WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State (17-4, 7-1 MVC) hosts Southern Illinois (11-10, 4-4), Tuesday night at Charles Koch Arena. Catch the action on CBS Sports Network with Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas and Melanie Collins. Or, listen to every Shocker game, home and away, on FM 103.7 KEYN and online at goshockers.com/listen. Mike Kennedy -- now in his 37th year -- will call his 1,198^th consecutive game, alongside Dave Dahl.
 

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAY

Wichita State (17-4, 7-1 MVC)  Southern Illinois (11-10, 4-4 MVC)

Tuesday, Jan. 24

6:00 P.M. CT

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena

Tickets

Game Notes: WSU | SIU

COVERAGE

CBS Sports Network

Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas            & Melanie Collins

KEYN 103.7 FM

Listen

Live Stats

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@GoShockersLIVE | #watchus

@goshockers | #watchus

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SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: SIU leads 48-45

In Wichita: WSU leads 31-17

Last Meeting: Feb. 3, 2016 (WSU 76-55)

MVC STANDINGS

Team MVC OVR Illinois State 8-0 16-4 Wichita State 7-1 17-4 Missouri State 5-3 14-7 Loyola 4-4 14-7 Southern Illinois 4-4 11-10 Drake 4-4 6-14 Northern Iowa 3-5 8-11 Bradley 3-5 8-13 Evansville 1-7 10-11 Indiana State 1-7 7-13

STARTING FIVE:
 
1 ----- THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT: Winners of eight of their last nine and 12-of-14, Wichita State ranks fifth nationally in scoring margin (+17.7) and is in the top-15 in assist-to-turnover ratio (12th, 1.50), rebound margin (13th, +7.9) and field goal percentage defense (14th, .389). Ten Shockers average at least 14 minutes and none plays more than 25. Markis McDuffie (12.3), Darral Willis Jr. (11.7) and Landry Shamet (10.5) lead a trio of double-figure scorers, but production has come from up and down the lineup. The Shockers' 82.3 points per game is the MVC's highest scoring average since Hersey Hawkins-led Bradley in 1987-88.
 
2 ----- LAST TIME: The Shockers raced to a 24-4 lead Saturday on their way to an 84-58 home victory over Indiana State. Junior center Shaquille Morris scored a career-high 24 points -- just four days after notching his first career double-double. On Monday, Morris (20.5 ps, 9.0 reb. in 2 games) was named MVC Player of the Week.
 
3 ----- FRONT-NINE: WSU is looking to extend a string of strong starts to Valley play. A win Tuesday would give them eight wins in the first half for a sixth consecutive year. However -- barring a Redbird loss -- WSU will open the second half in second place for the first time since the 2010-11 season. 
 
4 ----- SEVEN UP: The Shockers have won seven in a row against SIU – all by double-figures. The Salukis' last victory came in February, 2013 in Carbondale. During the steak, WSU has hit over half of its shots (.501), while holding the Salukis to just under 40% from the field (.397). In addition, the Shockers have finished even or better in the turnover column in all seven contests (⁺4.3). They've spent an average of 34 minutes per game playing from in front, compared to SIU's 29 combined minutes with the lead.
 
5 ----- SUITS & SNEAKERS: Gregg Marshall and staff will join with 4,000 other coaches from around the country to help raise awareness and financial support for the American Cancer Society. During Tuesday night's game against Southern Illinois, the staff will trade dress shoes for tennis shoes as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. For more information, visit coachesvscancer.org/suitsandsneakers.
 
 
SERIES WITH THE SALUKIS:
*In 2015-16, WSU swept the regular season series against SIU for the fifth time in seven years.
*SIU (48-45), Bradley (71-69) and UNI (28-27) are the only active MVC schools with all-time series leads against the Shockers, though WSU has been gobbling up ground on both in recent years.
*No current Shocker has participated in a loss against SIU. Zach Bush was on the roster as a redshirt in 2012-13 when the Salukis and Shockers split in 2012-13.
*SIU has turned over its entire roster since last beating WSU on Feb. 5, 2012 in Carbondale.
*SIU owns six wins over Gregg Marshall – second-most among active Valley schools. After losing his first four to SIU, Marshall (13-6 career vs. SIU) has turned the tables by winning 13 of the last 15.
*WSU's seven-game winning streak against SIU is its second longest ever against the Salukis. From 1980-84, the Shockers took nine-in-a-row.
*WSU has won five-straight over the Salukis at the Roundhouse. SIU's last win in Wichita came just under six years ago (Feb. 8, 2011). 
*The Salukis are still one of the arena's most successful visitors. They're 5-8 since the building's 2003 renovation and rededication as Charles Koch Arena. In that span, only UNI (6-7) has won more games. Creighton ranks third with a 3-7 record.
*WSU has won three straight in Carbondale, matching a program-best, and has won 6-of-7 overall at SIU Arena.
 
