WICHITA, Kan. -- No. 11/11 Wichita State (9-2) wraps up non-conference play Friday night against Florida Gulf Coast (7-6). The 6 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on CBS Sports Network.
 
Brent Stover and Bob Wenzel have the call for CBS Sports Network. The Voice of the Shockers, Mike Kennedy is joined by Dave Dahl on Shocker Radio (FM 103.7 KEYN and GoShockers.com/Listen).
 
Beginning with Friday's game, WSU plays each of its last 19 regular season games on linear national television. The Shockers open their American Athletic Conference era next Saturday (Dec. 30) at UConn on CBS. WSU's Jan. 4 home opener against Houston was recently selected for air on ESPN. Tip time for that game (previously TBA) is now set for 6 p.m CT.

GAME 12

Wichita, Kan.

Charles Koch Arena (10,506)

Game Notes: WSU

MATCHUP

Florida Gulf Coast (7-6)  at #11 Wichita State (9-2)

Friday, Dec. 22

6:00 P.M. CT

CBS Sports Network

KEYN 103.7 FM

GoShockers.com

GoShockers.com

SOCIAL

@GoShockersMBB | #watchus

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STARTING FIVE:

1 --- TWO CINDERELLAS, ONE BALL:
It's a battle of latter day bracket busters. Both programs burst onto the national scene during the 2013 NCAA Tournament. Florida Gulf Coast became the first No. 15 seed reach the Sweet 16, defeating No. 2 Georgetown and No. 7 San Diego State before falling to No. 3 Florida. The ninth-seeded Shockers made a run of their own, knocking off No. 8 Pitt, No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 13 LaSalle and No. 2 Ohio State to reach the Final Four… Both programs have built on that success. Though Andy Enfield left for USC, FGCU has reached four-straight postseasons under head coach Joe Dooley, with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2016 and 2017.
 
2 --- YOU LOOK FAMILIAR:
WSU and FGCU have never met on the hardwood, but they did play a First Four double-header in Dayton during the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Eagles downed Fairleigh Dickinson in a No. 16 seed play-in. Half an hour later, WSU took the court for an eventual victory over Vanderbilt.
 
3 --- BATTLE TESTED:
WSU's 12-game non-conference schedule is the nation's 29^th toughest (according NCAA RPI calculations). It includes nine games against 2017 postseason teams. FGCU is one of six that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament. WSU is 7-1 against the former group and 4-1 vs. the latter… The Eagles – picked first in the Atlantic Sun preseason poll -- are one of three league favorites playing buy-game at Charles Koch Arena. The Shockers already own wins over College of Charleston (Colonial) and South Dakota State (Summit).
 
4 --- WIN TO TEN:
A victory Friday would give WSU double-digit wins heading into conference play for the fifth time in six years… The Shockers are 70-15 (.824) in regular season non-conference games since the start of the 2011-12 season… Under Marshall, WSU is 66-3 in regular season non-conference games at Charles Koch Arena with 44-consecutive wins. The last loss came to VCU in February, 2011.
 
5 --- BUILDING SUCCESS:
WSU has won 24-straight and 64 of its last 65 games at Charles Koch Arena over the last five seasons. The lone loss came to Northern Iowa on Feb. 13, 2016… 62 of those 65 games have come in front of capacity crowds. The Shockers have sold out their last 12 games at the Roundhouse (10,506 seats).
 
OFF ON THE LEFT FOOT
*Junior forward Markis McDuffie is nearing a return from a stress fracture in his left foot, diagnosed in late September. The injury did not require surgery but has kept him out of action through the first 11 games.
*The versatile McDuffie can play both the 3 and 4 spots and is a key defensive presence.
*McDuffie led the team in points (11.5), rebounds (5.7) and steals (42) as a sophomore on his way to first team All-MVC honors.
 
SCOUTING FGCU
*The two-time defending Atlantic Sun champions are favored to three-peat.
*Brandon Goodwin – last year's newcomer of the year in the ASUN – was a unanimous favorite among the league's coaches for preseason player of the year honors. He averages a team-high 18.8 points.
*Zach Johnson (13.4 points) also made the ASUN's 10-man preseason all-conference squad.
*Christian Terrell is the team's second-leading (14.3) and top rebounder (6.1).
*The trio of Goodwin, Terrell and Johnson all average more than 30 minutes.
*Former Kansas assistant Joe Dooley (2003-13) is in his fifth season at FGCU. In 2008, he helped lead the Jayhawks to a national title.
*The Eagles have reached the 20-win mark and appeared in the postseason in each of his first four years, highlighted by last year's 26-8 finish.
 
A RUNNING THEME
*Florida Gulf Coast won't be shy about pushing the pace. The Eagles averaged 72.4 possessions per 40 minutes according to KenPom.com. That's 62^nd out of 351 Division I teams.
*Running teams have been a running theme on WSU's non-conference schedule. Seven of their 12 opponents rank in the top-100 in tempo, including national leader Savannah State (1st, 84.2) and Oklahoma (5th, 78.1).
*Contrast that with the conference schedule that lies ahead. Tulane (117th) tops the list among American teams. Wichita State (69.7 possessions) is 188^th.
 
