WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State (14-3, 4-0 MVC) returns home to face Loyola (12-5, 2-2), Wednesday evening for a 6 p.m. tip at Charles Koch Arena.

WSU GAME NOTES (PDF Format)
 
TUNE IN:
The game will be televised statewide on Cox Channel Kansas, with Shane Dennis and Bob Hull. Fans around the region can catch simulcasts on Spectrum Sports Kansas City (formerly Time Warner SportsChannel) as well as the MVC Television Network (with exception of Fox Sports Kansas City. Fans outside of the MVC footprint can also stream the game via ESPN3.
 

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAY

Wichita State (14-3, 4-0 MVC)  Loyola (12-5, 2-2 MVC)

Wednesday, Jan. 11

6:00 P.M. CT

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena

Tickets

Game Notes: WSU | LU

COVERAGE

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Shane Dennis & Bob Hull

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SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: WSU leads 25-9

In Wichita: WSU leads 12-4

Last Meeting: March 4, 2016 (WSU 66-58)

MVC STANDINGS

Team MVC OVR Wichita State 4-0 14-3 Illinois State 4-0 12-4 Southern Illinois 3-1 10-7 Loyola 2-2 12-5 Missouri State 2-2 11-6 Bradley 2-2 7-10 Drake 2-2 4-12 Evansville 1-3 10-7 Indiana State 0-4 6-10 Northern Iowa 0-4 5-10

STARTING FIVE:
1 ----- It's a battle of the Valley's top offenses. The Shockers are averaging an MVC-best 83.2 points, with Loyola second at 77.5. Both teams are among the nation's top-20 in assist-to-turnover ratio, with Loyola (1.47, 15^th) carrying a slight edge over WSU (1.45, 17^th). The Ramblers also rank fourth nationally in shooting percentage (.515) and 19^th in three-point percentage (.400), but they'll face a WSU defense that ranks among the D-I leaders in field goal defense (.378, 8th).
2 ----- For the second time this year (and 19^th time under Gregg Marshall), WSU has a five-game winning streak. The latest victory came Sunday at Northern Iowa, 80-66. MVC Newcomer of the Week, Landry Shamet hit five threes and scored 14 of his game-high 17 in the first half to help the Shockers overcome early foul trouble, and WSU pulled away late with key contributions from reserves Rauno Nurger (13 points) and Conner Frankamp (11).
3 ----- The Shockers are 4-0 in the MVC for the fifth consecutive year and 11^th time overall in their 72 Valley seasons. Each of the 10 previous WSU teams that started 4-0 went on to finish in the top-2 in the Valley standings, with six claiming conference titles. A Wednesday night win would push them to 5-0 for the fourth straight season and set up a potential first-place showdown with Illinois State on Saturday in Normal (7 p.m., ESPN2).
4 ----- In its first four MVC games, WSU is averaging 87.5 points and outscoring opponents by 20.3. The Shockers are outrebounding Valley foes by an average of 13.0 per contest and outshooting them 49.4 to 40.0%. Shamet (14.3), Darral Willis Jr. (14.0) and Markis McDuffie (13.3) are all in double-figures.
5 ----- WSU is 7-0 against the Ramblers since Loyola's MVC debut in 2013-14. The Shockers have swept the last three regular season series and won a bonus quarterfinal matchup in last year's MVC Tournament quarterfinals... Overall, the Shockers have won their last nine against Loyola, and a Wednesday night win would give them active double-digit winning streaks against four of their nine Valley rivals (14 vs. Bradley, 12 vs. Missouri St., 10 vs. Drake).

THE SERIES WITH LOYOLA:
*The Shockers lead 25-9 all-time in a series that stretches to the early 1960s.
*WSU is 7-0 against the Ramblers since their MVC debut in 2013-14. The Shockers have swept the last three regular season series and also won a quarterfinal matchup in last year's MVC Tournament.
*WSU is 14-1 all-time against Loyola's Porter Moser.The Shockers won seven of eight meetings during Moser's four-year tenure at Illinois State (2003-07).
*WSU special assistant Chris Jans worked three seasons under Moser in Normal. When Moser moved to Loyola in 2007, Jans joined Gregg Marshall's newly formed staff at Wichita State.
*In the first ever meeting in March of 1963, WSU -- led by one of its all-time greats, Dave Stallworth -- defeated Loyola on its home court, 73-72. That Loyola team would go on to finish 29-2 and win the NCAA title.
*That game marked the beginning of a regular two-game home-and home 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.
 
LAST  YEAR vs. LOYOLA:
*WSU swept all three meetings. The Shockers led wire-to-wire in the two regular season games but needed a late comeback to survive eighth-seeded Loyola's upset bid in the MVC Quarterfinals.
*Loyola shot just 36.0% combined in the three games... WSU outrebounded the Ramblers by an average +6.6.
*Shaquille Morris blocked 10 shots against the Ramblers. Six of those came in the MVC quarterfinal win when he set the Shockers' single-game Valley Tournament mark.
 
