OPENING TIPS:
*Three-time defending MVC Champion, Wichita State (10-3) opens league play Wednesday evening at Indiana State (6-6) in a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) tip at the Hulman Center.
*Catch every Shocker game, home and away, on FM 103.7 KEYN and online at goshockers.com/listen. Mike Kennedy -- now in his 37th year as Voice of the Shockers -- will call his 1,186th consecutive game, alongside Bob Hull.
185th consecutive game, alongside Dave Dahl.
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SHOCKER LEGEND SHERROD FILLS IN:
*Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Aubrey Sherrod will serve as guest television analyst for Wednesday's Wichita State men's basketball game at Indiana State on Cox Channel Kansas. *Sherrod -- a three-time All-Valley performer for WSU from 1981-85 -- is the first of three fill-ins who will work Cox road games alongside play-by-play voice
Shane Dennis this season. Analysts for the Feb. 1 and Feb. 15 games at Drake and Southern Illinois will be unveiled two days prior to each matchup.
*The game can be seen statewide on Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022) and in the Kansas City area on Time Warner SportsChannel.
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GRAND AT OPENINGS:
*Since the start of the 2000-01 campaign, WSU has won more MVC openers than any other school (11-5). Indiana State (10-6) is tied for second over that span.Â
*The Shockers' six straight wins in MVC openers is a school record and the Valley's longest run since SIU's nine-game streak of ended in 2008.
*WSU has reached 9-0 in league play in each of the last three seasons after 8-1 starts in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
*The Shockers haven't fallen below .500 in MVC play since a Dec. 29, 2009 loss at Illinois State dropped them to 0-1.
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IN LIKE A LION:
*WSU (10-3) enter MVC play with double-digit victories for the fourth time in the last five years.
*The Shockers' 81.8 points was their highest non-conference average since Sherrod's freshman year ('81-82) when they produced 84.1 per game outside of league play.
*The Shockers outscored this year's 13 non-conference foes by an average of 19.2 points -- highest since the 1980-81 Elite Eight squad (+23.6 pts) and third-highest in WSU history.
*WSU has already set a new single season school record with six 30+ point wins.
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ROAD WARRIORS:
*WSU's five-game road winning streak dates back to last February and is tied for the third-longest in Division I alongside UNC Wilmington. Kansas and Texas-Arlington share the national lead at six.
*Non-conference wins at Colorado State and Oklahoma upped WSU's record in true road games to
33-5 (.868) since the start of the 2013-14 season and
59-13 (.819) going back to '10-11. Both marks lead the nation.
*WSU is one of 14 D-I teams that are 2-0 or better on the road this season.
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SHOOTING FOR 30-WINS IN 2016:
*WSU can clinch 30-wins for the calendar year with a victory over the Sycamores. The Shockers are 29-7 heading into their 2016 finale.
*WSU has topped 30 wins in only two other calendar years: 2013 and 2014.
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Shocker Win Totals by Calendar Year:
2010: 25-10 (.714)
2011: 27-8 (.771)
2012: 29-4 (.879)
2013: 31-8 (.795)
2014: 33-3 (.917)
2015: 26-8 (.765)
2016: 29-7 (.806)
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SERIES WITH THE SYCAMORES:
*WSU and Indiana State meet for the 88th time since 1978. The Shockers have won exactly two-thirds of the matchups all-time (58-29), including 17 of the last 19.
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Gregg Marshall's first visit to Terre Haute (Feb. 19, 2008) saw the Shockers take 21-point lead with just over 13 minutes to play, then surrender 21-unanswered in an eventual overtime loss. *However, since then, WSU has won a program-best eight straight games at the Hulman Center.
*Marshall is 18-4 against the Sycamores since arriving in Wichita in the spring of 2007 and is 13-2 against Greg Lansing in their six years of battle.
*WSU's recent run of success in Terre Haute has helped get them over the .500 mark there at 21-18 all-time.
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LAST YEAR vs. INDIANA STATE:
*WSU swept the season series from the Sycamores for a third consecutive year, winning 82-62 in Wichita on Jan. 17 and 84-51 in Terre Haute on Feb. 21.
*WSU's 33-point win in Terre Haute was its most lopsided in 39 trips.
*In the Wichita win, last year's Shocker seniors combined for 61 of WSU's 82 points. The youngsters contributed much more readily in the February rematch, with
Zach Brown, Shaquille *Morris and
Markis McDuffie each chipping in 11.
