WICHITA, KAn. -- Wichita State (18-4, 8-1 MVC) plays four of its next six games on the road, beginning 3p.m. CT Sunday at Bradley.
 
Catch the action on ESPNU with the team of Mitch Holthus and Mark Adams, 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 1,198th consecutive game, alongside Bob Hull. Pregame begins at 2 p.m.

 

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAY

Wichita State (18-4, 8-1 MVC)  Bradley (8-14, 3-6 MVC)

Sunday, Jan. 29

3:00 P.M. CT

Peoria, Ill.

Carver Arena

Game Notes: WSU | BU

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SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: BU leads 71-69

In Peoria: BU leads 49-21

Last Meeting: Jan. 1, 2017 (WSU 100-66)

MVC STANDINGS

Team MVC OVR Illinois State 9-0 17-4 Wichita State 8-1 18-4 Loyola 5-4 15-7 Missouri State 5-4 14-8 Drake 5-4 7-14 Southern Illinois 4-5 11-11 Northern Iowa 4-5 9-11 Bradley 3-6 8-14 Evansville 1-8 10-12 Indiana State 1-8 7-14

STARTING FIVE:
 
1 ----- The Shocks, In Short: Wichita State reached eight wins in the first half of the conference schedule for a sixth consecutive year but finds itself in unfamiliar territory. The Shockers are in second place at the midway point for the first time since the 2011 season. ... WSU ranks fourth nationally in scoring margin (+18.8) and is one of just two Division I teams listed in the top-30 in both scoring offense (82.5, 23rd) and defense (63.7, 27th). Gonzaga is the other... The Shockers are the Valley's highest-scoring team since 1994 Tulsa averaged 83.4... WSU also ranks in the top-10 in field goal percentage defense (9th, 38.4) and rebound margin (9th, +8.4).. A deep rotation of ten Shockers all average at least 14 minutes per game. Three players are scoring in double-figures, led by sophomore Markis McDuffie's 12.6 points per game.
 
2 ----- Tuesday Look Back: The Shockers posted one of their five most-lopsided Valley victories ever, Tuesday night, winning by 42 (87-45) over Southern Illinois at Charles Koch Arena. Markis McDuffie recorded his third 20-point game of the season, and WSU doubled-up the Salukis from the field, shooting 56% while holding the visitors to a chilly 28%. The Shockers were +20 on the boards and outscored SIU in the paint, 44-16.
 
3 ----- Freshman Faceoff: Two of the Valley's best freshman will share the floor. Bradley's Darrell Brown leads the league's frosh in scoring at 12.1 points. WSU shooting guard Landry Shamet (10.5 points) ranks 10th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.47).
 
4 ----- Fighting for 15: The Shockers have won 14 in a row against Bradley, including a 100-66 New Years Day victory over the Braves earlier this month in Wichita. A win on Sunday would match the school record for longest series winning streak against an MVC foe. WSU took 15-in-a-row from Drake from 1979-85. WSU's overall record is a 17-game streak against Friends University from 1920-27.
 
5 ----- Game of Leap Phog: A win would also move Gregg Marshall into a tie with University of Kansas legend and fieldhouse namesake Phog Allen for fifth-place on the MVC's career conference victories list. Allen led KU to 126 Valley wins in 11 seasons (1907-09 & 1919-28). Marshall needs just 62 more wins to catch all-time leader Henry Iba of Oklahoma State (187 from 1934-57).
 
THE SERIES WITH BRADLEY:
*The programs have met 139 times. WSU has played more games against Bradley than any other opponent, with the exception of Drake (150 games). 
*No team has beaten the Shockers more than the Braves (71 wins all-time).
*WSU's 14-game series winning streak has eaten into Bradley's all-time lead (71-69). This is the closest the count has been since the 1940s when Bradley won each of the first 10 meetings in the series to pull away.
*In Peoria: WSU has won its last six games in Peoria -- one more than its entire win total from 1990 through 2010. Prior to its current six-game road streak, WSU had managed even back-to-back wins at Bradley on just two  occasions, spanning 61 years (2003/04 and 1976/77).
*In Wichita: The Shockers are 45-20 against the Braves in Wichita with wins in 12 of the last 14 Charles Koch Arena encounters... Bradley last tasted victory at Charles Koch Arena on Dec. 31, 2008... The Braves' eight-game losing skid in Wichita equals their worst stretch ever. From 1971-79, BU dropped eight-in-a-row at then-Henry Levitt Arena.
 
