Wichita State 2018 Postseason Guide

SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Fourth-seeded Wichita State meets No. 13 seed Marshall in First Round action of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship, beginning at 10:30 a.m. PST (12:30 p.m. CT) Friday at Viejas Arena in San Diego, Calif.
 
The game will air nationally on TNT with the team of Carter Blackburn, Debbie Antonelli (analyst) and John Schriffen (reporter).
 
The Voice of the Shockers, Mike Kennedy -- now in his 38th year -- describes the action on Shocker Radio (KEYN 103.7 FM in Wichita) alongside Dave Dahl and Bob Hull. Catch their one-hour pregame show beginning at 11:30 a.m. CT.
 
Westwood One radio (Sirius 145, XM 203 or westwoodonesports.com/sandiego) will carry all six games from San Diego this weekend on affiliates across the nation. John Sadak and Mike Montgomery have the call.
 
Your hub for all things March Madness is NCAA.com/March-Madness-Live.


 

GAME 33

San Diego, Calif.

Viejas Arena (12,414)

Tournament Central

Bracket

Game Notes: WSU

MATCHUP - FIRST ROUND

#4 Wichita State (25-7) vs. #13 Marshall (24-10)

Friday, March 16

12:30 P.M. CT

TNT (Stream)

KEYN 103.7 FM

Live Stats

SOCIAL

@GoShockersMBB | #watchus

@goshockers | #watchus

Go Shockers

AMERICAN TOURNAMENT REWIND
The Shockers went 1-1 at last weekend's American Athletic Conference Championship in Orlando, defeating Temple (89-81) in the quarterfinal round before falling to No. 21 Houston (77-74) in Saturday's semifinals…. Landry Shamet made the all-tournament team after averaging 21.5 points and 4.0 assists over two games. He was 15-of-22 from the field, including 10-of-15 from three-point range… Rashard Kelly averaged 13.0 points and 9.5 rebounds. He scored a career-high 16 points against Temple and completed his his third double-double of the year (10 pts, 12 reb) vs. Houston… Austin Reaves (11.5 points) was 14-of-16 at the foul line, and Shaquille Morris (11.0 points, 6.5 boards) went 12-of-15 from the stripe.
 
WICHITA STATE TOURNEY TIDBITS: 
*This is Wichita State's seventh-straight appearance and 15th overall. Shocker teams are 18-15 all-time with Final Fours in 1965 and 2013. WSU teams reached regional finals in 1964 and 1981 and made regional semifinal appearances in 2006 and 2015.
*Wichita State is one of 5 schools that have won a game in each of the last five tournaments, joining Kansas, Gonzaga, Oregon and North Carolina.
*Since 2013, Wichita State has won 10 tournament games. Six have come against higher-seeded teams (most in the nation in that span).
*The Shockers are prepping for their 34th NCAA Tournament game all-time. Notably, half (17) of those contests have come within the past seven years. Prior to Gregg Marshall's arrival, the Shockers had made the field in consecutive years on just two occasions (1964 & 65; 1987 & 88).
*The Shockers have held a second-half lead in all 16 of their NCAA Tournament games under Marshall.
*Since the NCAA began seeding the tournament in 1978, WSU teams are a remarkable 9-8 as underdog.
*Also since '78, Shocker teams are 7-4 in first round games (2-3 as the underdog, 5-1 as the favorite). No. 12 VCU scored the first and (so far) only first round upset of a Marshall team in 2012, downing the fifth-seeded Shockers, 62-59, in Portland.
*WSU's No. 4 seed it its second-highest ever (the undefeated 2014 team made the top line).
*The Shockers are a combined 16-8 in postseason games under Marshall, boosted by a 2011 NIT Championship. A run of 10-consecutive postseason trips began with a 2009 CBI bid.
*This is WSU's 29th overall postseason appearance (15 NCAAs, 13 NITs and 1 CBI). In the 15 seasons since Charles Koch Arena's renovation, Shocker teams have reached postseason 12 times (with 8 NCAA bids).
 
THE VENUE:
*Viejas Arena at Aztec Bowl is located on the campus of San Diego State University and is home to the Aztec basketball program. It seats 12,414 for regular season games (but slightly less for the NCAA Tournament).
*WSU has played one other time at Viejas Arena (Dec. 4, 2010).  Sparked by Kawhi Leonard (16 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals) and a sellout crowd San Diego State steamrolled the Shockers, 83-69, in an MVC-Mountain West Challenge Series matchup.
 
