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

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LOYOLA (9-11, 2-6 MVC) at #22/25 WICHITA STATE (14-5, 8-0 MVC)
Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016  | 8 p.m. CT
Wichita, Kan./Charles Koch Arena

Telecast --
On Air: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas & Jenny Dell
* - In Wichita: Cox (2260), DirectTV (221), DISH (158), FiOS (594), U-Verse (1643)

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
• Back in the Top-25 after an eight-week absence, No. 22/25 Wichita State (14-5, 8-0 MVC) hosts Loyola (9-11, 2-6), Wednesday night on CBSSN.
• Regardless of how the game plays out, the Shockers will have at least a share of the Valley lead at the midway point for the fifth-consecutive year. They enter the night with a one-game lead on second-place SIU.
• WSU is looking to extend its winning streak to 10 games, which would mark just the second time since 1983 that the Shockers have made a double-digit run. Since 2004, six other WSU streaks have fizzled at nine.
• WSU also enters the day with a 41-game home winning streak (second-longest nationally behind Arizona's 49) and a 22-game MVC home winning streak (second-longest in school history; three away from the record set from 1982-85).
• An 8-0 MVC start in 1964-65 stood for nearly half a century as WSU's best-ever conference start. It's old news now. A Wednesday win would up the Shockers to 9-0 for the third-straight year.
• Despite not having a single player among the conference's top-12 in rebounding and just one (Anton Grady, 5.1 - T-13th) in the top-20, WSU  leads the MVC in rebound-margin (+5.2). The Shockers have out-boarded five-straight opponents, with four of those coming by double-figure margins (+15 @ SIU; +20 @ MSU, +3 vs. INS; +10 @ UNI, +15 vs. BRAD).
• This is Loyola's third trip to Wichita since joining the MVC. The Shockers won the last two, holding the Ramblers to an average of 46.0 points.
• Fred VanVleet -- one of 20 players named Monday to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List -- will play his 125th game in a Shocker uniform - tied for 10th on WSU's career list.
• VanVleet is one steal shy of 200. He'd be only the second Shocker to reach that milestone and the 17th in MVC history. He also needs just seven more assists to crack the MVC's all-time top-10 (he currently has 544).
• Both coaching staffs will wear sneakers tonight as part of the NABC's Coaches vs. Cancer "Suits & Sneakers" initiative. Marshall will coach his 300th game on the Shocker sideline. His 218 wins in nine seasons at WSU are two shy of Ralph Miller (220) atop the school's all-time wins list.
 
BEST BY A WIDE MARGIN
• Wichita State (8-0) has outscored opponents by an average of 20.5 points in league play so far – tied for 7th-best in the NCAA over the past 20 years.  Duke's 16-0 ACC team in 1999 set the standard, winning by an average of 24.3 in conference play that year, en route to the NCAA Tournament final.
• The Shockers' 20.5-point margin continues another impressive trend. If it holds up, they'll own five of the top six margins over the most recent 20-year stretch.
 
CONQUERING BEFORE THE DIVIDE
• WSU has held a halftime lead in 13-straight games, winning nine of them. Aside from the Seton Hall game, WSU has not trailed in the second half of any game since Dec. 1.
• The Shockers have led at the midway point in 16-straight home games, with 10 of those by double-digits. Bradley is the last visiting team to take a lead into halftime at Charles Koch Arena (28-27 on Jan. 7, 2015).
 
MAKE A NOTE TO VOTE
• Gregg Marshall is once again competing on behalf of the Wichita Children's Home in the Infiniti Coaches' Challenge. Marshall finished fifth out of 48 coaches in the first round of voting.
• Now in its sixth year, the program consists of NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches vying for fan votes in a four-round contest that helps raise money for charities of the coaches' choice. Marshall is competing for the third time. He's been one of the last four coaches standing in each his two previous go-arounds.
• Fans can vote for Marshall in the First Round once-per-day by visiting ESPN.com/infiniti
 
PLANET NINE
WSU enters its ninth MVC game of the year on a nine-game winning streak -- tied with nine others for the ninth-longest in school history.
 
LAST YEAR vs. LOYOLA
Wichita State swept the season series for the second-straight year with a pair of January wins. Fred VanVleet was spectacular in both games, averaging 20.5 points and 6.5 assists on 15-of-21 shooting (.714).
 
Jan. 11, 2015 (Chicago, Ill.) --  WSU 67, Loyola 53
The Shockers trailed at halftime in Chicago (28-23) but recovered, thanks to one of the best shooting halves in recent memory. They hit 15-of-21 from the field in the second half (.714) and won by 14 points... Baker finished with 15 points and VanVleet  (5-for-5 from the field) collected a double-double with 14 points and 10 assists.
 
