CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Wichita State (13-3, 3-0 MVC) travels to Northern Iowa (5-9, 0-3) Sunday for a 3 p.m. CT tip. Mitch Holthus and Mark Adams have the call on ESPNU, and Mike Kennedy – now in his 37
th season as Voice of the Shockers -- will call his 1,192
nd consecutive game, alongside Bob Hull on FM 103.7 KEYN and online at GoShockers.com/Listen.
WSU GAME NOTES (PDF Format)
STARTING FIVE:
1 ----- The Shockers are 3-0 for the 15th time in their 72 Valley seasons. A Sunday win would push them to 4-0 for the fifth consecutive year (and 11th time overall)... 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.
2 ----- In its 3-0 start, Wichita State is averaging 90.0 points per game and outscoring opponents by 23.3. Sunday's 90-65 win over Drake gave the Shockers consecutive 90+ point efforts for the first time since December, 2011 and for the first time in league play since February, 1988. WSU is outrebounding Valley foes by an average of 14.3 per game and outshooting them 49.5-39.1%.
3 ----- UNI has been a worthy foil for the Shockers over the last two seasons, winning more games against WSU than the other eight MVC schools combined. Since the start of the 2014-15 season, WSU is 2-3 against the Panthers and 36-2 vs. the rest of the Valley.
4 ----- WSU is the only Valley team that does not have a losing record at the McLeod Center. The Shockers are 5-5 and have won in two of their last three trips, including a 19-point victory in their last visit that ranks as the most lopsided UNI home loss in the building's 11 seasons... Among MVC teams, Indiana State (4-6) has the second-best percentage. Meanwhile, Illinois State and Southern Illinois have never won at the McLeod Center (0-10), and Bradley (1-9) has lost its last eight visits... Also of note, the McLeod Center is the only current Valley road venue in which
Gregg Marshall has a losing record (4-5).
5----- The Shockers' six-game road winning streak is tied with Texas-Arlington (which plays at Texas State on Saturday) for the nation's second-longest active string, one game back of national leader Kansas (7). WSU has a 26-2 MVC road record over the last four seasons, with the only speed bumps coming at UNI (Jan. 31, 2015) and at Illinois State (Feb. 27, 2016). Against all opponents, the Shockers are 34-5 (.872) in true road games since the start of the '13-14 season and 60-13 (.822) going back to '10-11. Both marks lead the nation.
HOT STARTS TO VALLEY PLAY:
*Last year's MVC Freshman of the Year,
Markis McDuffie has had a strong start to his sophomore campaign. The preseason first team all-conference pick is averaging 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in Valley play while shooting 57% from the field (16-of-28) and 50%t from deep (4-of-8). In Wednesday's win over Drake, McDuffie collected his first career double-double (10 pts, 11 reb).
*The addition of junior college transfer
Darral Willis Jr. has two of the Valley's best forward wreaking havoc in tandem. Willis (team-high 16.7 pts, 6.3 reb. in MVC play) has scored in double-figures in each of the last seven contests.
*Redshirt Freshman
Landry Shamet has committed just one turnover in three MVC games, while dishing out a team-high 15 assists. Prior to that, he scored a career-high 21 points on six threes in the non-conference finale against South Dakota State.
THE SERIES WITH NORTHERN IOWA:
*WSU has won 8 of the last 12 meetings but trails in the all-time series, 28-26. The Shockers are 9-16 all-time in Cedar Falls.
*Overall, the WSU-UNI series has been as evenly matched as its record suggests. There have only been five total streaks of three-or-more games, and neither side has ever won more than four-in-a-row. The Shockers have swept UNI just twice in the last 18 seasons.
*UNI took two of three games last year, marking just the fifth time since 2010 that a Valley team has won multiple games against the Shockers in the same year. The Panthers also did it in 2009-10 with a victory in the MVC title game.
*WSU is 11-11 against Ben Jacobson (11
th year at UNI).
*The Shockers have generally had success when they've been able to generate even a modest number of points against the defensive-minded Panthers -- though that's easier said than accomplished.
*When scoring at least 60 against Jacobson's UNI teams, WSU is 11-2 with eight consecutive wins. When held under 60, the Shockers are 0-9.
*Over the last five meetings with UNI, WSU has lived and died by the three. In their two wins, the Shockers hit 19-of-39 from deep (.487). In the three losses, WSU went 14-for-79 (.177).
*Redshirt junior
Shaquille Morris has logged the most court time for the Shockers against UNI with 79 minutes spread out over five games. He's shooting nearly 78 percent from the field for his career against the Panthers, hitting 14-of-18 shots.
LAST FIVE MEETINGS WITH NORTHERN IOWA:
1/31/2015 | Cedar Falls | #18 UNI 70, #12 WSU 54
UNI ended the Shockers 27-game MVC unbeaten and 13-game conference road streaks in the first battle of nationally-ranked Valley teams since 1982... WSU missed 19 of its 24 three-point attempts...Led by
Seth Tuttle's 29 points, UNI shot a blistering 60 percent in both halves and knocked down 5-of-7 from three.
