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

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#25/24 WICHITA STATE (17-6, 11-1 MVC) at DRAKE (6-18, 1-11 MVC)
Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016  |  7 p.m. CT
Des Moines, Iowa / Knapp Center

Telecast --
On Air: Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022)
Time Warner SportsChannel 2 (Time Warner Cable in Kansas City)
Streaming*: ESPN3 (Link)
Announcers: Bruce Haertl & Shane Dennis
* - ESPN3 will carry the Drake feed outside of the Cox Channel Kansas and Time Warner SportsChannel viewing areas

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

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

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OPENING TIPS

Scene Setter // No. 25/24 Wichita State (17-6, 11-1 MVC) looks to bounce back from just its second Valley loss in the last three seasons when it travels to Drake (6-18, 1-11), Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip on Cox Channel Kansas.
 
Saturday // WSU is coming off a 58-53 setback at Illinois State on Saturday, which snapped a 12-game winning streak and ended a 12-month MVC unbeaten run. WSU led by 16 near the 18:00-mark of the second half but managed just 20 second-half points to drop their first Valley regular season game since Jan. 31, 2015 at Northern Iowa.
 
Closing In // The Shockers still lead by three full games in the standings over second-place ILS and Drake (both 8-4) with six games to go. A win at Drake would trim WSU's magic number (to clinch a share of the title) to 2.
 
Series Snapshot // The Shockers have played and beaten Drake more times than any other opponent. WSU leads 101-47 (36-34 in Des  Moines) in a series that dates back to 1936. Since dropping a triple-OT thriller in 2012, WSU has won three-straight at Knapp Center, where it is 12-11 all-time.
 
Road Killers //  The loss at ILS ended a nine-game road winning streak - one of the longest in the MVC's modern history. WSU is 22-2 in MVC road games over the last three seasons (.917).
 
Tosses & Turnovers //  In nine of the past 17 games (and seven of the first 12 MVC contests), WSU's opponents has finished with as many or more turnovers than field goals. That includes the last meeting with Drake in Wichita, where the Bulldogs hit just 16 shots from the field, while turning it over 18 times.
 
Beginner's Skill //  The Shockers have scored first in 14-straight games... They've come away with a basket on 13 of their last 15 opening possessions, dating back to the Utah game... Conversely, WSU has come up with a defensive stop on the opponent's first possession in 12 of the last 14 contests... Shaq Morris is 13-3 on opening tips since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 5.
 
Milestones //  Ron Baker & Fred VanVleet continue to climb the all-time lists. Baker (1,467) enters the week 13th on WSU's scoring chart and needs just four more points to catch Shocker great Cliff Levingston. VanVleet (573) passed Creighton's Ryan Sears for ninth on the MVC's all-time assist board and is 22 behind Billy Wright (Bradley) for eighth.
 
Calling Time Oust // The Shockers have called just 25 timeouts in 23 games this year (including 13 in 12 MVC tilts). They've used multiple timeouts in only five contests, while calling one-or-fewer in each of the other 18. That equates to 43 minutes, 30 seconds of unused clock kills, or enough time to watch a full episode of Breaking Bad on Netflix.
 
Stop-A-Shot // WSU held ILS to just 27.3% from the field Saturday, marking the fourth-straight game and the eighth in the last nine outings that the Shockers have kept an opponent under 40%. Only UE (.478, Jan. 6) and BU (.439, Jan. 23) have topped 40% in league play... In MVC games, WSU leads the league in FG% Defense for the fifth-straight year and is on track to post its fourth sub-.400 mark in that span. This year's .360 clip is the best in nine seasons under Gregg Marshall.
 
SERIES NOTES

• This is the 149th meeting all-time between the two programs. WSU has played and beaten the Bulldogs more times than any other opponent in its history, leading 101-47.
• WSU has won eight-straight in the series and 14 of the last 16 overall.
• The Shockers lead 36-34 all-time in Des Moines, thanks to three-straight wins. They're 12-11 all-time at the Knapp Center, which opened in 1991.
• Last year's Dec. 31 visit to Des Moines was a struggle in every sense. On the eve of the game, WSU's charter flight experienced mechanical problems, forcing it to return to Wichita less than 10-minutes into its journey. The team successfully reached Des Moines on the morning of the game. Playing without center Shaquille Morris (left at home for what Coach Gregg Marshall termed "poor practice habits") and injured forward Evan Wessel (ankle), a thin Shocker frontcourt struggled to contain Drake's Jacob Enevold, who finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds. Tekele Cotton (15 first-half points) and Ron Baker (23 points - 19 over the final 12:15) helped WSU fend off the Bulldogs, 66-58.
• WSU has won eight-straight in Wichita - all by 15+ points - and 40 of the last 44.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS

• Led by the scoring duo of sophomore Reed Timmer (17.5 points per game; 3rd in the MVC) and junior Northwestern transfer Kale Abrahamson (12.2), Drake features the Valley's most accurate three-point shooting attack at 40.3 percent for the year.
• Abrahamson (2.1) and Graham Woodward (2.0) each average over 2.0 treys per game and rank fifth and sixth on the MVC volume chart.
• The Bulldogs were picked seventh in the MVC preseason poll, ahead of Missouri State, Southern Illinois, and Bradley.
• Timmer was a member of the MVC's All-Freshman and All-Newcomer teams last year.
• Abrahamson's 41 points against Western Kentucky on Nov. 23 were the most by a Bulldog since 1981.