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

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(rv/rv) UNLV (7-1) at WICHITA STATE (3-4)
Missouri Valley-Mountain West Conference Challenge Series
Dec. 09, 2015  | 8:00 p.m. CT |  ESPN2
Wichita, Kan./Charles Koch Arena

Telecast --
On Air: ESP2
Streaming: ESPN3.com/WatchESPN App
Announcers: Rich Hollenberg & Miles Simon

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 (3-4) puts the nation's third-longest home winning streak to the test (34 games), Wednesday evening on ESPN2, against a 7-1 UNLV team that has already knocked off two nationally-ranked foes this season and stands just outside the top-25.
• Wednesday night marks the Shockers' first home action in 18 days but kicks off a stretch with five of the next six contests in Wichita.
• An injury-depleted WSU missed out on chances for NCAA Tournament resume-boosting wins during the month of November but now has an opportunity to make ammends with UNLV and No. 25 Utah both coming to town this week.
• After four games on the sidelines with a strained hamstring, All-American point guard Fred VanVleet returned Saturday to help the Shockers to a 68-53 victory at Saint Louis, snapping a three-game losing skid.
• The Shockers add another puzzle piece this week when Kansas transfer Conner Frankamp joins the backcourt, either Wednesday or Saturday. However, senior forward Anton Grady (9.0 pts, 6.0 reb) and standout freshman guard Landry Shamet (8.7 pts, 1.7 stl) remain sidelined with injuries.
• WSU-UNLV is one of 10 Mountain West-Missouri Valley Conference Challenge series matchups taking place in November and December. The MWC has won four of the first six games.
• UNLV ranks among the national leaders in steals per game (12th, 9.6), turnover margin (9th, +5.8) and turnovers forced (4th, 19.25). By contrast, WSU does an outstanding job of protecting the basketball. With a healthy VanVleet last season, they averaged just 9.3 turnovers (4th nationally) and ranked seventh in turnover margin (3.9). This year - with limited contributions from VanVleet - they're averging 10.4 giveaways but still rank in the top-25 nationally.
• With Minnesota's home loss to South Dakota on Saturday, WSU now owns the nation's second-longest non-conference home winning streak (33 games), trailing only Duke (122). The Shockers haven't lost a home non-conference game since Feb. 18, 2011, when Final Four bound VCU escaped Charles Koch Arena with a 68-67 win on a last-second free throw.

THE SERIES WITH UNLV
• This is the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools. WSU leads 2-1 (2-0 in Wichita).
• In the December, 2011 meeting, Joe Ragland hit eight three-pointers on his way to 31 points, and WSU went 12-of-23 overall from beyond the arc. The Shockers trailed 14-12 with 13:57 remaining in the first half but scored 33 points over the next 11 minutes to build up a comfortable 17-point advantage, then cruised to victory.

THE MVC-MWC CHALLENGE SERIES
• WSU has been the MVC's most successful representative in its challenge series with the Mountain West Conference, posting a 3-1 mark. Only Northern Iowa (3-2) has as many wins.
• WSU is 35-18 all-time against current members of the MWC, including an impressive 20-3 mark in Wichita.
• Although not an official challenge series game, WSU will also play host to Nevada later this month.

ABOUT UNLV
• The Runnin' Rebels were picked fourth of 11 teams in the MWC Preseason Poll but are out to a strong start with wins over No. 13 Indiana (72-69 in the Maui Invitational) and No. 15 Oregon (80-69).
• UNLV earned 40 votes in this week's AP Poll - the equivalent of  30th nationally and picked up 33 in the Coach's Poll (28th).
• Ike Nwamu went 5-of-7 from deep and scored 19 points in Friday's win over Oregon to earn MWC Player of the Week.
• 7-footer Stephen Zimmerman is the MWC Preseason Freshman of the Year and is averaging nearly a double-double (10.3 pts, 9.1 reb).
• 6-7 sophomore guard Patrick McCaw leads the team at 18.4 points and is averaging 3.1 steals per contest.

THE SHOCKERS, IN A NUTSHELL
The Shockers return three starters and nine lettermen from last year's 30-5 team that reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-consecutive year and defeated Indiana and Kansas to reach the Sweet 16... With three-straight 30-win seasons and back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference titles, WSU began the year in the preseason Top-10 for the first time since the 1981-82...  Though a rash of  November injuries slowed their momentum, the All-American backcourt of Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet has the Shockers poised for another big year... Head Coach Gregg Marshall reached the 400-win mark earlier this season and needs just 13 more victories to catch Naismith Hall of Famer, Ralph Miller atop the school's all-time wins list.

WSU  ALL-TIME (By Date)
• Dec. 5 remains the most successful calendar date in Shocker basketball history (min. 5 GP), thanks to Saturday's win at Saint Louis. WSU is 16-3 all-time with an .842 winning percentage.
• Dec. 9 has also treated the Shockers well and is tied for second. A win against UNLV would  up their all-time mark to .813 (13-3)... On Dec. 9, 2014, they defeated Seton Hall.

VINTAGE VANVLEET
• The much-anticipated return of Fred VanVleet and 14 points each from Ron Baker and Zach Brown sparked Wichita State to a slump-busting, 68-53 win at Saint Louis... 
• 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 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.

