WICHITA, Kan. -- Wichita State (21-4, 11-1 MVC) is back in familiar territory – tied atop the MVC standings -- but now must fight to stay there, beginning with Thursday night's 8 p.m. CT tip against Missouri State (15-10, 6-6) at Charles Koch Arena on CBS Sports Network.
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 1,201
st consecutive game, alongside the honorable Dave Dahl.
STARTING FIVE:
1 -----Back on Top: The Shockers are coming off a resounding, 41-point win over Illinois State that ended a three-week stay in second place and avenged their lone conference loss of the season.
Conner Frankamp hit four three-pointers and scored a career-high 18 points to go with 16 from
Markis McDuffie.
Shaquille Morris tacked on a double-double with 11 points, 11 boards. WSU's 86 points on 56.6% shooting were both season-highs for an ISU foe.
2 ----- Help Wanted: WSU (11-1) and co-leader ISU (12-1) both control their own destinies for regular season conference titles, but the Shockers will likely need another Redbird loss to claim the No. 1 seed at next month's State Farm MVC Tournament. ISU holds the tiebreaker (based on RPI). The Shockers and Redbirds are a combined 21-0 against the rest of the Valley.
3 ----- Red Light, Green Light: Two well-rested teams will take the court. Both WSU and MSU are seeing their first action in five days -- a relative eternity during the dog days of conference play. Beginning Thursday, the Shockers play a rapid-fire stretch of five games in 13 days.
4 ----- Long Time, No See: The Shockers have already completed home-and-homes with four of the MVC's nine teams, but this will be their first look at MSU. The teams play twice over the final six regular season games, with WSU making a return visit to Springfield for the finale in just 16 days time. As announced Monday, that game will air on either ESPN or ESPN2 with an 11 a.m. tip.
5 ----- A Dozen Donuts: WSU's 12-game series winning streak is a program-best. The Bears are one of five Valley opponents with double-digit losing streaks against the Shockers. Their last victory came almost exactly six years ago -- Feb. 26, 2011 in Springfield -- in a winner take all battle for the MVC regular season title. WSU is 12-0 against MSU's Paul Lusk.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH MISSOURI STATE:
*A 12-game winning streak has given WSU the all-time series lead, 39-30.
*
Gregg Marshall is 18-4 against MSU, including 12-0 against Paul Lusk. He's 8-1 in Wichita, 6-3 in Springfield and 4-0 in St. Louis.
*WSU has captured 26 of the last 33 meetings, dating back to the 2002-03 season under Mark Turgeon.
*Thursday night marks the 70th meeting between the teams. They've met regularly since 1988.
*MSU joined the MVC in 1990 and dominated the series, winning nine-straight in one stretch. It took until 1994 for WSU to claim its first conference win over the Bears and until 2003 for the Shockers to earn their first MVC victory in Springfield.
*However, WSU is 20-7 against the Bears since March, 2005 when the school formally changed its name to Missouri State University, after going 19-23 against the former Southwest Missouri State.
In Wichita (WSU, 24-6)
*The Shockers have an .800 winning percentage at home against Missouri State, including an 11-2 mark in the Charles Koch Arena era (2003-04 to present).
*WSU has won five-straight and 18 of the last 20 series home games.
In Springfield, Mo. (MSU, 20-11)
*JQH Arena is just over eight years old, but WSU has already won more games there than it did in 23 visits to the old Hammons Center (6-2 at JQH, 5-18 at Hammons).
*The Shockers lost their first 14 at the Hammons Center before finally breaking through in 2003. Since then, they're 10-4 in Springfield with five straight wins.
MVC Tournament (tied 4-4)
*The Shockers' 2014 semifinal win was the first of the eight meetings to take place beyond the quarterfinal or play-in rounds.
*MSU won the first four Arch Madness meetings and went 3-0 against Mark Turgeon. Gregg
*Marshall has since turned the tables, going a perfect 4-0 against the Bears.
LAST YEAR vs. MISSOURI STATE
Jan.13, 2016 | Springfield | WSU 78, MSU 62
Markis McDuffie scored 10 of his team-high 16 points over one three-minute stretch late in the first half to lead WSU back from a 15-4 deficit… McDuffie went 8-of-9 from the field and collected nine rebounds…
Conner Frankamp (14 points) hit four second-half treys to help WSU pull away… The Shockers outscored MSU 46-14 in the paint and outrebounded the Bears 49-29… MSU finished with just 15 field goals while shooting 32.6%, but the Bears shot 41 free throws to WSU's 13.
Feb. 18, 2016 | Wichita | WSU 99, MSU 68
Wichita State dunked 10 times and put 99 points on the board in a 31-point home win…
Zach Brown had four dunks on his way to a season-high 16 points, and
Rashard Kelly (12 points) added three slams of his own to go with four assists and three steals… Run-outs (sparked by 13 Shocker steals) and alley-oops helped create high-percentage looks. WSU shot 59.1% from the field with 29 points off of 18 MSU turnovers… WSU scored 51 first-half points on seven dunks and led by 24.
