WICHITA, Kan. – No. 2 seed Wichita State (28-4) plays on semifinal Saturday at Arch Madness for an MVC record eighth-consecutive year against sixth-seeded Missouri State (17-15).
Both semifinals air on CBS Sports Network, with Brent Stover, Bob Wenzel and John Schriffen.
On Radio, Mike Kennedy -- now in his 37th year as "Voice of the Shockers" -- calls his 1,208th consecutive game for KEYN 103.7 FM in Wichita... Fans in the St. Louis area can tune in to 1260AM WSDZ.
This is the second meeting in eight days between the Shockers and Bears (WSU won by 19 last Saturday in Springfield) and the third in 24 days. The Shockers have won 14-straight in the series, last losing in the 2011 regular season finale.
The winner moves on to face either top-seed Illinois State or No. 4 seed Southern Illinois in Sunday's championship game. That contest will air on CBS at 1 p.m. CT.
QUARTERFINAL LEFTOVERS:
*WSU's 16th victory by 20+ points tied the school record, set last season.
*The Shockers recorded their 23
rd game of 80-plus points to take sole possession of the school record. The 1978-79 Shockers recorded 22 games of 80-or-more.
*The Shockers set two new Arch Madness records (all schools): Their 51 total rebounds broke Missouri State's mark of 50, set in a double-overtime loss to UNI in the 2004 title game. WSU's 45 free throw attempts broke a quarter-century year old record, co-held by Southern Illinois (40 in 1991) and Missouri State (40 in 1992).
*A 26-point win was WSU's most lopsided victory of the Arch Madness Era (1991-present).
The Shockers' margin of victory was their third largest in any MVC Tournament game, trailing a couple of home wins in the early 1980's. In his final game at the Roundhouse, Xavier McDaniel led WSU to a 92-65 semifinal win over Indiana State. In 1984, WSU bounced Southern Illinois by 30 points in the quarterfinal round.
*Willis (9-of-10 at the free throw line) tied Cliff Levingston's 1981 WSU MVC record for free throw makes.
*The Shockers extended their winning streak against Bradley to 16 games -- one shy of the school record for consecutive series victories over a single opponent. The Shockers had a 17-gamer against crosstown rival Friends University from 1920-27.
*The win also evens the all-time series with Bradley to 71-71.
*WSU won its 13th straight game -- tied for third longest streak in school history.
*WSU was outshot for the first time since their Jan. 14 loss at Illinois State and for just the fifth time this year. Bradley finished at 38.2 percent to the Shockers' 37.1 percent.
THE SERIES WITH MISSOURI STATE:
*A 14-game winning streak has given WSU the all-time series lead, 41-30.
*
Gregg Marshall is 21-4 against MSU (a total that includes one victory from his days at Winthrop). He's 14-0 against Paul Lusk, 9-1 in Wichita, 7-3 in Springfield and 4-0 in St. Louis.
*WSU has captured 28 of the last 35 meetings, dating back to the 2002-03 season under Mark Turgeon.
*The teams have played 71 times with regular meetings 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 22-7 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.
MVC Tournament (tied 4-4)
*The teams have met eight tmes, but WSU's 2014 semifinal win was the first to take place beyond the quarterfinal and play-in rounds.
*MSU won the first four Arch Madness meetings and went 3-0 against Mark Turgeon. Marshall has since turned the tables, going a perfect 4-0 against the Bears.
2016-17 REGULAR SEASON:
*MSU became just the fifth team in the last seven seasons to outrebound the Shockers multiple times. Only one team -- 2015 SIU -- has outrebounded a
Gregg Marshall Shocker team three times in the same season.
In two wins, WSU held MSU to 37 percent from the field.
*WSU forced 18 steals.
Zach Brown (6),
Conner Frankamp (4)
Markis McDuffie (3) led the charge.
*
Shaquille Morris averaged 16.5 points and was 13-of-19 from the field (.684).