 
SCOUTING SIU:
*First Team All-Valley selection, Anthony Beane is gone, but other scorers have emerged in his absence.
*Armon Fletcher averaged just over 5 points per game last year as a redshirt freshman, but is putting up a team-best 13.7 points while averaging just over 2 three-pointers per game. 
*Point guard Mike Rodriguez made the MVC All-Newcomer Team last year after arriving as a JUCO transfer and is averaging 13.6 points per game.
*Sean O'Brien is one of the league's best big men at 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds with six double-doubles.
*Six Salukis are combining to average over 82 percent of the team's minutes. All six log at least 23.9 minutes per game. By contrast, Landry Shamet (24.9) is the only Shocker who averages more than 24 minutes.
*SIU had one of the nation's biggest turnarounds last year, jumping from seven wins in 2014-15 to 22 last year.
*SIU ranks at the bottom of the league in both three-point percentage and three-point field goal percentage defense – a dangerous combo. The Salukis are connecting on just 31.9 percent of their attempts from deep, while their opponent are hitting over 40 percent for the year.
*Shaq Morris had two of his better games as an underclassmen against SIU. As a freshman, he hit 7-of-8 shots and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in just 14 minutes in the Shockers' February, 2015 win in Carbondale. He scored 13 points and blocked three shots in a Feb., 2016 win in Wichita.
 
2015-16 SERIES (WSU, 2-0):
WSU posted a pair of 20+ point wins. The average margin of victory was 23.0 points. SIU didn't top 40 percent from the field in either game and hit a combined 7-of-34 from three (.206), compared to WSU's 21-of-44 effort from beyond the arc (.477)… WSU forced 39 SIU turnovers in the two games.
 
Jan. 9, 2016 | Carbondale | WSU 83, SIU 55
The Shockers won a battle of 3-0 teams at a sold out SIU Arena and – helped by an Illinois State loss – took over sole possession of first place in the Valley standings… WSU took the large crowd out of the game early by racing to a 28-10 lead after just 10 minutes… SIU committed 17 turnovers… WSU was a sizzling 12-of-24 from three and outrebounded SIU by 15… Ron Baker scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half… Conner Frankamp added 14 points, hitting 4-of-7 from deep… Fred VanVleet snagged a career-best 12 rebounds… Up 43-29 at halftime, WSU put the game away with a 15-2 run to start the second half.
 
Feb. 3, 2016 | Wichita | #21 WSU 76, SIU 55
Gregg Marshall earned his 221st win at Shocker head coach to pass Ralph Miller as Wichita State's all-time wins leader… WSU earned the last of 43 consecutive home victories. The streak would come to an end 10 days later against UNI… Fred VanVleet recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists… The win was also the 1500th in program history… Shaquille Morris scored a team-high 13 points and recorded three blocks… SIU won the rebounding battle 48-31, marking the first time in seven years that a Marshall team had been on the other end of a double-digit rebounding margin… WSU atoned by forcing 22 SIU turnovers and holding the visitors to just 30.6 percent from the field.
 
FOGGY ON THE GLASS:
*The Shockers will try to reverse a troubling trend. They've been outrebounded by SIU in four of the last five meetings, including back-to-back in Wichita.
*Last year's minus-17 tally against the Salukis was the most lopsided MVC rebound margin of the Gregg Marshall Era and the team's worst home margin in any game since his arrival.
*Including Arch Madness, the Shockers have finished even or better on the boards in 150 of their 190 games overall against MVC teams (78.9%).
*SIU is looking to become just the second team to outrebound a Marshall Shocker team in three consecutive visits to Charles Koch Arena (joining Ind. St., 2011-13).
*In Valley play, WSU has been outrebounded at home just 15 times in 10 seasons under Marshall. Since 2013-14, it's happened just four times. Loyola outrebounded the Shockers by 5 earlier this month. SIU was the only one of the nine visitors to do it in 2015-16.
 