SWEEPING UP:
A Shocker win would also give them a regular season sweep of the Braves for the seventh consecutive year and give WSU its 46^th MVC sweep in the last eight seasons. Since 2009-10, WSU has swept 45* home-and-homes, split 19, and been swept just two times: Missouri State (2011) and Evansville (2013).
(* - Including Indiana State earlier this month)
 
LAST TIME: 1/1/2017 | Wichita | WSU 100, BU 66:
WSU shot 52.3% from the field and knocked down 13-of-29 from deep to reach the century mark against an MVC opponent for the first time since 1988... Landry Shamet and Darral Willis Jr. led a grouo of five Shockers in double-figures with 15 points apiece. Shamet also tacked on six assists... Austin Reaves was a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range en route to a season-high 14 points... Markis McDuffie (13) and Rauno Nurger (10) also reached double-digits... Darrell Brown was the lone Brave in double-figures with 12 points... The Braves turned the ball over 23 times (most by a Shocker opponent this year). Bradley's 16 first-half giveaways was the most by a Shocker foe since November, 2011 when Akron served up 19 before halftime... 
The Braves turned the ball over on four of the first six possessions, allowing WSU to build a quick lead 13-0 lead... The Shockers went up 51-29 at halftime, then opened the second half on a 17-2 run.
 
SCOUTING BRADLEY:
*Bradley is out to an 8-14 start under second-year head coach Brian Wardle, and its three first-half conference wins have already equaled the team's overall MVC total from a year ago when they finished 3-15. Wardle has a track record of success, going 96-65 in five seasons at Green Bay, culminating in three-consecutive postseason appearances.
*Wardle went all-in on youth last year, building an active roster of 10 freshmen, one sophomore and one senior. Bradley led the nation in inexperience, with freshmen combining for 5,334 minutes (over 500 more than any other team in the nation). That gamble is beginning to pay dividends with six of the 10 freshmen returning as sophomores.
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye was named to last years MVC All-Freshman Team. He attended Auburn High School in Rockford, Ill. -- three years behind recent Shocker alum Fred VanVleet.
*Bradley's young backcourt has struggled against WSU's pressure over the last two seasons. *Over the last three games, the Shockers are +40 in turnover margin (+13.3), helped by 66 Bradley turnovers (22.0/game). Bradley has turned it over at least 20 times in each of the last three meetings.
*Bradley freshman Nate Kennell and WSU freshman Austin Reaves have been the MVC's two most-accurate three-point shooters in conference play. Kennell is at 60% (12-of-20), and Reaves has hit 55.6% from downtown (10-of-18).
*In all, five of the MVC's top-11 three-point shooters (conference games only) will be on the floor Sunday. For WSU: Reaves (.556), Markis McDuffie (.480) and Conner Frankamp (.457). For Bradley: Kennel (.600) and Jayden Hodgson (.500).
*Wichita State leads the MVC in turnover margin (+3.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5). Bradley ranks last in both categories at -3.5 and 0.7.
*Redshirt junior center, Shaquille Morris has played more minutes (87) and scored more points (41) than any other Shocker against Bradley. He's averaging just over 8 points on 17-of-29 shooting (.586) over five career games.
 
14 IN FOCUS:
*Over the course of its 14-game winning streak against the Braves, WSU has defeated three different Bradley coaches. The run began with three wins in the final year of the Jim Les Era (2010-11). The Shockers were 8-0 in four seasons of battle against Geno Ford and are currently 3-0 against second-year head coach Brian Wardle.
*WSU has held a halftime lead in all but one game (they trailed 28-27 in Wichita on Jan. 7, 2015). The Shockers have won 26 of the 28 halves, overall.
*The Shockers' average margin of victory is 23.3 points, and 12 of the 14 games have been decided by at least 14 points.
*Defensively, WSU has limited Bradley to less than 60 points in 11 of the 14 games. The Braves' 66 points in Wichita earlier this month was their highest output since 2010.
*WSU is +8.1 on the boards since the streak began.
 
SEVEN STREAKS OF EIGHT-PLUS:
The Shockers have active streaks of 8+ wins against seven of their nine MVC rivals (UNI & Illinois State are the exceptions).
 
Streak, Opponent – Last Series Loss
14 vs. Bradley – Feb. 24, 2010
12 vs. Missouri State – Feb. 26, 2011
10 vs. Drake – Jan. 28, 2012
10 vs. Loyola – Dec. 27, 1974
10 vs. Indiana State – Jan. 29, 2013
8 vs. Evansville – Feb. 27, 2013
8 vs. Southern Illinois – Feb. 5, 2013
 
MARSHALL CLIMBS THE MVC's CAREER WINS LIST:
*Gregg Marshall's next MVC victory will tie him with University of Kansas legend and fieldhouse namesake Phog Allen for fifth on the Missouri Valley Conference's career wins list:
*Marshall is 125-46 (.731) in conference play in just under 10 seasons at WSU and is averaging over 13 victories per season.
*Marshall's record is especially impressive in light of how his tenure began. Six games into his second season he was 4-20 in Valley play. Since then, Marshall has won over 82 percent of his games (121-26).
 
