ORLANDO, Fla. -- The conference regular season title eluded Wichita State, but the Shockers will have a shot at another this weekend when play begins at the 2018 Aaron's American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship, March 8-11 at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.
 
WSU (24-6, 14-4) tied with Houston for second place in the conference standings but earned the tournament's No. 2 seed via tiebreaker. The Shockers will face either No. 7 Temple (16-14, 8-10) or No. 10 Tulane (14-6, in Friday's quarterfinal round at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET). That game will air on ESPNU with Mike Corey and Mark Adams on the call.
 
The Voice of the Shockers, Mike Kennedy, describes the action on Shocker Radio (KEYN 103.7 FM) alongside Dave Dahl and Bob Hull.
 
Fans outside the Wichita area can catch the game on IMG Radio (Sirius 138, XM 202, App 962) with Adam Whitten and Tim Welch. Listen to all 11 tournament games via TuneIn on the College Sports Now channel (just search College Sports Now). 
 
Visit TheAmerican.org/MBB for the latest information on the 2018 Championship.


 

GAME 31

Orlando, Fla.

Amway Center

Tournament Central

Game Notes: WSU

MATCHUP - QUARTERFINALS

#2 Wichita State (24-6, 14-4) vs. #7 Temple/#10 Tulane

Friday, March 9

6:00 P.M. CT/ 7:00 P.M. ET

ESPNU (WatchESPN)

KEYN 103.7 FM

KEYN.com

GoShockers.com

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TOURNAMENT ODDS & ENDS:
*Wichita State makes its tournament debut. The addition of the Shockers boosts the field to 12 teams for the first time and adds an additional first round play-in game to Thursday's schedule.
*SMU has the most titles of any team, winning in 2015 and 2017. The Mustangs were ineligible for the tournament in 2016 due to NCAA sanctions. In last year's championship game, they defeated Cincinnati, 71-56, to run their conference tournament winning streak to six games.
*UConn played in three-straight finals from 2014-16. The Huskies were runner-up to Louisville (2014) and SMU (2015) before defeating Memphis in the 2016 title game.
*No three-seed has ever won a game in the American Tournament. In each of the last four years, the No. 6 seed has pulled a quarterfinal upset.
*Play-in teams are a respectable 3-7 in quarterfinal games. No. 1 seeds are 4-0 in quarterfinal games. No. 2 seeds are 3-1, with the lone loss coming in 2016 when No. 10 Tulane upset No. 7 UCF and No. 2 Houston before falling to Memphis on day three.
*This is the tournament's second go-around at the Amway Center. It also hosted in 2016. Hartford's XL Center has twice been the site (2015 & 2017). Memphis' FedExForum, home of the inaugural American Tournament in 2014, will host again in 2019. The American signed a three-year deal with the new Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas to host the 2020-22 tournaments.
*Three teams carry top-25 rankings into the weekend: No. 8 Cincinnati, No. 11 Wichita State and No. 21 Houston. That's the most since 2014 when the league had four of the top-25 heading into the inaugural American Tournament.
 
WSU IN THE MVC TOURNAMENT:
*The MVC staged its first postseason tournament in 1977. WSU teams were 35-34 in 38 trips.
*WSU cut down the nets at last year's MVC Tournament in St. Louis, winning by margins of 26, 15 and 20 points.  Conner Frankamp was named Most Outstanding Player after knocking down 11 threes over the three games. He scored a career-high 19 points in the championship win over Illinois State (71-51).
*It was just the fourth MVC Tournament crown for WSU in 38 tries (1985, 1987, 2014 and 2017) and just their second since the event moved full-time to St. Louis in 1991. Notably, the first two titles came at the expense of Tulsa on the Hurricane's home floor.
 
MARSHALL IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS:
*Last year's Arch Madness crown was Marshall's ninth conference tournament title. He won the Big South Tournament in seven of his nine years at Winthrop.
*Marshall is 34-10 all-time in conference tournament games (15-8 at WSU). He's lost just two openers – 2003 (at Winthrop) and in 2008 (his first season at WSU) – and advanced to the semifinal round in 16 of 19 trips.
*The Shockers have won nine-straight openers under Marshall and advanced to each of the last eighth MVC semifinals. They made the Arch Madness title game in 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
*Marshall presided over four of WSU's seven MVC championship game appearances: 1981 (L), 1985 (W), 1987 (W), 2010 (L), 2013 (L), 2014 (W), 2017 (W).
 
