STILLWATER, Okla. -- No. 6/6 Wichita State (7-1) travels to rv/- Oklahoma State (7-1) on Saturday afternoon, looking to end a 60-year drought at Gallagher-Iba Arena and avenge last year's loss to the Cowboys in Wichita.
 
The 3 p.m. CT tip airs on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Mark Adams on the call. The Voice of the Shockers, Mike Kennedy describes the action alongside Bob Hull on Shocker Radio (KEYN 103.7 FM in Wichita and online at goshockers.com/listen).
 
OSU's 93-76 victory at INTRUST Bank Arena on Dec. 16, 2016 was one of just four regular season setbacks for the Shockers in 2016-17 and ended a school record 42-game non-conference home winning streak.
 

GAME 9

Stillwater, Okla.

Gallagher-Iba Arena

Game Notes: WSU | OSU

MATCHUP

#6/6 Wichita St. (7-1) at Oklahoma St. (7-1)

Saturday, Dec. 9

3:00 P.M. CT

ESPN2

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KEYN 103.7 FM

GoShockers.com

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STARTING FIVE:
 
1 --- LONG TIME COMING:
This is the 39^th meeting in a series in a series that dates back 83 years. The teams first played in December, 1934 when first-year head coach Henry Iba swept a home-and-home from the Shockers... WSU plays at OSU for the first time since the 2001-02 season. Shocker teams are 2-14 all-time at Gallagher-Iba Arena (2-15 in Stillwater), last winning in 1957 when the building was simply known as "Gallagher Hall" because future namesake Iba was still coaching... Shocker teams lost four subsequent trips in 1958, 1991, 1999 and 2001... In 17 total visits to Stillwater, they've never scored more than 67 points in a game.
 
2 --- PARTY CRASHERS:
One way or another, a streak will end Saturday. WSU has won its last seven true road games -- tied for second-longest nationally behind Gonzaga (11)... The Shockers were 10-1 on the road last year and have won 14-of-15 overall in enemy territory... Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Shockers own the most true road wins (42-6) and high true road winning percentage in Division I (.875). WSU has also been the decade's best road team at 68-14 (.829) since the start of the 2010-11 campaign.
 
3 --- BIG STRETCH vs. THE BIG 12:
The Shockers are playing the second in a string of back-to-back-to-back Big 12 Saturdays. Last weekend's win at No. 16 Baylor was the first in a home-and-home series between the schools, with the Bears coming to Charles Koch Arena in December, 2018… Next Saturday, WSU hosts Oklahoma in its annual downtown game at INTRUST Bank Arena (3 p.m. CT, ESPN2)... WSU is 5-1 against Big 12 opponents since the start of the decade. The lone loss came last year against OSU.
 
4 --- ON A POLL ROLL:
WSU has been ranked in each of the last nine Associated Press polls, dating back to last February. That's tied for the third-longest AP poll streak in school history. The Shockers moved up two spots in each this week to No. 6, matching their season-high.
 
5 --- MARGIN IN CHARGE:
Wichita State leads the nation in rebounding margin (+15.1) after finishing second in that category a year ago behind eventual national champ UNC… The Shockers have outrebounded 13-straight opponents dating back to last March, including Kentucky in the NCAA second round. They were +2 on the glass at Baylor last weekend, becoming just the fourth team in the last three seasons to out-rebounded the Bears on their home floor (Oklahoma State and Xavier did it last year).
 
>> TUESDAY LEFTOVERS:
WSU is coming off of a 95-85 win over South Dakota State. The Shockers trailed by as many as 13 in the second half but used an 18-1 run to pull ahead… WSU shot 55 percent and knocked down 10 three-pointers, but SDSU countered with 50 percent shooting, helped by a 14-of-29 effort from deep… A pair of Shockers topped 20-points in Landry Shamet (21) and Shaquille Morris (20)… SDSU's Mike Daum finished with a game-high 31 points on seven threes… WSU had led by double-figures at halftime in each of its last 22 games at Charles Koch Arena (dating back to Feb. 2016) but faced a 50-42 deficit at the break… SDSU's 50 points was the most scored in a first half (home or away) by a Marshall Era opponent… 85 points was the most by a visitor since Koch Arena's renovation in 2002-03.
 