SAINT LOUIS LEFTOVERS
• Baker connected on 6-of-10 shots and snagged six rebounds. He also logged his 119th career steal in the first half to move into a tie for 10th on the school's all-time list.
• Zach Brown went 4-for-6 from the floor, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, en route to a career-high 14 points.
• Rauno Nurger led the bench scoring, pitching in with six points - all in the first half.
• Rashard Kelly matched his career-high with seven rebounds at Saint Louis. He also hit that mark against USC in the AdvoCare Invitational.
• WSU shot a season-high 48.1 percent, and finished with 19 assists on its 26 baskets while committing just nine turnovers.
• WSU forced 18 SLU turnovers and converted them into 25 points, while also outscoring the host Billikens 30-14 in the paint.
• The Shockers have won each of the first three meetings in a four-game series scheduled between the two programs, two of them at Chaifetz. WSU will host SLU in 2016-17.
• The Shockers trailed 7-2 out of the gate before mounting an 17-3 run. They held the Billikens without a field goal for over eight minutes in that stretch.
• After SLU whittled the lead to a single point near the two-minute mark of the first half, WSU mounted another 16-1 run, spanning halftime to go up by 16.
• VanVleet played just five minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls, but he was a major factor down the stretch. Over a five-minute window to begin the second half, the senior point guard fed Morris for both a dunk and layup, picked off a pass and drove for an uncontested layup of his own, and then notched third assist on a kick-out to Baker for a three-pointer that made it a 42-26 game with 14:34 to play.

BAKER OFF TO A SIZZLING START
Ron Baker has been strong out of the gate leading the team in scoring in six of the team's first seven contests. He needs 11 more points to catch Gus Santos for 21st on the school's all-time scoring list is 28 points shy of cracking the top-20.

VANVLEET RISING ON THE CAREER WINS LIST
Senior Fred VanVleet is one of the nation's winningest seniors by volume (97 career wins), tied with Garrett Stutz for fourth on WSU's all-time victories list. A Wednesday win would tie him with Toure' Murry (98) for third. Stutz and Murry were Shocker teammates from 2009-12... VanVleet needs 23 more wins to catch Tekele Cotton (120).

THREE COMPANY
Ron Baker's next three-pointer will give him sole possession of third-place on WSU's all-time triples list. He passed Shocker Hall of Famer Jason Perez on Saturday and is now tied with Terrell Benton... With three more treys, Baker would join Sean Ogirri (200) and Randy Burns (248) as the only Shockers with 200-or-more... Baker's next attempt will tie him with Perez (521 3PA) for fourth on the all-time three-point attempts chart

OTHER MILESTONES TO WATCH
• VanVleet recorded his 50th career game with five-or-more helpers and passed former Missouri State guard William Fontleroy for 16th on the MVC's all-time assists chart. VanVleet (476 career assists) is 20 behind Indiana State's Nate Green for 15th.
• Baker's next steal ties him with Robert George (120, 1990-92) for ninth on WSU's career list.

MORRIS MOVES UP
Sophomore center Shaquille Morris became the 10th different Shocker to start a game this year, moving into the lineup Saturday at Saint Louis. Morris - who started one other game as a redshirt freshman last year  - notched his second consecutive double-figure scoring game, hitting 6-of-7 shots on his way to 12 points.

SIMON SURPRISES
Walk-on junior point guard John Robert Simon has been pressed into action in some key moments but has performed admirably. Despite VanVleet's return on Saturday, Simon's playing time actually increased against Saint Louis. He played a career-high 16 minutes, scored three points and dished out four assists without a turnover... Simon has averaged 11.3 minutes per game over the last four contests and has a 5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio in six total games (10 A, 2 TO).

BROWNEE POINTS
Forward Zach Brown had been practicing well in recent weeks, so his recent stretch of game success came as little surprise to coaches and teammates. Over his last two outings, Brown has averaged 12.0 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He moved back into the starting lineup Saturday and posted career-highs for both points (14) and minutes (28).

McDEFENSE
Markis McDuffie provided some much needed offense during the AdvoCare Invitational, averaging just over 12 points in three games, but Gregg Marshall may have actually been more impressed with his freshman forward's overall performance during Saturday's four-point effort against Saint Louis. McDuffie went just 1-for-5 from the field but showed major improvement on the defensive end. Coaches believe his length and athleticism will be a major asset for the Shockers defensively as he adjusts to the system and to college basketball. The 6-foot-8 McDuffie - who played for legendary high school coach Bobby Hurley Sr. - has eight steals over the last four games.

ALL-A-BOARD
Ron Baker and Shaquille Morris shared the team-high with six rebounds on Saturday, becoming the sixth and seventh different Shockers to take a turn as leading rebounder. Through the first seven games, seven different Shockers have paced the team at least once in that category.

7-YEAR HITCH
The Shockers dropped under the .500 mark on Nov. 27 for the first time since February of 2009 (a span of 2,473 days, or just over six years and nine months). A stretch of three-straight losses worst stretch since January of 2009 when the opened MVC play at 0-6… Immediately after, the 2008-09 Shockers rallied to win 9 of their next 12, finishing 8-10 in conference, 17-17 overall, and advancing to the CBI quarterfinals… That 0-6 MVC start was a decided turning point in the Gregg Marshall Era. The Shockers are 189-49 (.794) since that moment.

9 TIMES 10
• In just seven games, WSU has already had nine different players score at least 10 points, and it could push that total even higher by the end of the season, with Evan Wessel, Bush Wamukota and Rauno Nurger still chasing their first 10-point games and transfer Conner Frankamp set to make his debut next week.
• Seven Shockers have reached double-digits on two-or-more occasions this year.
• Georgia Southern (11) leads the nation in unique double-figure scorers, and six other teams have had 10, including Missouri State from the MVC.