All-Time Leaders, Regular Season MVC Wins
187-- Henry Iba (Oklahoma State), 1934-57
182 – Dana Altman (Creighton), 1994-2010
163 – Eddie Hickey (Creighton/Saint Louis), 1935-43, 46-58
128 – Barry Hinson (Missouri State/So. Illinois), 1999-08, 2012-Pr.
126 – Phog Allen (Kansas), 1907-09, 19-28
125 – Gregg Marshall (Wichita State), 2007-Present
118 – Ben Jacobson (UNI), 2006-Present
 
ALL THE ROAD RAGE:
*WSU is 5-1 this year in true road games. Three of those wins came in December when they beat Colorado State, Oklahoma and Indiana State. Victory No. 4 came in early January at Northern Iowa and No. 5 came Tuesday at Evansville. The Shockers' only loss came at Illinois State on Jan. 17.
*Against all opponents, the Shockers are 36-6 (.857) in true road games since the start of the '13-14 season and 62-14 (.816) going back to '10-11. Both marks lead the nation.
 
VALLEY ROAD WARRIORS:
*Since 2013-14, WSU has more conference road wins than any two teams combined, going 28-3 (.903).
*The Shockers have more double-figure road wins (21) in league play than any other school has total road wins. UNI is the closest with 14.
*Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the Shockers' MVC road winning percentage (49-8, .860) is higher than any other Valley schools' home percentage.
*The Shockers only MVC road losses in the last four seasons came at UNI (Jan. 31, 2015) and at Illinois State (Feb. 6, 2016 and Jan. 14, 2017).
 
KEYSER'S RISE:
*True freshman C.J. Keyser is making a push to join an already crowded Shocker rotation. He's made first-half appearances in each of the last two games. After playing just 18 total minutes in WSU's first seven conference games, Keyser logged 16 combined minutes against Indiana State and Southern Illinois and scored six points in each contest.
*After Tuesday's game, Marshall called Keyser "the most athletic kid on our team inch-for-inch, pound-for-pound. Ultimately, [he] will be a very, very, very fine player. It's just a matter [of] wedging him into the rotation."
*A stress fracture cost Keyser valuable summer reps. Though cleared in time for the start of fall practice, he's been playing catch-up ever since.
 
BENCH IMPRESSIVE:
*WSU ranks second nationally in points from its non-starters (38.8), trailing only the Citadel.
*The Shockers bench has scored at least 40 points in 13 of the 22 games and has topped 50 on four occasions.
 
MARGIN IN CHARGE:
*Wichita State has outscored its opponents by 18.8 points per game this year. Only West Virginia (+23.2), Gonzaga (+22.0) and Kentucky (+19.7) have been more dominant.
*The Shockers are ahead of the school-record pace set by the famous 2014 team, which finished 35-1 with a +15.7 margin.
*Forget 20-win seasons! The Shockers have recorded at least 20 double-figure victories in each of the last six seasons and are marching toward a seventh. They've posted 16 double-digit wins so far in 2016-17 and have 151 of them since the start of the 2010-11 campaign.
*The Shockers have won 12 times by 20-or-more points this season -- second-most ever by a WSU team. The 2015-16 Shockers posted 16 wins by 20+ points.
*WSU's eight 30-point wins are already a school record.
 
80's THROWBACKS:
*Wichita State has reached the 80-point mark in 16 of its first 22 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.
 
MORE FIGURE 80's:
*WSU has hit 80-point on 16 occasions. No other Valley team has recorded more than seven.
*There have been a total of 19 80-point games this year in MVC play. Wichita State is responsible for eight of them.
*At 82.5 points per game, Wichita State is on track to post the Valley's highest scoring average since Tulsa in 1994.
*WSU is 74-1 under Marshall when scoring at least 80, with 51 consecutive wins. Drake's 93-86 triple overtime win in January, 2012 is the lone exception.
 
TURN UP THE RATIO:
*WSU's replacement for the NBA duo of Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet is a quartet of primary ball-handlers that includes three rookies (freshmen Landry Shamet and Austin Reaves and JUCO transfer Daishon Smith) and one semi-seasoned veteran in Conner Frankamp. Yet the quartet's 2.77 assist-to-turnover ratio is actually a slight upgrade over Baker and VanVleet's 2.64 ratio in 2015-16.
 
