Wichita, Kan. -- Wichita State (12-3, 2-0 MVC) hosts Drake (3-11, 1-1) Wednesday evening for a 7 p.m. CT tip at Charles Koch Arena, Home of Devlin Court. The game will be televised statewide on Cox Channel Kansas (Cox HD 2022), or fans can catch the Shocker Radio broadcast on FM 103.7 KEYN and GoShockers.com

MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAY

rv/rv Wichita State (12-3, 2-0 MVC)   Drake (3-11, 1-1 MVC)

Wednesday, Jan. 4

7:00 P.M. CT

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena

Tickets

Game Notes: WSU | DU

COVERAGE

Cox Channel Kansas (HD 2022)

WatchESPN (Subject to Blackout)

Shane Dennis & Bob Hull

KEYN 103.7 FM

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SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: WSU leads 102-47

In Wichita: WSU leads 62-12

Last Meeting: Feb. 9, 2016 (WSU 74-48)

AT A GLANCE

Stat Comparison DU WSU Points/Game 85.5 82.9 Opp. Points/Game 90.5 63.5 Field Goal % .488 .465 3-PT Field Goal % .429 .374 Free Throw % .806 .723 Rebound Margin +0.5 +8.7 Turnover Margin -4.5 +4.0 Assist-TO Ratio 1.0 1.4 Blocks/Game 1.5 4.0

WSU GAME NOTES (PDF Format)

STARTING FIVE:
1 ---- Wichita State and Drake meet for the 150th time on Wednesday night in a series that has run uninterrupted for 72 years. WSU leads 102-47. In the league's 110-year basketball history, no two Valley teams have met more frequently in league play. This will be their 132nd MVC regular season meeting since 1946. (see page 3 for a list of some of WSU's most memorable moments vs. Drake).
2 ---- Including conference tournament games, the Shockers are 40-4 against the Bulldogs in Wichita over the past 40 seasons, last losing on Dec. 29, 2007.
3 ---- Drake has increased its tempo in six games under interim head coach, Jeff Rutter with five-straight 80-point games and back-to-back 100-point performances in late December. The Shockers are also capable of pushing the pace, scoring 100 for the second time on Sunday. A fast-paced game could put a couple of streaks in jeopardy: (1) WSU hasn't surrendered more than 80 at Charles Koch Arena since a 93-83 triple-overtime win over Indiana State in January, 2011; and (2) the Shockers haven't recorded back-to-back 100-point scoring games since February, 1988.
4 ---- WSU is 12-0 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 .465 from the field and .374 from three en route to 82.9 points per game. The 2015-16 Shockers finished up at .407, .328 and 71.1.
5 ---- The Shockers (2-0 MVC) are one of three remaining unbeatens in Valley play. The other two (Illinois State and Missouri State) go head-to-head Wednesday in Normal, with the winner assured a 3-0 start. The Shockers can keep pace and create a two-way tie atop the standings with a win over Drake, while a WSU loss gives the ILS-MSU survivor sole possession of first place.
 
LAST YEAR vs. DRAKE:
*WSU swept Drake for the fourth consecutive year, winning by 20 points in Wichita on New Years Eve and by 26 in a Feb. 9 rematch in Des Moines.
*The Shockers held Drake below 50 points in both games on a combined 31 percent shooting, and the Bulldogs registered more turnovers (33) than baskets (27) on both occasions.
*In last year's MVC opener – a 67-47 victory over Drake at Charles Koch Arena -- Fred VanVleet became just the 15th player in MVC history to reach the 500-assist mark.
*The Des Moines rematch saw a motivated Shocker team – just three days removed from its first conference loss of the year at Illinois State – close the first half on a 27-5 run.
*WSU's claimed its most lopsided win in 71 trips to Des Moines, 74-48. The 26-point final margin topped a 75-53 victory from the 2004-05 season.
*Zach Brown scored 10 points in the Wichita win and nine more in Des Moines, while Shaquille Morris averaged 9.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and hit 8-of-12 shots (.667) in the two wins.
*Reed Timmer scored in double-figures in 28 of Drake's 31 games last year. One of the three exceptions came in Wichita on New Years Eve when the Shockers pinned him to seven points on 1-of-4 from the field.
 
SCOUTING DRAKE:
A change in leadership has sparked Drake, which finished last of the 10 Valley teams in 2015-16 and was picked to finish there again during the preseason. Head coach Ray Giacoletti resigned in early December... Interim coach Jeff Rutter has the Bulldogs playing faster and piling up points. Drake opened MVC play with a win for the first time since 2013-14 with a thrilling 102-98 win over Loyola... the win marked the first back-to-back 100-point games for the Bulldogs since 1979-80... Drake has made 10 or more three-pointers in four of the last five games and is shooting 40.7 percent from the arc during that span… Under Rutter, the Bulldogs are averaging 10.0 three-pointers per game (after averaging 6.6 per game prior to the switchup)... Billy Wampler has led the charge during those five games by shooting 54.1 percent (20-of-37) from the arc during that span. He has scored 20 or more points in three of the last six games... Junior guard Reed Timmer, an Honorable Mention All-MVC selection last year and preseason second teamer , is one of the league's slickest shooters and excels at getting to the foul line.
 