Wes Washpun finished with 16... WSU led 18-16 at the midway point of the first half but scored just six more points before the intermission to bid a 13-point hole.
2/28/2015 | Wichita | #11 WSU 74, #10 UNI 60
The Shockers triumphed on their home floor in a winner-take-all battle for the 2015 MVC title... Both teams entered with identical 16-1 conference records and lofty national rankings... In the hours leading up to tipoff, ESPN broadcast its national pregame show, College GameDay live from the center court, and Shocker fans packed the house despite blizzard conditions... WSU ended the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 12-point lead into the break... WSU led 49-33 with 18 minutes to go, but UNI connected on four straight treys to close within 4. A pair of Wessel threes helped WSU push the lead back out to 10...
Ron Baker and
Fred VanVleet combined for 30 points, 14 assists and 0 turnovers... The loss snapped UNI's school-record streak at 16.
1/20/2016 | Cedar Falls | WSU 75, UNI 55
Led by Baker's 21 points, WSU handed UNI its worst home loss in the McLeod Center's 10-year history...
Markis McDuffie finished with 15 points to go with 12 from VanVleet... The Shockers shot a 56.5% with mirror 13-of-23 efforts in both halves and drilled 8-of-15 from three... The Shockers led wire-to-wire. Baker's half court buzzer-beater gave them a 12-point halftime lead... After UNI had closed to within 58-52 with just over 4:00 to go, WSU finished out the game on a 16-3 run. Back-to-back treys by VanVleet provided the final 19-point margin – topping WSU's 18-point win in 2010-11 that previously stood as the building record.
2/13/2016 | Wichita | UNI 53, #25 WSU 50
The Panthers handed WSU its first loss at Charles Koch Arena in nearly three years and put an end to the nation's longest home winning streak (43 games)... The Shockers trailed by 11 at halftime and by 15 early in the second half but roared back with a 17-2 run to tie the game at 44 with 11:32 remaining. However, UNI outscored the Shockers 9-6 the rest of the way in a game punctuated by missed shots and opportunities... WSU grabbed 20 offensive rebounds and won the battle of the boards 48-27, yet managed just nine second-chance points while shooting a chilly 30.3 percent.
3/5/2016 | St. Louis| UNI 57, WSU 52 (ot)
WSU missed its first 18 three-point attempts and finished 2-of-24 for the game (8.3%)... UNI advanced to the MVC Finals behind 20 points from Washpun and a three by
Jeremy Morgan with 1:18 to play in OT that snapped a 52-all tie... Down 3, WSU turned it over with 43 seconds to play. Washpun ran the clock to 18 for the Panthers before bulling his way to the hoop for a clutch basket to make it a two-possession game.. WSU turned the ball over just six times, but three of those came in the overtime period... The Shockers jumped to a 10-0 lead and held UNI scoreless for the first 7:49.
RATIO WAVES:
*
Landry Shamet (48 assists, 14 turnovers) currently leads the Valley and ranks 14th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.43).
*He's dished out 15 assists with just one turnover in three conference games.
*Shamet is just one of three Division I freshmen with a ratio north of 3.00 (minimum 3 apg, 75% of team's games).
NCAA Division I Freshmen Leaders // Assist-to-Turnover Ratio (as of Jan. 6):
Daquan Bracey (Lousiana Tech) --- 83 : 21 (3.95)
Lonzo Ball (UCLA) --- 128 : 37 (3.46)
Landry Shamet(Wichita State) --- 48 : 14 (3.43)
RATIO WAVES II:
*
Conner Frankamp (3.66 assist-to-turnover ratio) is four assists shy of qualifying for the national and MVC lists but would otherwise rank 11th in Division I.
*If Frankamp and Shamet can continue their current pace, they would rank second and third on WSU's single-season list, trailing only
Fred VanVleet's 2013-14 All-American season (4.02).
TWO ELITE DEFENSES:
*Evansville leads the MVC in scoring defense at 63.1 points, which would mark the first time since the 2007-08 season that a team other than Wichita State or Northern Iowa has led the Valley in that category.
*The Shockers (63.6) are currently second, with UNI (66.4) in fifth.
*Over the last eight seasons, Wichita State (2009, '13, '14, '16) and UNI ('10, '11, '12, '15) have taken turns as the MVC leader in fewest point allowed. They've finished one-and-two (or two-and-one) in that category in six of the last seven years.
RECORD WATCH:
*At 83.4 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 also 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 8.5 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 495 career points are the most among active Shockers. He enters Wednesday night needing just five more to reach 500. Fellow junior
Zach Brown (473 career points) is also closing in on that milestone, needing 27 more.
MARGIN IN CHARGE:
*WSU is outscoring opponents by 19.8 points per game – well ahead of the 2013-14 undefeated team's school-record margin (+15.7 points) -- sixth nationally heading into the weekend.