DECONSTRUCTING THE STREAK:
*In its 12-game winning streak against the Bears, the Shockers have won 10 times by double-figures and own half-a-dozen victories by 20+ points.
*The streak is WSU's third-longest ever against an MVC opponent in 72 seasons. The Shockers took 15-straight from Drake from 1979-85 and have an active string of 15 against Bradley, dating back to 2011.
*MSU came the closest of any team to ending WSU's undefeated run in 2013-14 at JQH Arena. *The Shockers trailed by 18 at halftime and by 19 with less than 12 minutes to play in the second half, but they rallied back for a 72-69 overtime win to improve to 17-0.
*The Bears' last series win came on the final day of the 2010-11 regular season, in a winner-take-all battle for the MVC crown. A 69-64 loss cost WSU a possible NCAA Tourney bid but set a course for their eventual NIT title.
STORY-BOARD:
*The Shockers have outrebounded the Bears in all 12 games of the streak, by an average margin of +12.25.
*JUCO transfer Alize Johnson may be just the guy to help the Bears end that streak. The two-time Valley Player of the Week and five-time Newcomer of the Week averages a league-best 10.6 boards per game.
*Johnson has helped turn an MSU team that ranked near the bottom of the conference in rebound margin in 2015-16 (-0.7 in MVC play) improve by nearly six board per game (+5.5, 40th nationally).
*The Shockers (+8.9) and Bears (+5.8) have the MVC's two best rebound margins in conference play.
*WSU ranks first in both offensive (.337) and defensive rebound percentage (.770). MSU is second in both categories (.335 and .753).
*Both teams have been even or better on the glass in 11 of their first 12 conference games.
ALL-A-BOARD:
+8.8 ----- WSU's rebound margin, 6th nationally
+9.0 ----- WSU's rebound margin in 10 MVC games.
4 ----- Number of times WSU has been outrebounded in 24 games this year.
81.7% ----- Percentage of games in which the Shockers have finished even or better on the boards over the last five seasons (138 of 169).
9 ----- Consecutive seasons that the Shockers have led the MVC in rebound margin. They're on their way to No. 10, with the Valley's top mark this year.
40.9 ----- Rebounds per game -- 9th nationally.
.770 ----- WSU's Valley-leading defensive rebound %
.337 ----- WSU's Valley-leading offensive rebound %
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*Four of the MVC's most efficient stat sheet stuffers will share the floor Thursday night. Broken down by 40-minute incredements, Missouri State's Alize Johnson leads the Valley in PAR (points + rebounds + assists) at 37.4 per game. WSU's
Darral Willis Jr. (36.2),
Markis McDuffie (32.9) and
Shaquille Morris (32.6) are also in the top-5.
*Johnson's 14 double-doubles are eight more than the entire Shocker team. Morris (3), Willis (2) and McDuffie (1) have combined for six double-doubles.
*Both WSU (8.7 threes per game) and Missouri State (8.48) are on pace to shatter their respective single-season three-point records.
*WSU's bench has outscored its opposing counterparts 22 times in 25 games. Missouri State's bench has done the same in 22 of its 25 contests.
*WSU and MSU share the conference lead in three-point field goal percentage defense. Both are holding opponents to just 31.7% from deep.
*MSU's Obediah Church has a league-best 51 blocks.
*In conference play, MSU and WSU have been the Valley's toughest teams to block. Through 12 games, MSU opponents have swatted just 3.86% of the Bears' shots. WSU ranks second at 4.09%. UNI (4.41%), Illinois State (4.78%) and Southern Illinois (5.90%) round out the top-5. Evansville ranks last (10.76%).
SWEEPING UP:
*WSU avenged its lone conference loss by beating Illinois State on Saturday. Since 2010-11, Missouri State (2011) and Evansville (2013) are the only teams that have swept a regular season home-and-home from the Shockers.
*Over that eight-year span, WSU has swept 47 home-and-homes and split 20.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE:
Wichita State's RPI ranking jumped by 15 spots to No. 51 after the win over Illinois State, but it still lags the team's performance in some of the advanced metrics, which take scoring margins and various other offensive and defensive efficiency measurements into account. Ken Pomeroy and Jeff Sagarin both rank WSU at No. 17.
RUDE HOSTS:
Wichita State is outscoring its opponents by an average of 31.5 points per game this year at Charles Koch Arena. No other D-I school has a higher home scoring margin. Gonzaga (+29.4), West Virginia (+25.5) and Fort Wayne (+25.0) are the best of the rest.