MORE ON THE MATCHUP:
*WSU, the MVC's top scoring offense (82.9) meets a Drake team that ranks last in scoring defense (75.9).
*In Sunday's win, the Shockers topped 80 points for the 10th time this year -- one more than their total from all of last year. 
*WSU is 68-1 under Gregg Marshall when scoring at least 80, with 45 consecutive wins. Drake's 93-86 triple overtime win in January, 2012 is the lone exception.
*The Shockers snapped a string of 501-consecutive MVC regular season games without a 100-point performance when they defeated Bradley on Sunday, 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.
*WSU's last back-to-back 100-point games? Same answer. February, 1988. The win over the Sycamores was preceded by a 116-92 win over Bradley on Feb. 1. The Shockers have scored 100 back-to-back on six occasions overall.
*Drake (.752) and Wichita State (.723) are the MVC's top-two free throw shooting teams. One major difference – the Shockers are averaging a league-best 25.1 attempts per game, compared 18.4 attempts for Drake.
 
COUPLE OF CHEESEHEADS:
*A pair of Wisconsin natives lead the scoring for their respective teams. WSU's Darral Willis Jr. (12.7 points, 6.3 rebounds) starred at Madison Memorial High School and graduated the same year as Drake's Reed Timer (16.2 points), who hails from New Berlin, just outside of Milwaukee. Both were All-State performers . 
*Willis -- who took a two-year JUCO detour through Pearl River (Miss.) before arriving at WSU this year -- is averaging 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds over the past two weeks (4 GP) while shooting over 63% from the field. 
*Timmer has scored in double-figures in 40 of the Bulldogs' last 45 games.
 
ON REAVES & THREE-POINT HEAVES:
*Austin Reaves' 4-for-4 performance from three pushed him back into the MVC lead in three-point percentage. The true freshman has made a remarkable 19-of-34 from deep (.559).
*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.
 
GOOD "D" AND ACCURATE THREES:
*WSU is one of 14 teams in Division I that are shooting it as well or better from three-point range than their opponents are shooting overall. The Shockers' .374 field goal percentage defense leads the Valley and ranks 11th nationally, while their .374 three-point percentage is the program's best in over a decade.
*Kansas State (.377 3pt%, .377 FG Def.) and Kansas (.409 3pt%, .392 FG Def.) are also on that list.
 
RECORD WATCH:
*The Shockers are on pace for their highest scoring average since the 1982-83 season when Antoine Carr, Xavier McDaniel and Aubrey Sherrod teamed up for 83.4-per game. If it holds, the current 82.9-point pace would rank in the school's top-5 all-time.
*WSU is outscoring opponents by 19.5 points per game – well ahead of the 2013-14 undefeated team's school-record margin (+15.7 points).
*WSU is on pace to obliterate its season record for three-point makes. The current pace of 8.5 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 482 career points are the most among active Shockers. He enters Wednesday night needing just 18 more to reach 500. Fellow junior Zach Brown (464 career points) is also closing in on that milestone, needing 36 more.
 
BENCH GUYS PITCHING IN:
*In points-per-40 minutes, WSU's Austin Reaves (28.2) and Rauno Nurger (23.3) were the MVC's two most-productive bench players last week.
*Reaves (7.0 points, 4.0 rebounds in 10.0 minutes) went a perfect 4-for-4 from three and scored 14 points in Sunday's win, despite playing just 11 minutes. Last Wednesday at Indiana State, he logged nine minutes but did not attempt a shot.
*Nurger (7.0 points, 5.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes last week) put up 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting against Bradley on Sunday to reach double-figures for the first time since Nov. 25 against Michigan State... Nurger's seven-minute cameo against the Trees also provided a major spark in the second half. He swatted four shots (a career-high) and added a timely dunk after Indiana State had crept to within two points. The junior twice matched his career-high last week with five rebounds.
 
DEPTH CHARGED:
*For the season, WSU ranks third nationally in points from non-starters (42.3) behind the Citadel (46.2) and West Virginia (42.4).
*Sunday's 48-point effort from the Shocker bench reversed a three-game downturn in bench points. In games against Oklahoma State (22 points), South Dakota State (24) and Indiana State (28), WSU reserves had averaged only 24.7 points.
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...  
... run their winning streak to four games
... Improve their overall record to 13-3
... give the Shockers a 3-0 Valley start for the fourth consecutive year. WSU has opened MVC play at 9-0 or better in each of the last three seasons, starting 11-0 in 2016, 9-0 in 2015 and a perfect 18-0 in 2014. The 2013 group made it to 4-0.
... give them seven-consecutive Valley wins dating back to last February.
...extended their winning streak against Drake to 10-in-a-row, to go along with double-digit streaks against Bradley (14) and Missouri State (12).
... push their home winning streak against the Bulldogs to nine and improve their home record against Drake to 63-12 all-time.
... up their lead in the all-time series to 103-47.
... extend their Charles Koch Arena streak to 12 games, dating back to last February.
... give them 11-consecutive January victories (WSU went 9-0 in January, 2016).
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD... 
... drop them to 12-4 for the year.
... be their first against Drake since a 93-86 triple-overtime setback in Des Moines on Jan. 28, 2012 and snap a nine-game series winning streak.
... be their first home loss to Drake since Dec. 29, 2007.
... be less good than a win.
 
UP AHEAD: Jan. 8 at Northern Iowa 
*WSU looks for revenge against Northern Iowa, which took two of the three games in 2015-16.
*The 3 p.m. CT tip will air on ESPNU with Mitch Holthus and Mark Adams on the call. The radio tandem of Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull will also have the game on 103.7 FM KEYN and GoShockers.com.
*The Shockers' 74-55 win in Cedar Falls last year was UNI most lopsided home loss in the McLeod Center's 11-year history.
*WSU is 10-9 against UNI under Gregg Marshall but has won eight of the last 12 meetings in the series.