*20 Division I teams enter the weekend with scoring margins of 16.0 or better, and all but two are either nationally ranked or receiving votes. WSU (6th, +19.8) and Texas Tech (8
th, +18.6) are the exceptions.
*Each of the five teams slotted ahead of the Shockers on the list are currently ranked in the AP Top-10.
National Leaders, Scoring Margin (and AP Ranking)
+29.9 --- #7 West Virginia
+22.9 --- #6 Kentucky
+21.4 --- #8 Duke
+20.5 --- #5 Gonzaga
+19.9 --- #2 Baylor
+19.8 --- (nr) Wichita State
+19.0 --- #4 UCLA
RANDOM KNOWLEDGE:
*The Shockers lead the MVC in scoring offense (83.4 points), while UNI is 10th in that category (63.8).
*WSU is shooting almost as well from three (.372) as opponents are shooting overall from the field (.375).
*The Shockers' 17.4 assists per game leads the Valley, and the team's assist-to-field goal ratio is their highest in 10 seasons under
Gregg Marshall (60.6%).
*WSU has won 11-straight January games and 28 of its last 29. The only loss came Jan. 31 at Northern Iowa. The Shockers have opened Valley play at 9-0 or better in each of the last three seasons.
*WSU enters the weekend ranked in the top-10 nationally in scoring margin (+19.8), rebound margin (+9.8) and field goal percentage defense (.375).
*WSU is 69-1 under Marshall when scoring at least 80, with 46 consecutive wins. Drake's 93-86 triple overtime win in January, 2012 is the lone exception.
*WSU carries 16 active players – something of a rarity. In the first 16 games, Marshall has played the entire roster in seven different games and gone at least 15-deep on nine occasions.
*The Shockers have called just 14 timeouts through the first 16 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 last 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.
*On 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 13-0 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 .466 from the field and .372 from three en route to 83.7 points per game. The 2015-16 Shockers finished up at .407, .328 and 71.1.
STRINGING TOGETHER STEALS:
*
Daishon Smith has recorded at least one steal in 10 straight games.
*Smith has totaled eight steals in three Valley games -- tied for the league lead with SIU's Aaron Cook heading into the weekend.
*Smith matched his season-high with four steals against Bradley on Jan. 1 and added three more on Wednesday against Drake.
*Since 2000, only two other Shockers have averaged 1.7 or more steals in a season. Malcolm Armstead averaged 1.9 during WSU's Final Four year, while
Fred VanVleet did it in each of the last three (1.9, 1.9 & 1.8).
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS:
*January RPI numbers are still volatile, but as of Thursday, UNI ranks No. 151 in the NCAA's calculations. History shows WSU won't overlook UNI, despite the Panthers' slow start to the conference season.
*WSU has won 51* games in a row against teams 150 or higher, last losing at No. 188 Southern Illinois in February, 2013.
*Over the last six seasons (since 2011-12), the Shockers are 70-1* against teams ranked outside of the top-150 and 98-3* versus teams from outside the top-100.
*The SIU loss in 2012-13 was also the last time the Shockers lost to a team with a sub-.500 MVC record.
*-Postseason numbers used for 2011-16 seasons. Current data used for 2016-17.
ON REAVES & THREE-POINT HEAVES:
*
Austin Reaves' leads the MVC in three-point percentage at 54.1%. The true freshman has made a remarkable 20-of-37 from deep to begin his Shocker career.
*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.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... run their winning streak to five games
... improve their overall record to 14-3
... be their seventh-consecutive road victory, tying Kansas (and possibly UTA) for the nation's longest streak.
... be their fifth-consecutive 4-0 start to MVC play.
... give them eight-straight conference wins.
...snap a two-game losing streak against UNI
... give them back-to-back wins at the McLeod Center for the first time since 2011 & 2012 and nudge their record in the building back over the .500-mark (6-5).
... give them consecutive wins in Cedar Falls for just the third time ever (WSU has never won three-in-a-row).
... improve their overall record in Cedar Falls to 10-16
... close the gap in the all-time series to 29-28, UNI.
... give them 12-consecutive January victories (WSU went 9-0 in January, 2016).
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... drop them to 13-4 for the year.
... give them three-straight losses to UNI
... give them three-consecurive losses to a Valley opponent for the first time since the 2008-09 season when Bradley and SIU each extended streaks to three games.
... give UNI at 30-28 lead in the all-time series
... be less good than a win.
UP AHEAD: Jan. 11 vs. Loyola:
*WSU gets a visit from Loyola (11-5, 1-2 MVC) Wednesday night. The 6 p.m. tip will air locally on Cox Channel Kansas with simulcast across the rest of the MVC Television Network on Fox Sports Midwest, Fox Sports Indiana and Comcast SportsNet Chicago (blacked out on Fox Sports Kansas City).
*WSU swept three games from Loyola in 2015-16, helped by a come from behind victory in the MVC Quarterfinals.
*The Shockers are a perfect 7-0 against the Ramblers since their MVC debut in 2013-14 and have won nine straight overall against Loyola dating back to 1976.
