ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- Regular season co-champions, Wichita State (29-4, 17-1 MVC) and Illinois State (27-5) meet in the most fitting of Missouri Valley Conference Tournament finals.
 
Each dealt the other its lone conference loss during the regular season. Sunday afternoon's rubber match settles that score once and for all, while determining the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
 
The 1 p.m. tip airs nationally on CBS, with Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner and John Schriffen. On Radio, Mike Kennedy -- now in his 37th year as "Voice of the Shockers" -- calls his 1,209th consecutive game for KEYN 103.7 FM in Wichita. Fans in the St. Louis area can tune in to 550 AM KTRS.


 

ARCH MADNESS

No. 2 Wichita State (29-4, 17-1 MVC)  No. 1 Illinois State (27-5, 17-1 MVC)

Sunday, March 5

1:00 P.M. CT

St. Louis, Mo.

Scottrade Center

Tournament Central

Game Notes: WSU

COVERAGE

CBS

Kevin Harlan & Dan Bonner

KEYN 103.7 FM

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SHOCKERS AT ARCH MADNESS

Record in MVC Tournament: 34-34

Record as No. 2 Seed: 12-6

MVC Tournament Titles: 3

AT A GLANCE

Stat Comparison WSU ILST PPG 82.4 69.4 FG% .476 .443 3-PT FG% .408 .369 FT% .735 .664 RPG 40.8 36.9 APG 16.8 13.9 TPG 11.2 12.6 SPG 6.9 7.3

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 Sunday a total of four times under Gregg Marshall, with runner-up finishes in 2010 and 2013 and a 2014 championship win over Indiana State.
*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).
*The team's current 14-game winning streak is tied for second-longest in WSU history. The 2014 Shockers own the record (35), with wins 32, 33 and 34 coming at Arch Madness.
*The Shockers have won 20-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 29 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 (82.4) and are markedly improved marksmen from three (.406, 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.
 
WICHITA STATE IN THE MVC TOURNAMENT:
*WSU is in search of its fourth MVC Tournament title, having won in 1985, 1987 and 2014.
*The Shockers are 34-34 all-time (21-24 since the tournament moved to St. Louis in 1991).
 
WSU IN THE TITLE GAME:
*WSU is into the title game for the first time since winning it all in 2014.
*The Shockers are 3-3 in six previous championship game appearances.
*The Shockers are 1-2 in championship games under Marshall. Their 2010 appearance snapped a 23-year dry spell but ended with a loss to UNI. The 2013 group lost to Creighton but went on to play in a Final Four. The 2014 team became the first since 1987 to take home a title.
*The 2014 team is the only Shocker team to win both a regular season and conference tournament title in the same year.
 
 
PAST SHOCKER MVC TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS:
 
>>1985
With senior All-American Xavier McDaniel leading the way, WSU won its first-ever MVC Tournament Championship. The Shockers were seeded third in the bracket after an 11-5 regular season finish. Following a pair of home wins, WSU traveled to 17th-ranked Tulsa for the championship game.  McDaniel -- who that year became the first in history to lead the nation in both scoring (27.2) and rebounding (14.8) -- tallied 34 points and grabbed 13 boards to lead the Shockers to a thrilling 84-82 victory over their arch rival.
 
>>1987
The Shockers celebrated another championship on Tulsa's home court, just two years later. The 1987 MVC Tournament was the first to feature a three-point line, and WSU took full advantage of the new rule, knocking down a near-perfect 8-of-10 from long range. Most Outstanding Player, Gary Cundiff (3-for-3 from three) led a group of five double-figure scorers with 17 points,  and Steve Grayer collected a double-double, as Wichita State downed the Hurricane in overtime, 79-74. 
 
>>2014
WSU improved to 34-0 and became the first Division I team in over two decades to enter the NCAA Tournament with an unbeaten record. Larry Bird Trophy recipient, Fred VanVleet collected 22 points and five assists, and tournament most outstanding player Tekele Cotton scored 20 points to lead the Shockers past Indiana State, 83-69. In the process, Wichita State claimed its first Arch Madness title after trips to the championship game in 2010 and 2013.
 