Jan. 27, 2016 | Wichita | WSU , 80-54        
Shaquille Morris led all scorers with 12 points to go with six rebounds on 6-of-8 shooting, and Rashard Kelly chipped in 11 points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench... Ron Baker 's six steals were one shy of the school record... WSU's 23-4 run KO'ed Loyola after it had climbed back to within 11 early in the second half.
           
Feb. 24, 2016 | Chicago | WSU, 76-54         
Baker led all scorers with 19 points and moved into the top-10 on WSU's all-time scoring list... Anton Grady finished with 17.. Fred VanVleet tied the MVC's modern record with his 62nd career conference wins (he earned it outright three days later in the Shockers' season finale.)
 
Mar. 4, 2016 | St. Louis, MVC Quarterfinal | WSU, 66-58  
Baker scored 13 of his game-high 25 points over the final 5:34 to rescue the Shockers from a 52-45 hole.... Baker (5-of-8 from deep) lifted the Shockers on his shoulders, draining treys on consecutive trips to make it a one-point game. He drained another at 1:54 to give the Shockers the lead... Morris delivered a game-changing defensive effort with six blocks (most ever by a Shocker in an MVC Tournament game) in 16 minutes... Zach Brown and VanVleet scored 10-each.
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*In league play, nobody has more steals than Daishon Smith (9) and Loyola's Milton Doyle (9).
*Doyle is the Ramblers' last holdover from their days in their Horizon League days (he redshirted in 2012-13) and is also the only remaining player from Loyola's inaugural MVC team in 2013-14. Doyle -- the 2014 MVC Freshman and Newcomer of the Year -- averages a team-high 15.5 points.
*Loyola's top four scorers pack some punch, while the Shockers have settled for a more balanced approach: For the full season, Loyola's quartet of Doyle (15.5), Jackson (14.4), Ingram (13.1) and Custer (12.7) all rank in the top-15 on the MVC scoring chart. WSU's Darral Willis (12.1) and Markis McDuffie (11.8)  are 18th and 20th.
*WSU's Austin Reaves (22/40, .550) and Loyola's Clayton Custer (34/70, .486) are the Valley's two most accurate three-point shooters.
*Loyola junior transfer Aundre Jackson has been one of the MVC's top additions this year (14.4 pts in 30.6 minutes). He and Shocker walk-on sophomore Kaelen Malone were teammates last season at McLennan (Texas) Junior College and helped the school to a 27-5 finish, a No. 9 national ranking, and its first NJCAA National Tournament appearance in 18 years.
*A couple of Ramblers have Kansas ties. Clayton Custer and Ben Richardson played together at Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park. Custer was one of five 2014 finalists for the DiRenna Award, given to the KC Metro Player of the Year, along with former Shocker, Ty Taylor II of Grandview. WSU redshirt freshman Landry Shamet  (from Kansas City's Park Hill High School was a 2015 DiRenna Award finalist).
 
FIGURE 80's:
*At 83.2 points per game, Wichita State is on track to post the Valley's highest scoring average since the 1987-88 season when Hersey Hawkins-led Bradley put up 92.7 per contest. No MVC team has averaged more than 80 per game since 1993-94 Tulsa (81.9).
*WSU has scored at least 80 in all four Valley games. That's the program's longest string since the 1984-85 Shockers, led by Xavier McDaniel and Aubrey Sherrod, finished off a school record streak of 11-in-a-row against league foes.
*WSU is 70-1 under Marshall when scoring at least 80, with 47 consecutive wins. Drake's 93-86 triple overtime win in January, 2012 is the lone exception.
 
OBSCURE STREAK WATCH:
19 ----- Consecutive Wednesday victories for the Shockers, dating back over two years. WSU lost at nationally-ranked Utah on Dec. 3, 2014 but won its last eight Wednesdays in 2014-15. The Shockers were 7-0 on hump day in 2015-16 and are 4-0 so far this year.
12 ----- Consecutive January wins for WSU, which is 3-0 this year after a 9-0 sweep in 2015-16. The Shockers' last January loss came at UNI on Jan. 31, 2015.
9 ----- Consecutive Charles Koch Arena games in which the Shockers have scored the first points.
 
THE STEAL DEAL:
*Daishon Smith has recorded at least one steal in 11 straight games.
*Smith's 11-game streak ranks as one of the better Marshall Era efforts. Fred VanVleet -- the Shockers' all-time steals leader -- never strung together more than 12 in a row. Ron Baker's best was 17 as a sophomore, but two-time MVC Defensive Player of the Year, Tekele Cotton set the standard, recording a steal in 25-straight games (the last 18 of his junior season and first seven as a senior in 2014-15).
*Smith has totaled nine steals in four Valley games -- tied for the league lead.
 
