockers played the very first game in Charles Koch Arena (then named WU Fieldhouse) almost 60 years ago, on Dec. 3, 1955.

LAST YEAR vs. UTAH
• In the most recent meeting No. 8 Wichita State saw its 35-game regular season winning streak come to an end at No. 25 Utah, 69-68 in overtime in front 14,319 fans at the Jon Hunstman Center.
• WSU rallied from seven points down in the final 75 seconds to force overtime. Ron Baker led WSU with 15 points – the last two coming on a twisting take to the hoop that gave the visitors a 68-67 lead with 31 seconds to go in the extra period.
• Delon Wright's jumper in the lane with 13 seconds to play swung the game in Utah's favor...
• With a chance to tie or take the lead, VanVleet missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw opportunity. The Utes (6-1) controlled the rebound after a brief scramble with just over three seconds remaining and held on from there.
• VanVleet chipped in 13 points and four assists to go with 14 from Tekele Cotton and 10 from Darius Carter, who fouled out in the final minute of regulation. Evan Wessel scored six points – all in overtime – and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds.
• Brandon Taylor led Utah with 17 points. Wright played the entire 45 minutes for the Utes, finishing with 13 points and seven assists, and Poeltl collected a double-double with 12 points and 11 boards.
• The Shockers were out-rebounded for the first time this season, 40-37 and were out-shot 47.1 percent to 38.1 percent from the field. WSU connected on a season-high 11 three-pointers but needed 30 attempts to get there.
• The tough finish spoiled what would have been a remarkable comeback for the Shockers. WSU trailed 57-46 with 5:19 to play in regulation but rallied to force overtime.
• WSU committed only six turnovers in 45 minutes.

FOOL ME ONCE...
Gregg Marshall Shocker teams have done well in revenge games, when given the opportunity. In rematches with non-conference teams that beat WSU the previous time around, the Shockers are 9-2... VCU and UMKC (early in the Marshall Era) are the only two non-conference teams to defeat WSU twice consecutively under Marshall...

ABOUT UTAH
• The Utes are back in the Top-25 after falling out two weeks ago. They opened the year at No. 16 in both polls.
• NBA draft pick Delon Wright is gone, but Utah returns most of the cast from last year's Sweet 16 crew that finished 26-9 and was runner-up in the PAC-12 race.
• Senior guard Brandon Taylor (7.1 pts, 3.9 assists), senior forward Jordan Loveridge (15.8 pts) and soophomore center Jacob Poeltl (21.3 pts, 9.9 reb) are all preseason awards candidates.

VINTAGE VANVLEET
• The much-anticipated return of Fred VanVleet has sparked back-to-back wins.
• VanVleet limped through the first two games of the season with a strained hamstring, then missed the next four entirely. In his first action since Nov. 17, he looked much more like the VanVleet of old, finishing with 11 points, seven assists, three steals and just one turnover.
• VanVleet had14 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the first half against UNLV, repeatedly gashing a tall and athletic Rebel front line with drives to the basket. He also dished out three assists in the half without a turnover.
• VanVleet had appeared in 112-straight games to begin his Shocker career before missing those four contests The injury also snapped a run of 73-consecutive starts, dating back to the beginning of his sophomore season.
• The All-American point guard first injured the hamstring during the preseason but had attempted to play through it. Coaches elected to give him some extended rest after he aggravated the injury early in the Nov. 17 loss at Tulsa.

UNLV LEFTOVERS
• WSU won for the 50th straight time (120-11 overall under Marshall) when holding an opponent under 60 points.
• Wichita State fought off a late second half comeback to defeat UNLV, 56-50.
• All-American point guard Fred VanVleet led all players with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting and added four assists and four rebounds. Ron Baker was the only other Shocker in double-figures, finishing with 13 points and a team-high tying six boards.
• WSU won despite shooting just 37.5 percent and a paltry 16.7 percent (3-for-18) from beyond the arc.
• The Shockers held UNLV's leading scorer, Patrick McCaw (who came in averaging over 18 points per game) to just five points on 2-of-8 shooting, with three turnovers.
• UNLV ranked among the top-15 nationally in forced turnovers (19.3 per game coming in) but managed just nine against the Shockers.
• WSU turned the Rebels over 19 times. Frankamp's two steals were a career-best.
• The Shockers never trailed. They used a 14-2 run to claim a 22-8 lead with 7:30 to go in the first half.
• UNLV chipped away, moving to within two points in the last 30 seconds. Conner Frankamp drilled two big free throws with 21 seconds left to give WSU a 54-50 lead, and the Shocker defense dialed up two defensive stops to close it out.

DON'T FORGET FRANKAMP
WSU added another key piece Wednesday when sophomore guard Conner Frankamp made his debut. Frankamp - a Wichita high school standout who broke Perry Ellis' City League career scoring record with 2,275 points- arrived last January after transferring from Kansas.

ALL-A-BOARD
Ron Baker and Evan Wessel shared the team-high with six rebounds on Wednesday. Wessel becomes the eighth different Shocker to take a turn as leading rebounder. Through the first eight games, eight different Shockers have paced the team at least once in that category.

MINUTES TO WIN IT
Helped partly by injuries and missed games, WSU has another odd stat line heading Saturday. 13 different Shockers are averaging double-figure minutes.