>> THE SERIES WITH OKLAHOMA STATE:
OSU is WSU's closest Division I neighbor – roughly 120 miles down road… This is the 39th meeting in a series in a series that dates back 83 years… OSU leads 30-8 with three-straight wins. The last WSU victory came in 2000… The teams first played in December, 1934 when first-year head coach Henry Iba swept a home-and-home from the Shockers… OSU was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference for 31 years back in its "Oklahoma A&M" days. The Cowboys (also known as the Aggies) won 19 of the 24 conference meetings between 1945 (when WSU joined the MVC) and 1956 (when OSU made its exit)… Prior to last year, the teams hadn't played in 14 years, though it's not the longest gap the series has had. After WSU defeated OSU, 54-46, in the 1965 Midwest Regional Final, the teams didn't meet again until 1990 (a 25-year hiatus).
 
>> LAST TRIP TO STILLWATER (Dec. 1, 2001): OSU 61, WSU 59
C.C. McFall's three-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer, and No. 14 OSU survived WSU's upset bid to improve to 8-0. The Cowboys had won six-in-a-row by double figures and were coming off a 48-point victory over New Orleans, but had to hold on to avoid being upset by the Shockers (3-3) for the second straight year… Freshman Randy Burns scored 21 points off the bench.
 
>> MARSHALL ERA vs. THE BIG 12:
WSU is 5-3 against Big 12 teams under Gregg Marshall , with wins in five of the last six encounters… The Shockers are 3-0 against ranked Big 12 teams under Marshall with a 2010 home win over #18 Texas Tech, an upset of 10th-ranked Kansas in the 2015 NCAA Tournament and last week's victory at No. 16 Baylor.
 
WSU vs. Big 12 Teams (Marshall Era)
11/16/2007 -- vs. Baylor (St. Thomas, USVI) --- L, 55-64
12/3/2009 -- at Texas Tech (Lubbock, Texas) --- L, 69-72
12/19/2010 -- TEXAS TECH (Wichita) --- W, 85-83
3/6/2011 --- NEBRASKA (Wichita) --- W, 76-49 (NIT first round)
3/22/2015 --- vs. Kansas (Omaha, Neb.) --- W, 78-65 (NCAA, Rd. of 32)
12/10/2016 --- at Oklahoma (Okla. City) --- W, 76-73
12/17/2016 --- OKLAHOMA STATE (Wichita/INTRUST Bank Arena) --- L, 76-93
12/2/2017 --- at Baylor (Waco, Texas) --- W, 69-62
12/9/2017 --- at Oklahoma State (Stillwater, Okla.)
12/16/2017 --- OKLAHOMA (Wichita/INTRUST Bank Arena)
 
>> LAST MEETING WITH OSU (Dec. 16, 2016): OSU 93, WSU 76
Oklahoma State handed WSU its first loss in seven downtown appearances at INTRUST Bank Arena… WSU suffered its first home non-conference loss since 2011, snapping a school-record 42-game streak… WSU shot 37% from the field (3-of-17 from long range) compared to OSU's 53% (14-of-28 from deep)… Darral Willis Jr. collected his first double-double as a Shocker (24 points, 13 rebounds) and his 14 free throws were the most by a Shocker in Wichita since 1988… Markis McDuffie scored 10 of his 14 points at the foul line. Zach Brown chipped in 10 points, six boards… Jawun Evans and Jeffrey Carroll led OSU with 22 points apiece, and Leyton Hammonds added 12… OSU led 10-1 after just three-minutes. WSU went eight minutes without a field goal, and the lead grew to 31-13. After Evans and Carroll both hit the bench with foul trouble, the Shockers briefly rallied to within nine, but OSU closed the half on an 11-2 spurt.
 WSU faced its largest halftime deficit in a home game (16 points) since trailing Stanford by 16 in the 2009 CBI… The Cowboys led by as many as 25 in the second half.
 