EIGHT IS GREAT:
*WSU's eight-game MVC regular season winning streak is tied for the eighth-longest in school history.
*From 2013-15, WSU set a modern conference record in 2015 with a streak of 27-consecutive MVC regular season wins. Last year, the Shockers built up a similar 19-game streak that ranks among the 10-longest of the league's post World War II era.
 
LEADER OF THE PACK:
*Since the start of the 2013-14 season, Wichita State (55-3, .948) has been more dominant in conference play than any other team in any other conference.
 
RANDOM KNOWLEDGE:
*Shocker reserves have combined for 28 double-figure scoring games. Rauno Nurger (13 points) and Conner Frankamp (11) are the two latest to do it over the weekend at UNI.
*Shamet is 16-of-33 from three-point range over his last five games, after starting the year 15-of-47, raising his three-point percentage from .319 to .388.
*WSU is shooting better from three (.381) as opponents are shooting overall from the field (.378).
*The Shockers' 17.2 assists per game leads the Valley, and the team's assist-to-field goal ratio is their highest in 10 seasons under Gregg Marshall (60.3%).
*WSU carries 16 active players – something of a rarity. In the first 16 games, Marshall has played the entire roster in eight different games and gone at least 15-deep on 10 occasions.
*The Shockers have called just 14 timeouts through the first 17 games, and just two of those have come in the second half.
*The Shockers snapped a string of 501-consecutive MVC regular season games without a 100-point performance when they defeated Bradley on Jan. 1, 100-66. It was their first time hitting the century mark against a Valley opponent since a 102-70 win over Indiana State on Feb. 6, 1988.
*Last Wednesday night, Daishon Smith finished with a share of the scoring lead for the second time this year. Nine different Shockers have led or shared top-billing in at least one game this year, and six have done it on more than one occasion. Austin Reaves, who finished a point shy of being the leading scorer against Bradley (14), is the only one of the 10 core rotation players who has yet to do it.
*WSU is 14-0 when outshooting the opposition and 0-3 when the tables are turned. 
*The 2016-17 Shockers are markedly improved marksmen, one of the biggest reasons why their scoring average has jumped by over 10 points. This year's group is shooting .468 from the field and .381 from three en route to 83.2 points per game. The 2015-16 Shockers finished up at .407, .328 and 71.1.
 
RECORD WATCH:
*At 83.2 points, the Shockers are on pace for their highest scoring average since Antoine Carr, Xavier McDaniel and Aubrey Sherrod teamed up during the 1982-83 season. That group averaged 83.4 points per game, and all three of those players became top-35 NBA draft picks.
*WSU is on pace to obliterate its season record for three-point makes. The current pace of 8.6 per game is well ahead of the 7.2 averaged by the 1998-99 Shockers, as well as last year's 7.1 pace.
*Shaquille Morris's 497 career points are the most among active Shockers. He enters Wednesday night needing just three more to reach 500. Fellow junior Zach Brown (478 career points) is also closing in on that milestone, needing 22 more, and sophomore Markis McDuffie (452) is 48 away.
 
HOME COOKIN':
*The Shockers are out to an 9-0 start at Charles Koch Arena and are outscoring their on-campus opponents by an average of 32.0 points per game. All nine wins are by 20+ points.
*In those seven games, WSU trailed for a total of 108 seconds (51 to Tulsa, 58 to SDSU), with seven other wire-to-wire wins.
*WSU is +15.0 on the glass. The team has been outrebounded on Devlin Court just 13 times in 10 seasons under Marshall (152 games).
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD:
… run their winning streak to a season-high six games
… improve their overall record to 15-3
… be their 13th-straight Charles Koch Arena victory.
… make them 5-0 in MVC play for the 4th straight year.
… give them nine-straight conference wins (the eighth longest run in Shocker history).
… up their winning streak against Loyola to 10 games.
… widen the margin in the all-time series to 26-9, WSU.
… extend their Wednesday winning streak to 20.
… give them 13-consecutive January victories (WSU went 9-0 in January, 2016).
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD:
… drop them to 14-4 for the year.
… snap an eight-game MVC winning streak.
… sink their MVC record to 4-1.
… snap a nine-game winning streak against Loyola and be the Ramblers' first win over the Shockers since 1974.
… improve Loyola's MVC era record against WSU to 7-1.
… be less good than a win.
 
UP AHEAD:
*Wichita State pays a visit to MVC co-leader Illinois State (12-4, 4-0 MVC) Saturday night for a nationally-televised game on ESPN2 (7 p.m. CT).
*The Shockers have won 15 of the last 18 in the series, though the teams split in 2015-16. After Illinois State won in Normal, WSU avenged the loss just three weeks later, 74-58, on Senior Day.