Current Shocker Guards Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
4.07 – Conner Frankamp (Jr.) – 57 A, 14 TO
3.47 – Landry Shamet (R-Fr.) – 66 A, 19 TO
2.21 – Austin Reaves (Fr.) – 31 A, 14 TO
1.97 – Daishon Smith (Jr.) – 59 A, 30 TO
 
*The Shockers own a 1.69 assist-to-turnover ratio in Valley play (seventh-best nationally since Dec. 25).
*A Dec. 17 loss to Oklahoma State marked the only time this year that WSU has finished with more turnovers than assists (compared to 15 times for Shocker opponents).
 
SHAMET AMONG NATION'S TOP FRESHMAN IN A:TO:
*Redshirt freshman Landry Shamet enters the weekend ranked 9th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.47). Among freshmen, only UCLA's Lonzo Ball (7th, 3.58) has been better this year.
*Shamet's 5.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (33 A: 6 TO) in league play is more than double the next highest average on the MVC leaderboard.
 
FRANKAMP CHASING VANVLEET'S RATIO RECORD:
*Conner Frankamp (4.07 assist-to-turnover ratio) would need another nine assists to qualify for the national lists, but would otherwise rank fourth nationally in that category. Players need a minimum of 3.0 assists per game to be listed. Frankamp averages 2.6.
*Frankamp's 4.07 ratio is on pace to break Fred VanVleet's single-season school record (4.02), set during VanVleet's All-American sophomore season in 2014.
 
POSSIBLY THE MOST USELESS NOTE EVER (Part 2):           
Wichita State leads the Valley in "almost-double-doubles" (probably). Shocker players have missed out on double-doubles by a point and/or rebound on five occasions this year.
*Rashard Kelly -- 9 pts, 9 reb. vs. SC State (Nov. 11)
*Darral Willis -- 11 pts, 9 reb. vs. So. Nazarene (Nov. 29)
*Darral Willis -- 14 pts, 9 reb. vs. S.D. State (Dec. 22)
*Darral Willis -- 14 pts, 9 reb. at Illinois State (Jan. 17)
*Markis McDuffie -- 20 pts, 9 reb. vs. So. Illinois (Jan. 24)
 
THREES FROM THE EAVES:
*Eight different Shockers connected on a three-pointer in Tuesday's win over Southern Illinois, tying a school record set two seasons ago against Loyola Marymount.  
*The feat was especially remarkable, because WSU finished with just nine total threes. C.J. Keyser went 2-for-2, with seven others adding one trey-each.
*It also came without help from two of the team's top three-point shooters. Austin Reaves (who leads the Valley in three-point percentage) and Markis McDuffie (third on the team with 25 treys) each went 0-for-2.
*13 of the 16 Shockers have hit at least one three in a game this year.
 
THREE MORE NOTES ABOUT THREE-POINTERS:
*WSU's 8.7 three-pointers per game leads the MVC and is on pace to break the 1997-98 Shockers' school record (7.35).
*The team's .391 three-point percentage would be the program's best mark since 1989 (.421).
*WSU has been even better in Valley play, averaging 9.0 threes per game on 41.3 percent shooting.
 
A SHOOTING STAR:
*Landry Shamet has hit a three-pointer in 11 straight games. In the three-point line's 32 seasons, WSU has had 18 streaks of a dozen-or-more games. The most recent was from Ron Baker, who broke his own school record with a 27-game three-point streak in 2014-15.
*Over the last nine games (since Dec. 22), Shamet is averaging 2.4 threes per game and connecting on 48% of his tries (24-of-50).
*Shamets 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 .402.
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... Improve their overall record to 19-4.
... Give them a 9-1 MVC record and improve their four-year conference mark to 60-4.
... Up their winning streak to four games.
... Give them 15 straight wins over Bradley -- tied for the longest streak against an MVC opponent in school history.
... Close the gap in the all-time series to 71-70, Bradley.
... Run their winning streak in Peoria to seven games.
... Give them a 6-1 road record.
... Make them 29-3 in MVC road games over the last four seasons.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... Drop their overall record to 18-5.
... Sink them to 8-2 in league play.
... Snap a 14-game winning streak against Bradley.
... Snap a six-game winning streak in Peoria.
... Be the Braves' first series victory since 2010.
... Be just the fifth Valley loss by a Shocker team in the last four conference regular seasons.
... Be less good than a win.
 
NEXT UP:
The Shockers travel to Drake on Wednesday night for a 6 p.m. CT tip on Cox Channel Kansas.