>> FAMILIAR FACE:
John Cooper, a former Wichita State standout, joined the Oklahoma State coaching staff in April. Cooper spent the previous eight seasons as a head coach, the past five at Miami, Ohio. He had assistant coaching stops at South Carolina, Oregon and Auburn. Cooper joins the Cowboys' staff of Mike Boynton, who was elevated from assistant coach in March, 2017 when Brad Underwood left for Illinois. Cooper is 102-152 in eight seasons overall and 59-100 at Miami, Ohio… Cooper played at WSU from 1987-91 under Eddie Fogler and later Mike Cohen, helping the Shockers to an NCAA Tournament in 1988 and an NIT a year later. After averaging a team-high 17 points as a junior, Cooper seemed destined for even bigger things in his senior season. On Dec. 8, 1991, he helped the Shockers to an upset over No. 12 Alabama (74-71, OT). Through eight games he averaged nearly 21 points, before a foot injury prematurely ended his season.
 
>> UNFAMILIAR FACE:
The Shockers will face at least three of the 23 first-time Division I head coaches this season: Mike Boyton, Oklahoma State; Wyking Jones, California; and Mike Balado, Arkansas State. ORU's Paul Mills – this year's closed door scrimmage opponent – is an unofficial fourth.
 
>> WINNINGEST WINNERS:
Rashard Kelly participated in his 94^th career victory Tuesday against South Dakota State to take over sole possession of 8th place on WSU's career wins list. Kelly (94-20) has never missed a game in four years as a Shocker. Shaquile Morris (91-18) joins him in the top-10.
 
>> RANDOM KNOWLEDGE:
*WSU has hit at least 10 threes in three-straight games and is shooting at a .434 clip from beyond the arc during that span (33/76).
*Gregg Marshall is a notorius timeout hoarder. Last season the Shockers used just 37 timeouts in 36 games. This year they've been even more stingy with the stoppages, using only six through the first eight games.
*Three ex-Shocker opponents ranks in the top-15 nationally in three-point field goal attempts this year: Marquette (14th, 29.7), South Dakota State (5th, 26.9) and Savannah State (1st, 40.9). Those teams combined to hit 36 treys against WSU on 30.8 percent shooting.
*A different Shocker has led the scoring in each of the last four games and in five of the eight overall. Nine WSU players have reached double-figures at least once this year.
*Shaquille Morris has dunked at least once in six-straight games. His eight slams lead the team this year, as do his 66 career dunks.
*Morris ended a streak of 12-straight games with a blocked shot during Saturday's win at Baylor. It was the longest block streak of the Marshall Era, topping Ehimen Orupke's 10-game stretch in 2012-13.
*WSU has won 43-straight games when outshooting its opponent dating back to the 2015-16 season.
 
>> TOUGH START:
Wichita State's 12-game non-conference slate features nine games versus schools that qualified for last year's postseason. The Oklahoma State game is one of six against 2017 NCAA Tournament teams… Even the buy games are tough. WSU will receive visits from  three teams that are preseason favorites in their respective leagues: South Dakota State (Summit), College of Charleston (Colonial) and FGCU (ASUN).
 
>> A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
… Improve their record to 8-1 with four straight wins.
… Be their first win in Stillwater since Jan. 24, 1957, snapping a four-game losing streak.
… Improve their record in Stillwater to 3-15 all-time.
… Close the gap in the all-time series to 30-9, OSU.
… Extend their true road winning streak to 8.
… Make them 43-6 on the road over the last 5 seasons.
… Up their mark to 6-3 against Big 12 schools under Marshall.
 
>> A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
… Drop them to 7-2 and snap a 3-game win streak.
… End a seven-game true road winning streak and be just their seventh road setback in five seasons (42-7).
… Be their fifth-straight in Stillwater and drop them to 2-15 all-time at Gallagher-Iba (2-16 in Stillwater).
… Give OSU a sweep of the home-and-home.
… Be less good than a win.
 
>> UP NEXT:
Oklahoma invades INTRUST Bank Arena on Dec. 16 (3 p.m. CT, ESPN2). The Sooners earned votes in this week's AP and Coaches Polls. WSU won the first half of the home-and-home series last December at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, 76-73.