*WSU committed just nine turnovers in the two games (four in Terre Haute), compared to ISU's 29.
*Brenton Scott averaged 19.0 points for ISU and went 7-of-13 from three, but his teammates were a combined 4-of-34 (.118) over the two games.
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SCOUTING INDIANA STATE:
*Indiana State tied for sixth last year and was picked sixth again in the 2016-17 MVC preseason poll.
*The Sycamores are currently 6-6 with eight of their 12 games coming down to essentially one possession. Three of their contests have gone to overtime and five others have been decided by three points or less. ISU is 4-4 in such games.
*ISU picked up a big win over No. 15 Butler on Dec. 7, 72-71, behind 25 points and nine rebounds from preseason first team All-MVC selection
Brenton Scott and six treys from
Matt Van Scyoc.
*The Sycamores narrowly missed out on another statement win in November against No. 21 Iowa State, falling 73-71 despite 20 points from
Laquarious Paige.
*Scott earned second team all-conference plaudits in 2016 and was the Valley's 2015 Freshman of the Year.
*Scott is currently the MVC's second-leading scorer at 19.7 points and is averaging 2.5 three-pointers per game. The junior guard also averages a team-high 5.5 rebounds and is one of just five Valley players logging more than 32 minutes per game.
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Everett Clemons ranks in the Valley's top-five in both assists (3rd, 4.9) and steals (2nd, 2.1) and sports a tidy 2.57-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. The senior is also shooting 59.2% (3rd among MVC qualifiers).
*Clemons was a third team JUCO All-American at Vincennes (Ind.) University, the same program that produced former Shocker
Darius Carter (2013-15).
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PLUCKY PAIRS:
*WSU's
Markis McDuffie (career-high five steals vs. SDSU last week) and
Daishon Smith have each recorded at least one theft in seven straight games and together are averaging 3.9 steals over that stretch.
*ISU's seasoned backcourt duo of Scott and Clemons are averaging exactly 4.0 steals per game this year.
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DIFFERENT STYLE POINTS:
*Scott's 202 field goal attempts account for 27.7% of the team's total shots.
*By contrast, WSU's McDuffie (105) and Shamet (100) are the only the Shockers who have hoisted more than 100 field goal tries, and their combined total accounts for just 26.2% of the team's attempts.
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WHERE THERE'S A WILLIS, THERE'S A WAY:
*Darral Willis (a junior transfer from Pearl River CC) averages a team-high 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. He's on track to become the first Shocker newcomer in 23 years to lead the team both scoring and rebounding.
*In 1993-94, freshman Jamie Arnold paced the Shockers with 11.7 points and 9.0 boards.
*Willis is averaging a team-high 13.6 points and 7.6 rebounds in five December contests on 23-of-35 shooting (.657).
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BROWN RETURNS TO FORM:
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Zach Brown started the year 11-of-22 from the foul line, at one point missing six in a row. Since Nov. 29, the junior has knocked down 19-of-21, including a current run of 14-straight.
*Brown has hit at least two three-pointers in four of the last five games and has hit 11 of his last 24 (.458).
*A rough stretch at the Battle 4 Atlantis temporarily cost Brown his starting spot, but the move paid off. Rather than mope, the junior small forward played some of his best basketball over a five game stretch as a reserve, scoring double-figure points on four occasions, including a career-high 17 in the win at Oklahoma on Dec. 10.Â
*Brown returned to the starting lineup on Dec. 22 against South Dakota State and scored 10 points to go with a career-high six assists.
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SHAM-WOW!
*Redshirt freshman
Landry Shamet (21 points in last Thursday's win over South Dakota State) became the first Shocker in nearly eight years to record 20+ points in a game and just the third of the Marshall Era.
*Classmates
Toure' Murry and
Garrett Stutz each scored 20 once as freshmen in the 2008-09 campaign.
*Murry -- who went on to score 1,500 career points and played two NBA seasons -- collected 23 against Missouri State on Feb. 10, 2009, including the game winning three-pointer with six seconds to go with the Shockers trailing by a pair.
*Seven-footer Stutz showed flashes of potential just three games into his collegiate career (Nov. 24, 2008) when he went for 22 points against Centenary.
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RE-RE-REPEAT BID:
*WSU begins its MVC title defense this week. The three-time defending champs are the preseason favorites to win a fourth consecutive title.
*The Shockers are just the third team since World War II to finish alone atop the Valley standings in three consecutive years. An outright crown in 2017 would tie Cincinnati's modern MVC record, set from 1958 to 61. SIU won three-in-a-row from 2003-05.