*
Landry Shamet averaged 15.0 points while hitting 7-of-12 threes (.583).
Feb. 9, 2017 | Wichita | WSU 80, MSU 62
Wichita State dominated the first half... Helped by runs of 12-0, 17-2 and 18-0, the Shockers built a 34-point lead in the first 22 minutes...
Shaquille Morris led a balanced attack with 13 points, and
Zach Brown added 12…
Darral Willis Jr.,
Rauno Nurger and
Conner Frankamp
tacked on 10 points apiece... Alize Johnson and Chris Kendrix paced Missouri State with 11 points each... WSU hit 55% in the first half before cooling considerably... The Shockers scored 27 points off of 21 MSU turnovers... MSU overcame a chilly 28.6% first half by hitting 7-of- 11 treys in the final period.
Feb. 25, 2017 | Springfield | WSU 86, MSU 67
WSU secured a share of its fourth-straight MVC title with a 19-point win in the regular season finale...
Landry Shamet finished with a career-high 23 points to go with eight rebounds and five assists. Shamet was 9-for-13 from the field overall and 5-of-8 from deep...
Shaquille Morris added 20 points, five rebounds and three assists...
Conner Frankamp added 14 points, five assists and three boards... WSU shot 54 percent from the field, including an 11-of-26 mark from three... WSU finished with 20 assists to just five turnovers...
Dequon Miller paced Missouri State (16-15, 7-11 MVC) with 19 points, while
Alize Johnson added 18 points and 12 rebounds... Up 50-46 with 16 minutes to play, WSU's Shamet and
Daishon Smith hit back-to-back threes to bump the lead to double-figures... Shamet's fifth triple of the game gave him 23 points and the Shockers their largest lead of the game, 65-52, with 8:23 to go... A pair of three-pointers from Frankamp in the final two minutes put the finishing touches on the victory.
SHOCKER MVC TOURNEY TIDBITS:
*WSU is in search of its fourth MVC Tournament Championship, previously winning titles in 1985, 1987 and 2014.
*The 2014 Shockers are the only WSU team to sweep regular season and tournament crowns in the same year. That group ended a 25-year drought with WSU's first (and only) win of the Arch Madness era (1991-Present).
*Wichita State has played on Saturday in each of the last eight years. That's a new MVC record, besting streaks of seven-in-a-row by Southern Illinois (1989-95) and Tulsa (1981-87).
*The Shockers are just 3-4 in those semifinals, with runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2013 and a 2014 championship.
*WSU's 21 semifinal appearances is second-most all-time, behind Illinois State's 23.
*A Shocker championship would ensure a sixth-straight NCAA Tournament bid, tying Cincinnati's MVC record (1958-63). It would also push WSU to 30-wins for the fourth time in five years.
THE SHOCKS, IN SHORT:
*Last weekend, Wichita State claimed a share of its fourth-consecutive MVC title -- and fifth in the last six years.
*The Shockers are 68-4 (.944) in MVC regular season play over the last four seasons and have posted 17+ wins in three of them.
*WSU is ranked in both the AP (21) and Coaches Polls (22).
*A 13-game winning streak is tied for the 3rd-longest in WSU history.
*The Shockers have won 19-of-20, going back to mid-December.
*Despite losing a pair of NBA players in
Ron Baker (Knicks) and
Fred VanVleet (Raptors), the team's 28 wins have already exceeded last year's total of 26.
This is by far Marshall's best offensive team, averaging 10 points per game more than last year's group (82.5) and are markedly improved marksmen from three (.405, up from .324).
*Four Shockers earned All-MVC honors this week. Redshirt Freshman point guard
Landry Shamet and sophomore forward
Markis McDuffie landed on the First Team.
Shaquille Morris and
Conner Frankamp were Third Team choices.
*Shamet -- the MVC Freshman of the Year -- joined junior forward
Darral Willis Jr. on the All-Newcomer Team, and
Zach Brown was named to the All-Defensive squad.