 
 
MORE ON MORRIS:
*Shaquille Morris logged 22 and 21 minutes in wins over Evansville and Indiana State last week. Significant, because it marked the first time in Morris' three-year career that he had spent more time on the court than on the bench in consecutive games (it's happened just eight times total).
*The 6-foot-8 Morris has been one of the team's most productive offensive players throughout his career – at least on a per minute basis. As a freshman, he averaged 14.9 points per 40 minutes (fourth-highest among Shocker regulars). Last year his 17.4 points per 40 ranked a close second on the team behind senior Ron Baker's 17.8.
*However, lack of stamina and motor kept Morris from being more of an overall factor. He averaged just 12.7 minutes as a freshman and 15.6 as a sophomore.
*Morris has made great strides in both areas as a junior, and as he continues to recover from a December leg injury that sidelined him for two games and slowed him for half-a-dozen others, that progress is beginning to show out on the court.
*In two games last week, Morris played at an all-conference level, averaging 20.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, while showing a much more aggressive side to his game. He went to the foul line 21 times last week. Prior to that, he had attempted just 24 freebies all season.
 
 
MORE FIGURE 80's   
*WSU has hit 80-point on 15 occasions. No other Valley team has recorded more than seven. 
*WSU has scored at least 80 in all of its seven conference wins. A year ago, the Shockers reached 80 on just seven occasions in MVC play.
*Wichita State has reached the 80-point mark in 15 of its first 21 games. 
*That's the most 80-point games ever recorded by a Gregg Marshall team in his 19 seasons as a head coach, passing up WSU's 2011-12 squad (14 times). The 2013-14 Shockers and 1999-00 Winthrop Eagles did it a dozen times each.
*The 2016-17 group beomes the eighth Shockers team to score 80 on 15-or-more occasions in a season and the first in 32 years. The 1984-85 squad, led by Xavier McDaniel, averaged just 76 points per game but hit 80 in 16 of 31 contests.
*With 10 regular season games remaining, the 2016-17 team is on pace to challenge the program's all-time mark, set in the 1978-79 in Gene Smithson's first year, when senior Cheese Johnson helped WSU eclipse 80 in 22 of its 28 contests.
 
 
RANDOM KNOWLEDGE        
*WSU committed just one second-half turnover in two games last week and only 12 total.
*The Shockers have not lost a January home game since Jan. 29, 2013 against Indiana State.
*They've won 14-straight since Jan. 1, 2014.
*WSU ranks second nationally in points from its non-starters (38.6), trailing only the Citadel (41.7). The Shockers bench has scored at least 40 points in 12 of the 21 games and has topped 50 on four occasions.
 
A SHOOTING STAR    
*Landry Shamet has hit a three-pointer in 10 straight games and has hit multiple threes in eight of them.
*Over the last nine games (since Dec. 22), Shamet is averaging over 2.5 threes per game and connecting on nearly 48 percent of his tries (23-of-48).
*Shamet's recent surge came on the heels of a 15-of-47 start to the year. In a span of just 30 days, he lifted his season percentage from .319 to an even .400.
 
ANOTHER SHOOTING STAR 
*Austin Reaves leads the MVC in three-point shooting (25-of-46, .543) and is on pace to post one of the top-3 percentage seasons in conference history -- yet Shocker fans are far more enamoured by his ability to dunk a basketball. Though Reaves is 6-foot-5, the 165-pound freshman's athleticism is oft-underestimated. Twice this year Reaves has turned fastbreaks into slams. The latest came Saturday against Indiana State.
*Since the three-point line's official debut in 1985-86, Joe Ragland is the only Shocker (with more than 30 makes) to shoot better than 50% from three over a full season, ending a .504 (59/117). He's also the only WSU player to finish as the MVC leader in that category.
*WSU's freshman three-point percentage record belongs to Rob Kampman, who shot .475 (28-of-59) during the 2001-02 season.
 
POSSIBLY THE MOST USELESS NOTE EVER 
By some cosmic coincidence, this is the first time in 10 seasons under Gregg Marshall that  WSU has played a men's basketball game on January 24. (Hey, you were warned)... The last time it happened, Jan. 24, 2007, the Shockers picked up an 82-77 home win over Drake... WSU has also not played on Jan. 30 since 2007, but that streak will endure for at least another year.
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...  
... Improve their overall record to 18-4.
... Give them an 8-1 MVC record and mark the sixth consecutive year that the team has won at least eight games ahead of the midway point of the conference schedule
... Up their winning streak to three games.
... Give them eight straight wins of SIU.
... Close the gap in the all-time series to 48-46.
... Run their Charles Koch Arena winning streak to 15 games.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD... 
... Drop their overall record to 17-5.
... Sink them to 7-2 in league play.
... Snap a seven-game winning streak against SIU.
... Be the Salukis' first series win over WSU since 2013.
... Snap a 14-game Charles Koch Arena winning streak.
... Be just their fifth Valley loss in the last four conference regular seasons.
... Be less good than a win.