MORE FOR MORRIS:
Junior center
Shaquille Morris has snagged 11 rebounds in back-to-back games. If he can do it again, he'd be the first Shocker since Garrett Stutz (February, 2012) to string together three consecutive double-figure rebounding games. Stutz did it twice that year on his way to first team All-Valley honors.
HOME SUCCESS:
*WSU has been up by double-figures at halftime in 16 straight Charles Koch Arena games, dating back to Feb. 15 of last year. The average midway margin in those games is 191 points.
*WSU has held the halftime lead in 32 of its last 33 campus home games, since January of 2015 (with the Feb. 13, 2016 loss to UNI as the only exception).
*The Shockers are 13-0 at Charles Koch Arena this year and are outscoring their on-campus opponents by an average of 31.5 points. All 13 wins are by double-figures.
*WSU has trailed in just four of those 13 games for a total of 7:48.
*WSU is +12.6 on the glass.
*The team has been outrebounded on Devlin Court just 14 times in 10 seasons under Marshall (156 games). Loyola (+5 on Jan. 11) is the only team to do it this year.
*Charles Koch Arena has played host to 194-consecutive regular season crowds of 10,000+, dating back to December of 2004.
*The Shockers' 45-game campus sellout streak ended on Nov. 29 when the ticket office reported 70 unsold general admission seats. That run began on Senior Day 2013 and lasted for nearly three-and-half years.
*WSU has played in front of sellout crowds (10,506) at 10 of its 13 campus home games this year.
*For the fourth-consecutive year, WSU sold its entire allotment of season tickets (just over 9,000 total).
MARGIN IN CHARGE:
*Wichita State is outscoring its opponents by 19.1 points per game this year.
*WSU's average margin is the highest by a Missouri Valley squad since Oscar Robertson's Cincinnati team steamrolled opponents by 22.0 points per game during his 1959-60 senior season.
*Nationally, only Gonzaga (+23.7) and West Virginia (+20.6) have been more dominant this year.
*The Shockers are ahead of the school-record pace set by the famous 2014 team, which finished 35-1 with a +15.7 margin.
*The Shockers have won 13 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 nine 30-point wins are already a school record.
BENCH IMPRESSIVE:
*Wichita State ranks third nationally in bench scoring (36.7 points per game), behind only West Virginia (37.5) and Citadel (40.2). Shocker reserves account for just under 45 percent of the team's scoring.
*Lineup adjustments and a shorter bench have cut into that production during conference play, with reserves accounting for just 30% of the points against MVC foes.
3's + D:
*Wichita State is on a list of just seven schools that are shooting better from three-point range than their opponents are overall from the field.
*The Shockers are the only one of the seven teams not currently ranked in the top-25.
#16 Purdue (Big Ten) ---- 42.3 / 40.8
#1 Gonzaga (WCC) ----- 38.2 / 36.9
#25 SMU (AAC) ----- 40.0 / 38.0
rv Wichita State (MVC) ----- 38.8 / 38.0
#12 Virginia (ACC) ----- 39.8 / 39.1
#10 UCLA (Pac-12) ----- 42.4 / 42.0
#3 Kansas (Big 12) ----- 41.7 / 41.6
NEW CANDIDATE FOR WORST GAME NOTE EVER:
*The last three times Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow (2012, 14, 15), Wichita State went on to win the MVC title. The famous groundhog against predicts a long winter in 2017.
*All but two of WSU's 10 MVC titles have come in years when Phil saw his shadow (1964, 65, 76, 81, 06, 12, 14, 15). The exceptions came in 1983 and 2016.
*This would be mildly interesting, except that rate falls pretty much right in line with Phil's longterm track record. He's called for early spring 85% of the time since 1887.
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD...
... improve their overall record to 22-4.
...up their winning streak to a season-high seven games.
... give them 12 MVC wins for the eighth straight year.
... maintain their hold on first-place with five regular season games remaining.
... increase their lead in the all-time series with Missouri State to 40-30 (25-6 in Wichita).
... be their sixth-consecutive home win over the Bears and 19th in the last 21 tries.
... improve their Charles Koch Arena record to 14-0 and be their 17th consecutive campus win.
... Improve their four-year MVC mark to 63-4.
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD...
... Drop their overall record to 21-5.
... Snap a six-game winning streak.
... Sink them to 11-2 in league play.
... End a 12-game winning streak against Missouri State.
... Be the Bears' first victory over WSU since the 2010-11 regular season finale and their first win in Wichita since January, 2011.
... Close the gap in the all-time series to 39-31 (24-7 in Wichita).
... End a 16-game Charles Koch Arena winning streak and sink their on-campus record to 13-1.
... Be just the fifth Valley loss by a Shocker team in the last four conference regular seasons.
... Be less good than a win.
UP NEXT:
Wichita State hits the road for back-to-back games, beginning with a Sunday trip to Loyola. The 3 p.m. CT tip will air on ESPNU.