Jan. 28, 2015 (Wichita, Kan.) -- WSU 58, Loyola 47
Baker and VanVleet combined for 43 of WSU's 58 points in the rematch... VanVleet's 27 was, at the time, a career-high. He was 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from three. Loyola slowed the tempo but scored just 47 points on 40 shots... The win boosted the Shockers to 9-0 in MVC play and was the last of their 27-consecutive conference wins (a modern Valley record).
 
SERIES NOTES
• WSU is 4-0 against the Ramblers in their short time as conference rivals and 22-9 overall.
• Loyola is in just its third season as a member of the MVC, but the series between the Ramblers and Shockers goes back much further. WSU, led by one of its all-time greats, Dave Stallworth, defeated Loyola on its home court, 73-73, during the 1962-63 season. That Loyola team would go on to finish 29-2 and win the NCAA Tournament title. It's still the only Division I men's basketball national championship claimed by the state of Illinois.
• That game marked the beginning of a regular two-game home-andhome series between the two programs. Between1963-64 and 1975-76, the teams played a total of 25 times before the series tapered off.
•  WSU defeated third-ranked Loyola at then-Levitt Arena, 92-84 on Feb. 8, 1966, snapping the Ramblers' 14-game win streak. Warren Armstrong's 25 points and 18 rebounds led the way, as did Kelly Pete's 19 points and 10 boards.
•  A chance meeting in the finals of the 1989 Hoosier Classic in Indianapolis (a 75-59 WSU victory) was the only meeting between 1976 and 2014.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS
• Loyola was impressive at the beginning and end of the 2014-15 season but struggled in between after an injury to standout scorer Milton Doyle. After opening 12-3 (their best start in 49 years), the Ramblers fell into the funk after falling to the Shockers in Chicago (67-53) on Jan. 11. Doyle's return to health sparked a postseason run that culminated in the CBI title and a 24-13 finish.
• Picked fifth in this year's MVC preseason poll and returning 8 of their top 9 scorers, the Ramblers instead got out to an 0-5 start to conference play. Since a Jan. 13 home loss to Bradley, things have taken a turn for the better. Loyola ended UNI's 14-game MVC home winning streak by limiting them to 27 percent from the field in a 51-41 triumph. They took down Drake on Jan. 23 for their second win in the last three outings, to improve to 2-6, and their 68 points was their highest output in over a month (since scoring 72 in a five-point non-conference win over Western Illinois).
• WSU is the only MVC foe that Loyola has not defeated in its two-plus Valley seasons.
• Milton Doyle (11.6) points and Montel James (11.1) both average in double-figures for Loyola. James' 6.1 rebounds leads the team.
 
SO..WHADDAYA BENCH?
WSU non-starters are averaging a league-best 30.0 points per game - a total that also ranks 16th nationally. Three of the team's top five scorers are reserves, with Markis McDuffie (8.2), Anton Grady (7.4) and Conner Frankamp (6.9) all capable of providing instant offense. WSU's bench is averaging 33.8 points during MVC play and has provided 40-plus points three times since Jan. 1.
 
SHAQ ATTACK
Shaquille Morris has posted back-to-back 10-point games on 80 percent shooting (8-of-10). Four of those eight field goals are off of dunks, including a steal and transition slam on the second play of the Bradley game. The redshirt sophomore has increased both his stamina and effort level, leading to more minutes. He's scored in double-figures six times this year.
 
SHEDDING THE SHIRT
Plans to redshirt 6-foot-10 sophomore Rauno Nurger were scrapped with the injury to Grady. Nurger appeared in 24 games off the bench as a freshman, averaging 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds. He's provided similar production since his Nov. 29 debut, appearing in all but one game while providing valuable post depth behind Grady and Shaq Morris.
 
THE STAKES
A Shocker Win Would...
... give them a 10-game winning streak just the second time in 33 years and for just the ninth time in school history.
... extend their MVC home winning streak to 23-games (two off of the school record) and their overall home streak to 42.
... be Gregg Marshall's 219th at WSU - one shy of Ralph Miller (220) for the school's all-time record.
... be the Shockers' seventh-straight against Loyola.
... improve them to 9-0 in MVC play for the third-consecutive year.
 
A Shocker Loss Would...
... snap an nine-game winning streak.
... end a 41-game home winning streak
... end a 22-game MVC home winning streak
... be just their second loss in the last three MVC seasons.
... snap a six-game winning streak vs. Loyola
... be less good than a win.
 
UP NEXT
• The Shockers journey to Evansville on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m. CT, ESPNU), looking to create futher separation in the conference standings.
 • WSU fended off a determined effort from the Aces on Jan. 6 at Charles Koch Arena, winning 67-64. Up two points with less than 30 seconds to go, Zach Brown's three-pointer helped secure the victory by making it a two-possession game...
 • WSU is 3-1 at the Ford Center with back-to-back wins in 2014 and 2015, and 10-10 all-time in Evansville...
 • This is a key week for the Aces (6-2 in MVC play). They take on Southern Illinois (7-1) on Wednesday night, before hosting the Shockers.