NON-CON NOTABLES
*Since 2011-12, the Shockers are 70-15 (.824) in regular season non-conference games.
*WSU's win over SDSU on Dec. 5 clinched a winning non-conference record for the 20^th consecutive season.
*Shocker teams have put up double-digit non-conference victory totals in four of the last five years.
*WSU is 75-7 in home non-conference games in 11 seasons under Gregg Marshall.
*The Shockers have won 44-straight non-conference games at Koch Arena, last losing in February, 2011 to Final Four bound VCU in a Bracket Busters matchup.
*In the Marshall Era, the Shockers are 66-3 in regular season non-conference games at Charles Koch Arena, with one-point losses to UT-Arlington (Dec. 7, 2007) and VCU (Feb. 18, 2011).
*The most lopsided defeat was a 66-63 setback against UMKC (Nov. 19, 2008).
 
SCOREBOARD & 40-YEARS AGO
86.5 points per game is the highest scoring average by a WSU team in nearly four decades. The 1979 Shockers – led by Cheese Johnson – put up a school record 88.8. 
 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
*Wichita State entered the week as the national leader in rebound margin but dipped to third after a 3 effort against Arkansas State on Tuesday. The Shockers havegone 15-straight games without being out-rebounded.
 
DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
*Landry Shamet is averaging team-high 19.4 points and 6.2 assists in the month of December. He's hitting at a .500 clip from three (16-of-32) and averaging better than three triples per game.
*Conner Frankamp has also begun to heat up from three after a slow (by his standards) start to the year. The senior is 11-of-23 over the last five games (.478) and is averaging 15.3 points.
*Darral Willis Jr. has scored in double-figures in six-straight. He's averaging 14.0 points during the month of December.
 
LONG RANGERS
*Aside from an untimely shooting dip against Oklahoma, the Shockers have been deadly from three-point range since their return from Maui. WSU has his double-digit treys in five of the last six contests and is shooting .416 as a team. Landry Shamet (18-of-36, .500), Conner Frankamp (13-of-30, .433) and Austin Reaves (12-of-27, .444) have done the bulk of the damage.
*For the season, the Shockers' 9.3 three-pointers per game is ahead of their pace from a year ago when they averaged a school-record 8.8 threes per contest.
 
KENPOM SAYS
*Among the "Major 7" conferences, only eight teams have played a tougher non-conference schedule than Wichita State (9-2): Temple (7-3), Wisconsin (5-7), Vanderbilt (4-7), Tennessee (8-2), UNC (10-2), Florida (7-4), Arkansas (9-2) and Alabama (8-3).
*Darral Willis Jr. ranks in the top-35 nationally in fouls drawn (7.4 per 40 minutes) per KenPom.com.
*KenPom ranks Conner Frankamp fourth nationally in turnover percentage (4.5). Frankamp has gone five games without a turnover, spanning 142 minutes.
*Rashard Kelly ranks second nationally in offensive rebound percentage, snagging 18.4 percent of all Shocker misses while he's in the game.
 
KenPom Leaders – Off. Rebound Percentage (as of 12/20)
18.8% -- Nick Ward (Michigan St.)
18.4% -- Rashard Kelly (WSU)
18.3% -- Aaron Epps (LSU)
18.9% -- Zafir Williams (Loyola Marymount)
17.7% -- Devontae Cacok (UNC-W)
 
BIGGEST PIECE OF THE PIE
Landry Shamet averages 16.5 points per game. No Marshall Era Shocker has averaged more over a full season. Cleanthony Early put up 16.4 during WSU's 2013-14 unbeaten run.
 
Highest Individual Scoring Averages (Marshall Era)
16.5 – Landry Shamet (2017-18)
16.4 – Cleanthony Early (2013-14)
14.7 – Ron Baker (2014-15)
14.0 – Ron Baker (2015-16)
13.9 – Cleanthony Early (2012-13)
13.6 – Fred VanVleet (2014-15)
 
RANDOM KNOWLEDGE
*Conner Frankamp has hit all 14 of his free throw attempts this year. He's connected on just over 85 percent over his three-year Shocker career (63-of-74, .851), which would put him fourth all-time behind John Criss (.887, 1963-66), Matt Clark (.875, 2000-04) and Jamie Thompson (.853).
*Austin Reaves (32 minutes) and Samajae Haynes-Jones (31) both set new career highs for minutes with shooting guard Conner Frankamp (migraine) sitting out. Prior to Tuesday, Reaves had never played more than 23 minutes. He also matched his personal-best with four assists.
 
POLL NOTES
*WSU dropped out of the top-10 for the first time this season following Saturday's loss to Oklahoma.
*Last week's No. 3 ranking was the Shockers' highest since the 2013-14 season when they finished the regular season with four-consecutive weeks at No. 2.
*WSU opened at No. 7 in the AP preseason rankings and No. 8 in the Coaches' -- its highest starting point since the '81-82 season.
*Going back to Dec. 12, 2012 -- a span of five years -- WSU has been ranked or received AP and/or Coaches votes in 114 of the 124 poll weeks.
 
BOMBS IN BUNCHES
*Conner Frankamp broke teammate LandryShamet's school record for consecutive games with a three-pointer. He connected with 40 seconds to play in the second half against Oklahoma to extend the streak to 32.
*Prior to that, Frankamp had hit multiple threes in six-straight games. He's shooting .478 (11-of-23) in the month of December.
 
Consecutive Games with a 3-Point (WSU, All-Time)
32 -- Conner Frankamp – Dec. 28, 2016 – Present
29 – Landry Shamet – Dec. 17, 2016 – Nov. 21, 2017
27 – Ron Baker – Nov. 28, 2014 - Feb. 22, 2015
 
THREES COMPANY
Conner Frankamp's 130 three-pointers are tied for 11^th on WSU's career list. He needs 5 more to crack the top-10.
 
UP NEXT
The Shockers travel to UConn for their first American Athletic Conference action on Dec. 30. The 11 a.m. CT tip airs on CBS.