OPENING TIPS
*Wichita State (8-2) and Oklahoma (6-2) square off on the hardwood for the first time in over four decades Saturday afternoon at Oklahoma City's Chesapeake Energy Arena.
*OU will make a return trip to Wichita in 2017-18 to take part in the Shockers' annual downtown game at INTRUST Bank Arena.
*WSU plays back-to-back games against Big 12 teams from the Sooner State, continuing at home next Saturday against Oklahoma State (6 p.m. CT, ESPN3).
 

SHOCKERS vs. SOONERS

rv/rv Wichita State (8-2, 0-0 MVC)   Oklahoma (6-2, 0-0 Big 12)

Saturday, Dec. 10

3:00 P.M. CT

Oklahoma City, Okla.

Chesapeake Energy Arena

Tickets

Game Notes: WSU | OU

COVERAGE

ESPN2

WatchESPN

Rich Hollenberg & Mark Adams

KEYN 103.7 FM

Listen

Live Stats

SOCIAL

@GoShockersLIVE | #watchus

@goshockers | #watchus

Go Shockers

SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: OU leads 4-1

In Norman: OU leads 2-0  In Wichita: OU leads 2-1

Last Meeting: Dec. 20, 1975 (WSU 65-60)

AT A GLANCE

Stat Comparison OU WSU Points/Game 80.5 82.3 Opp. Points/Game 69.3 58.1 Field Goal % .486 .465 3-PT Field Goal % .419 .389 Free Throw % .689 .711 Rebound Margin +4.3 +10.9 Turnover Margin 0.0 +4.4 Assist-TO Ratio 0.93 1.43 Blocks/Game 5.1 2.9

ON THE AIR:
*The 3 p.m. CT tipoff can be seen on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg and Mark Adams on the call.
*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 1,183rd consecutive game, alongside Bob Hull.
*Kennedy also hosts the Gregg Marshall Coaches Show on Monday nights from 6-7 p.m. Fans can tune in on KNSS 1330AM/98.7 FM or watch it live at AJ's Sports Bar & Grill at the corner of 13th & Greenwich Road.
 
ALL-COLLEGE CLASSIC:
*WSU-OU doubles as the 79^th All-College Classic.
*Though its format has evolved over the years (from an eight-team tournament bracket to a single-game), the All-College Classic is considered the nation's oldest basketball event, outdating the NCAA, NIT, NAIA and NBA. 
*Originated and sponsored for 21 years by the Oklahoma Publishing Company, the event became the major annual project of the OKC All-Sports Association in 1957.
*This is the Shockers' ninth overall appearance in the event but their first since 1970. 
*Under the previous tournament format, WSU went 16-8 with two titles (1961 & 64) and one runner-up finish.
 
NOTES TO KNOW:
*Through 10 games, WSU ranks fourth nationally in scoring margin (+24.2) and 11^th in rebound margin (+10.9). Opponent average just 58.1 pts (8^th) on 35.1^% shooting (6^th).
*Team Depth... WSU leads the nation in bench scoring (49.2), and all 10 rotation players average at least 5.6 points and 13.0 minutes. None are averaging more than 11.1 points or 23.0 minutes.
*The Shockers needed less than a month to set a single-season school record. Tuesday's 75-45 win over Saint Louis was their sixth 30-point win of the year.
*The team has won three-straight, and their only losses this year have come to top-25 teams (Louisville & Michigan State).
*The Shockers went 9-3 last year in true road games and are out to a 1-0 start this year.. WSU has been this decade's best true road team, with an .814 road percentage (58-10) since 2010-11… That includes a 12-5 mark in non-conference road contests.
 
WSU-OKLAHOMA SERIES SNIPPETS:
*WSU and OU last battled 41 years ago but will play a two-year home-and-home series. The Sooners make a return visit to Wichita's INTRUST Bank Arena in December of 2017.
*This only the third post-World War II meeting between the programs. The teams split a home-and-home series in December of 1974 and 1975. Robert Elmore (brother of former NBA player, turned TV analyst Len Elmore) scored 20 points for the Shockers in both games.
*Silver Lake, Kan. native Lon Kruger played and coached at Kansas State. As a head coach, he's 7-1 all-time against the Shockers (4-1 at K-State, 2-0 at Florida, 1-0 at Illinois) with a 2-1 mark in Wichita.
*Kruger and Marshall have never gone head-to-head.
*Marshall's lone meeting with Oklahoma came during his second season at Winthrop when his 14th-seeded Eagles lost to No. 3 seed Oklahoma in the NCAA Round of 64.
 
THE HOMECOMING COURT:
A couple of Shockers have Oklahoma City roots:
*Redshirt junior center, Shaquille Morris attended Edmond Santa Fe High School before finishing up at Edmond Memorial HS.
*Senior point guard John Robert Simon is a Putnam City North grad and earned honorable mention Big All-City honors in both football (quarterback) and basketball.
*Morris and Simon (along with walk-on senior Zach Bush) are the last three links to the Shockers' 2013-14 undefeated team. Morris redshirted, while Simon saw time in 25 games as a deep reserve.
 