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PACK OF LEAD DOGS:
*The Shockers' went 16-2 in Valley play last year, and their 51 wins over the past three conference seasons is an MVC record.
*WSU's 51-3 mark gives them the second-highest conference winning percentage in the nation over that span. Only Stephen F. Austin has been more dominant over that span at 53-1.
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A HIGH FIVE:
*In 2015-16 WSU recorded 16 league wins for the fourth time in five seasons.Â
*Since 1991-92 (when the Valley expanded its schedule to 18 games) the rest of the conference membership has combined for just four other 16+ win finishes: Illinois State (16-2 in 1998), Southern Illinois (16-2 in 2003 and 17-1 in 2004) and Northern Iowa (16-2 in 2015).Â
*Wichita State's .878 MVC winning percentage since the start of the 2011-12 campaign leads the league by a wide margin. Northern Iowa (57-33, .633) is second, followed by Illinois State (49-41, .544).
*Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Shockers' MVC road winning percentage (.844) is higher than any other Valley schools' home percentage.
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TRENDY:
*The Shockers have several lengthy winning streaks in place against conference foes, including a school record-tying run of 13-in-a-row against Bradley and 12-straight vs. Missouri State that that rank among the longest-ever by one active Valley team over another.
*WSU has won seven or more consecutive games against seven of its nine MVC rivals.
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Vs. Bradley – 13
Vs. Missouri State – 12
Vs. Loyola – 9
Vs. Drake – 9
Vs. Indiana State – 8
Vs. Evansville – 7
Vs. Southern Illinois – 7
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IT STARTS WITH STOPS:
*The Shockers' are holding opponents to 37.1% from the field -- 11th nationally.
*WSU has held three of its foes under 30% this year and eight of the 13 to less than 40%.
*The Shockers surrendered just three first-half field goals in a Dec. 6 win over Saint Louis and limited the visiting Billikens to just nine first-half points in their most dominant defensive half since 1948.
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CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENT:
Chemistry takes time to develope. WSU has used 163 different lineup combos through 13 games, though with 16 players on the active roster, that still leaves him another 15,341 potential groupings to explore. So far, the most popular lineup has been Kelly-Brown-Shamet-Morris-Frankamp at 44 minutes, 35 seconds. Just seven of the groups have played more than 10 total minutes together.
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NEW GUYS MAKING THEIR MARK:
*Newcomers have helped jump-start WSU's offense this year with some impressive shooting numbers.
*As of Tuesday, JUCO point guard
Daishon Smith leads the MVC in free throw percentage (27/30, 90%).
*True freshman
Austin Reaves is the Valley's third-most deadly three-point shooter (15/30, 50.0%).
*JUCO forward
Darral Willis (52/90, 57.8% leads the Shockers in field goal percentage and ranks 7th on the Valley list.
*Smith, Reaves and redshirt Freshman
Landry Shamet (who played just three games last year due to injury) combined for 12 of WSU's 15 treys in a school record-tying performance against Maryland Eastern Shore last month... They had 8 of the 15 against SDSU last Thursday as WSU tied the record yet again.
*WSU's three-point shooting has improved from last year's .324 clip, up to .376 (putting them on pace for their best shooting year since the 2005-06 season) and overall field goal shooting has inched from .429 to .459.
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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... Improve their overall record to 11-3
... put them at 1-0 in MVC play for the seventh-consecutive year, extending their school record.
... make them an MVC-best 12-5 in Valley openers in the new millenium (2000-01).
... extended their winning streak against Indiana State to 9-in-a-row.
... be their ninth-consecutive victory in Terre Haute.
... up WSU's lead in the all-time series to 59-29.
... extend their true road winning streak to six games, dating back to last February.
... close out a 5-1 month of December.
... give them 30-wins in calendar year 2016 (30-7).
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A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... drop them to 10-4 for the year.
... put them under .500 in MVC play for the first time since an 0-1 start to the 2008-09 campaign.
... be their first setback in Terre Haute since the 2007-08 season and snap an eight-game winning streak at ISU.
... snap an eight-game overall winning streak vs. ISU.
... be less good than a win.
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UP AHEAD:
 WSU plays its MVC home opener on New Year's Day against Bradley (5-8, 1-3 on the road) in a 1 p.m. CT tip on Cox Channel Kansas.
 WSU has won 13-straight against Bradley since 2010.
 The Shocker women host UNI immediately after as part of a special doubleheader.
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