THE SERIES WITH ILLINOIS STATE:
*The teams have played 82 times since 1937, with WSU leading 42-40. They've met in every season since 1981-82 (36-straight).
*WSU is 15-5 against Illinois State over the past seven seasons and has won 25 of the last 34 overall.
*Illinois State has won the first leg in each of the last seasons, only to lose the return trip to Wichita. The Redbirds last won a season series from WSU in 2007-08 (Gregg Marshall's first year).
*Marshall is 9-3 against fifth-year Illinois State coach Dan Muller. 
 
MVC Tournament (6-4, ILS): This is the 11th MVC Tournament meeting between the two programs but the first time they've crossed paths in a championship game...The teams have split six meetings at Arch Madness, with five of those occuring in the semifinal round... Marshall is 2-2 against the Redbirds in MVC Tournament play... The Redbirds escaped a double-figure first half deficit to knock the Shockers out of the 2015 MVC Tournament with a 65-62 semifinal victory, snapping a seven-game Shocker winning streak in the series.
 
SWING STATEMENT:
On Feb. 4 against Illinois State, WSU posted the most lopsided win in series history (41 points) and looked like an entirely different team than the one that fell by 14 at Redbird Arena three weeks prior... The 55-point swing between games was WSU's largest ever in a Valley home-and-home, topping the previous record of 49, set by the 1972-73 Shockers, who lost by seven points at West Texas State but beat the Aggies a week later in Wichita by 42 (103-61). In 1955, the Shockers lost by 21 in Peoria but won the rematch by 27 at WU Fieldhouse (+48).
 
2016-17 REGULAR SEASON MEETINGS:
 
Jan. 14, 2017 | Normal | ISU 76, WSU 62
WSU's three-year stay atop the MVC standings ended abruptly in just the fourth head-to-head meeting between 5-0 teams in modern conference history... ILS shot 54% and hit 10-of-22 from three... The hosts snared the lead midway through the first half and fended off a pair of Shocker runs down the stretch to grab sole possession of first place for the first time since 1998... WSU lost its share of the conference lead for the first time since the end of the 2012-13 season .. Darral Willis Jr. and Landry Shamet each flirted with double-doubles for the Shockers. Willis finished with 14 points and nine rebounds, and Shamet added 14 points, eight boards and a team-high six assists with just one turnover... Foul trouble hampered Markis McDuffie, who scored all 11 of his points in the second half... MiKyle McIntosh finished with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting. He was one of five Redbirds to finish in double-figures. Deontae Hawkins scored 14, DJ Clayton had 11 and Paris Lee and Keyshawn Evans each with 10... WSU's last lead came at the 7:33 mark, 24-22, but it missed 10 of its last 11 shots in the half. ISU took control with an 11-1 run... Down nine at the half, WSU cut the lead to 37-35 (18:00), 43-42 (13:36), and 56-53 (6:14), but the Redbirds squashed each rally with timely three-pointers.
 
Feb 4, 2017 | Wichita | WSU 86, ISU 45
WSU avenged its lone conference loss and reclaimed a share of first-place in the standings.... Up 22-20 with six minutes to play in the first half, WSU outscored the visiting Redbirds 35-4 over the next 12 minutes of action to pull away... Conner Frankamp scored a career-high 18 points, hitting 4-of-6 from three. Markis McDuffie added 16, and Shaquille Morris tallied his third double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds... Zach Brown added 10 points and teamed with McDuffie to limit ISU's Paris Lee to four points on 2-of-11 from the field... ISU came into the night ranked fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense (.371). No Redbird opponent had shot better than 47% in a game and no MVC team had fared better than 42%. Yet, the Shockers – who flailed their way to 62 points on 35% shooting in Normal – put up 86 points on 56.6% shooting in the rematch... WSU shot over 73% in the second half (19-of-26)... ISU struggled without starter MiKyle McIntosh, who missed his second straight game due to injury. The Redbirds scored a season-low 45 points on 33 percent from the field and finished with 19 turnovers.
 
SEMIFINAL LEFTOVERS:
*WSU has won 15-straight over Missouri State, dating back to the 2011 regular season finale in Springfield.
*WSU made double-digit three-pointers for the 13th time this season. Three of those have come against Missouri State.
*Frankamp has recorded three-or-more triples in 11 games this year. He extended his streak of consecutive games with a three-pointer to 19.
*Landry Shamet extended his own three-point streak to 22 games – five shy of Ron Baker's school record.
*Morris added a block to move into a tie for ninth on WSU's career list. His 91 swats are tied with J.T. Durley (2007-11).