FRIEND TURNED FOE:
*WSU redshirt junior center, Shaquille Morris will go head-to-head with his former Edmond Memorial High School teammate Jordan Woodard for the first time in his collegiate career. *Morris averaged 20 points and 8.7 rebounds, and fellow-senior Woodward put up 15 points, 7 boards and just under 7 assists for a team that won the Oklahoma Class 6A State Championships in 2013. Allen registered a steal and game-winning tip-in to bring home the title.
 
400-WIN CLUB HOPPING:
*Gregg Marshall (432 career wins) goes head-to-head with yet another fellow-member of the college basketball's 400-win club in Oklahoma's Lon Kruger (595 career victories).
*At the Battle 4 Atlantis, WSU faced Louisville's Rick Pitinto (752) and Michigan State's Tom Izzo (529) on back-to-back days. On Dec. 3, the Shockers defeated Colorado State and Larry Eustachy (494).
 
GREAT BALANCING ACT:
*Through nine games, eight different Shockers have taken a turn as leading scorer, most recently Rashard Kelly, who scored a career-high 15 points in the win over Saint Louis.
*WSU has had a bench player lead or share the lead in scoring in eight consecutive games and in 9-of-10 games overall.
 
DEPTH CHARGED:
*A total of 10 Shockers are logging at least 13 minutes per game, led by Markis McDuffie (team-high 22.3).
*All 10 regulars are all averaging at least 5.6 points, again led by McDuffie (11.1) and Darral Willis (10.0).
*Nine different WSU players have made multiple starts.
*Landry Shamet is the only Shocker who has started in all 10 games.
 
CHANGING OF THE GUARDS:
*Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet are no longer on the roster, but a guard-by-committee approach has posted comparable offensive numbers compared to 2015-16 (see chart below.
*The quartet of Conner Frankamp, Daishon Smith, Landry Shamet and Austin Reaves have played the bulk of the minutes this year.
 
Comparing Baker/VanVleet --> Frankamp/Smith/Shamet/Reaves
Points/40 minutes: 17.35 --> 14.71
Field Goal Percentage: .409 --> .422
3-Point Percentage: .361 --> .411
Free Throw Percentage: .804 --> .831
Assists/40 minutes: 5.68 --> 5.27
Turnovers/40 minutes: 2.15 --> 1.81
Blocks/40 minutes: .48 --> .27
Steals/40 minutes: 2.15 --> 1.92
Assist-to-Turnover Ratio: 2.64 --> 2.91
 
*Guards are doing less of the heavy-lifting on offense in the new era. Points and assists are down from a year ago, but the backcourt has been slightly more efficient with its shooting and ball handling. The latter is somewhat surprising, with VanVleet annually ranking among the national leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
THREEMENDOUS START:
*True freshman Austin Reaves has connected on 12-of-22 three-point attempts and is tied for the MVC lead in three-point percentage heading into the weekend (.526).
*Fellow guard Daishon Smith (.500) is tied for fourth on the same list.
*WSU is on pace for its best 3-point shooting year since 1989 at .389. (much improved from last year's .324).
*Last season, Fred VanVleet's .381 three-point percentage was the highest among Shocker regulars, but he would tie for fifth on the current squad. Four different players are shooting 40% or better from long range.
*WSU's 15-for-24 performance against Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 20 tied the school's single-game record for most three-point makes.
 
MIND THE GAP:
*The Shockers' are outscoring opponents by 23.6 points per game -- fourth nationally.
*WSU is the only team from outside of the "Power 5" conferences that is currently ranked in the top-10.

>> National Scoring Margin Leaders (Thru Dec. 7)
1. West Virginia – +30.3
2. Kentucky -- +26.1
3. Notre Dame -- +25.2
4. Wichita State -- +24.2
5. North Carolina -- +23.6
6. Iowa State -- +23.4
7. Virginia -- +22.8
8. UCLA -- +22.0
9. Utah -- +22.0
10. Duke -- +21.2
 
BENCH RULING:
*WSU enters the weekend as the national leader in bench scoring (49.2 per game from non-starters).
*A Shocker reserve has led or shared the scoring lead in 9 of the first 10 contests, and bench players have accounted for just under 60% of the team's overall output (49.2 out of 82.3).
 
>> National Bench Scoring Leaders (Thru Dec. 7)
1. Wichita State – 49.2
2. Citadel – 48.8
3. West Virginia – 43.3
4. Savannah State – 42.7
5. Oklahoma State – 40.1
 
GETTING ON BOARDS:
*WSU's 433 total rebounds trails only Coastal Carolina  (436) for the national lead.
*Over the past month, the Shockers have recorded three of the five highest single-game rebounding totals of the Marshall Era (2007-Pr.).
 
UP AHEAD:
*WSU will play its annual downtown game next Saturday at INTRUST Bank Arena against Oklahoma State. 
*For the third consecutive year, the 15,004 seat building is completely sold out. 
*The 6 p.m. tip can be seen in all 50 states on ESPN3.