THE SHOCKERS IN SAN DIEGO:
*The Shockers are 2-2 all-time in San Diego. Prior to 2010, their only other visit came in the first month of their first season under Hall of Fame Coach Ralph Miller (December, 1951). They played three games in three days in San Diego during a barnstorming tour of the Southwest. After twice defeating the Aztecs, the Shockers lost to a team representing the San Diego Naval Training Center.
*This is WSU's first action in California since punching its 2013 Final Four ticket with consecutive wins over LaSalle and Ohio State at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
 
EXPERIENCE FACTOR:
*Nine of the 10 players who saw time in last year's tournament games are back for another go-around. Six current Shockers have played in multiple tournaments.
*Seniors Shaquille Morris (8 games, 5 starts), Zach Brown (8, 5) and Rashard Kelly (8, 0) have helped WSU to a 5-3 record over the last three tournaments.
*The senior trio will join recent alums Tekele Cotton, Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet as the only Shockers  to see action in four different NCAA Tournaments.
*Conner Frankamp can also make that claim. As a true freshman at Kansas he logged two games during the 2014 tournament. He sat out the following year as a transfer, then played in five more tournament games for WSU in 2016 and 2017.
*NCAA rules cap the number of chairs on the team bench. Still recovering from an early season stress fracture, Landry Shamet sat in the stands during the 2016 NCAA Tournament. A year later, Shamet was one the events' breakout performers, averaging 16.5 points in 35.0 minutes over two games. He went toe-to-toe with Kentucky's vaunted freshmen in the round of 32 and finished with a game-high 20 points.
*Morris averaged 10.5 points and 7.0 rebounds in games against Dayton and Kentucky last year.
 
AMERICAN POW6R:
*Three teams from the American Athletic Conference are in the 2018 NCAA Tournament field.
*Cincinnati's No. 2 seed in the highest in league history. Prior to that, no American school had been seeded higher than fourth (Louisville in 2014).
*In its first five seasons, The American has earned 15 NCAA Tournament bids, highlighted by UConn's 2014 National Championship.
*The American currently boasts three top-25 teams: No. 8 Cincinnati, No. 16 WSU and No. 21 Houston.
*Nine of the 12 American head coaches have reached an NCAA Tournament, and four of them have led a team to the Final Four (WSU's Gregg Marshall, UConn's Kevin Ollie, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Memphis' Tubby Smith).
 
GREGG MARSHALL IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT:  
*This is Gregg Marshall's 14th NCAA Tournament. He's 11-13 with two Sweet 16's (2013, 15) and a Final Four (2013).
*Friday marks the 11th anniversary of Marshall's first NCAA Tournament win. On March 16, 2007 in Spokane, Wash., Marshall's 11th-seeded Winthrop Eagles upset sixth-seed Notre Dame, 74-64, in the first round. Prior to that, Marshall had taken Winthrop to six tournaments as a No. 14 seed or lower and gone 0-6.
*Marshall is 17-15 overall in postseason play. This is his 17th postseason bid in 20 seasons as a head coach.
*Since 2011, Marshall is 10-5 in postseason games against teams from "power conferences" defeating Alabama, Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Vanderbilt, Va. Tech and Washington State.
 
NUMBER SEVEN WITH SEVEN PLUS SEVEN:
Gregg Marshall becomes just the seventh coach in NCAA history to lead two different school to seven-or-more bids. His Winthrop teams danced seven times in nine years. After missing out in each of his first four seasons at Wichita State, Marshall has guided the Shockers to seven-straight tournaments.
 
THE SERIES WITH MARSHALL:
Wichita State and Marshall met twice in the early 1940's... or, rather, the University of Wichita faced Marshall College.  The Shockers won in Wichita on Dec. 17, 1940.  Marshall gained revenge a year later, defeating the Shockers 60-24 in Huntington.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERING HERD:
*Marshall is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1987. The Thundering Herd (24-10) finished fourth in the Conference USA regular season standings at 12-6, but won last weekend's tournament in Frisco.
*Jon Elmore is part of a core of three juniors that have combined for nearly 68 percent of the team's points this year. A first team All-Conference USA selection, Elmore ranks among the national leaders in scoring (8th, 22.8), assists (7th, 6.9), minutes (3rd, 38.2) and free throws made (4th, 217). He's twice recorded triple-doubles this year. 
*C.J. Burks  -- a second team all-conference pick -- averages 20.5 points (36th nationally) .
*Ajdin Penava averages 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds and leads the nation in blocks per game (4.06). He was third team all-conference and a member of the league's all-defensive team.
*Marshall has had at least one 20-point scorer in every game this year.
*Marshall ranks 12th nationally in scoring (84.3), but 321st (of 351 Division I teams) in scoring defense (78.8). KenPom ranks the Herd sixth nationally in tempo (74.8 possessions per 40 minutes) but only 96th in adjusted offensive efficiency.
*Marshall also ranks high on the national leaderboards in blocks per game (5th, 5.9).
*Elmore was the hero in the CUSA title game, scoring 20 of his 27 points after halftime, including 11 in a row in a span of just over two minutes. He hit 6-of-7 threes in the second half.
*The Herd have won 10 of their last 12 games.
*Fourth-year head coach Dan D'Antoni is a Marshall alumnus and the brother of Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni.
 
GREGG MARSHALL AT MARSHALL:
*Shocker head coach Gregg Marshall spent two years as a Marshall University assistant under Greg White from 1996-98. The duo helped lead the Herd to a share of the SoCon North Division title in their first season. They came within an eyelash of taking Marshall to an NCAA Tournament that year, falling in overtime to Tennessee Chattanooga on a last-second tip-in in the SoCon tournament title game.
*Marshall's oldest child was born in Huntington in October, 1996. Kellen Marshall -- now a junior at Wichita State -- serves as a student assistant on the Shocker bench.
 
DONNIE JONES AT MARSHALL:
*First-year Shocker assistant Donnie Jones has even deeper ties to the Thundering Herd. He was born just 40 miles up the road in Point Pleasant, W.V. and owns a master's degree from Marshall, where he served as an assistant (1990-96) and later as head coach (2007-10). 
*In three seasons as Marshall head coach, Jones helped turn around a struggling program. In his final year he led the Herd to a 24-10 finish and their first postseason appearance in 22 years. Impact freshman Hassan Whiteside finished the season with 182 blocks -- the fourth-highest total in NCAA history to that point.
*Marshall is in search of its first postseason victory since 2010 (when Jones' squad defeated Western Carolina, 90-88, in the first round of the CIT) and just its fourth all-time (the other two came in the 1967 NIT).
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*WSU (3rd, 18.5) and Marshall (11th, 17.2) both rank among the national leaders in assists.
*To reach the Sweet 16, WSU could potentially have to face two of the nation's top-3 shot blockers. Marshall's Ajdin Panava tops the Division I leaderboard with 130 in 32 games. There are 270 TEAMS that have fewer than 130 blocks, including the Shockers (126). West Virginia's Sagaba Konate ranks second nationally in total blocks (109) and third in average (3.30) heading into the tournament. 
*KenPom ranks Marshall sixth nationally in tempo. WSU has already played Savannah State (1^st, 82.2) and Oklahoma (4^th, 75.8) this year. The Shockers defeated SSU 112-66 but fell 91-83 to Oklahoma.
*Wichita State and Marshall share an unfortunate bit of history. In a six-week span in the fall of 1970, football programs from both schools suffered tragic plane crashes.
 
FANCY MEETING YOU HERE:
*Gregg Marshall was pleased to see two of his former Shocker assistants -- Earl Grant (College of Charleston) and Chris Jans (New Mexico State) -- make the NCAA Tournament field for the first time as head coaches. He was even more excited when both were sent to San Diego.
*Jans -- a member of Marshall original WSU staff -- totaled nine years on the Shocker bench over two separate stints before leaving last spring for Las Cruces. In his first season at NM State, Jans' Aggies went 28-5 and won the WAC regular season and conference tournament titles.
*Grant worked six seasons under Marshall -- three at Winthrop (2004-07) and three at Wichita State (2007-10). He's increased the Cougars' win total in each of his four seasons at College of Charleston (9, 17, 25 & 26), culminating with CAA regular season and tournament titles this year.
*Matt Braeuer, starting point guard on WSU's 2006 Sweet 16 team and a graduate assistant under Marshall from 2008-10, is Charleston's Director of Basketball Operations.
 
AN EVERY DAY GUY:
When Rashard Kelly checks into the Shockers' NCAA Tournament opener, it will be his 139th consecutive game, tying Toure' Murry's school record.
 
TRENDING:
*Landry Shamet celebrated his 21st birthday earlier this week.
*Shaquille Morris has a team-high 37 dunks this year and 95 for his career. Both are Marshall Era bests.
*Rashard Kelly is coming off of his eighth double-digit rebound effort of the year. His 12 boards against Houston matched a career-high. Kelly has played 30+ minutes in each of the last four games.
*Shamet's streak of 10-straight double-figure scoring games is the longest of his Shocker career.
 
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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… improve their record to 26-7.
… advance them to the tournament's Round of 32 for the sixth-consecutive year.
… set up a Sunday date with either No. 5 seed West Virginia or No. 12 Murray State.
… give them an 11-5 mark in NCAA Tournament games since 2013.
… make WSU 19-15 all-time in NCAA Tournament play.
… make Gregg Marshall 12-13 in 14 NCAA Tournament trips (11-6 at WSU).
… give them a 2-1 lead all-time vs. Marshall.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… end their season at 25-8.
… be their first one-and-done in NCAA Tournament play since 2012 when they fell to No. 12 seed VCU.
… be the end of the line for WSU's six seniors. The Class of 2018 would finish with a four-year mark of 112-27.
… be less good than a win.