RUST vs. REST?:
Big Ten coaches balked at moving up their own tournament this year, but Gregg Marshall must make the opposite adjustment. For television purposes, the MVC and Big South both condense their regular season schedules and stage their respective events a week early. As a result, each of Marshall's 13 previous NCAA Tournament teams had at least 10 days to rest and regroup before diving into the postseason.
 
407-DOUBLE-YOUR-DISNEY:
The Shockers are back in Orlando for the second time in as many weeks -- albeit 20 miles down the road from the UCF campus. Last Thursday, they nipped the Knights in overtime, 75-71. WSU improved to 2-5 all-time in Orlando. Marshall teams made two previous appearances at the AdvoCare Invitational in 2008 and 2015.
 
BIG WINNER ON BIG STAGES:
Amway Center is home to the NBA's Orlando Magic. Since 2011, WSU teams have played games in seven other current NBA venues and are a combined 9-2 in those games.
 
Shocker Games in Current NBA Arenas (Since 2011)
3/29/2011 – Madison Square Garden (Knicks) – def. Washington St., 75-44 (NIT Semifinals)
3/31/2011 – Madison Square Garden (Knicks) – def. Alabama, 66-57 (NIT Championship)
3/21/2013 – Vivant SmartHome Arena (Jazz) – def. Pitt, 73-55 (NCAA Rd. of 64)
3/23/2013 – Vivant SmartHome Arena (Jazz) – def. Gonzaga, 76-70 (NCAA Rd. of 32)
3/28/2013 – Staples Center (Lakers/Clippers) – def. LaSalle, 72-58 (NCAA Sweet 16)
3/30/2013 – Staples Center (Lakers/Clippers) – def. Ohio St., 70-66 (NCAA Elite 8)
3/26/2015 – QuickenLoans Arena (Cavs) – lost to Notre Dame, 70-81 (NCAA Sweet 16)
12/10/2016 – Chesapeake Energy Arena (Thunder) – def. Oklahoma, 76-73
3/17/2017 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Pacers) – def. Dayton, 64-58 (NCAA Rd. of 64)
3/17/2017 – Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Pacers) – lost to Kentucky, 62-65 (NCAA Rd. of 32)
2/6/2017 – FedExForum (Grizzlies) – def. Memphis, 85-65
3/9/2018 – Amway Center (Magic) – vs. Temple or Tulane
 
SALVAGING SENIOR DAY:
*WSU fell 62-61 at home to Cincinnati in Sunday's finale. A win would have given the Shockers a share of the regular season title and the No. 1 seed. The loss also spoiled festivities for WSU's six seniors (the school's largest class in 42 years). 
*Gregg Marshall had previously lost just one other senior day as a head coach. When he addressed the team in the locker room afterward, he made it a point to reference that group. A senior day loss, he told the players, cost his 2013 squad a conference title, as well. However, that team regrouped in the days ahead and -- a month later -- they played in the Final Four.
*WSU's 2011 team (which included five seniors) also lost a winner-take-all battle for the conference (at Missouri State) but pulled together to win the NIT Championship.
 
MUST-SEE TV:
*Wichita State's March 4 showdown with Cincinnati was the highest-rated CBS men's basketball telecast in the five-year history of the American Athletic Conference. The game -- which featured eight ties and eight lead changes -- drew a 1.4/4 metered market rating. No. 10 Cincinnati defeated No. 11 WSU, 62-61.
*The game marked only the fifth time in Roundhouse history (and just the second time since 1981) that a ranked Shocker team has faced a top-25 opponent.
 
RESUME BUILDING:
*WSU has as many conference losses this year (4) as in the four previous years combined, but most bracketologists have the Shockers in the 3-5 seed range heading to Orlando. A year ago, WSU was seeded 10^th despite reaching 30-wins before Selection Sunday.
*The Shockers have played 17 games against RPI top-100 teams this year (10 of them during conference play), compared to just six in last year's regular season).
*As of Tuesday, WSU owns 14 RPI Quadrant 1 or 2 wins -- most in The American and tied for third nationally behind only Villanova (15) and Kansas (18).
*The Shockers are 4-3 in Q1 games and 10-2 in Q2s.
*Neutral site games with top-50 opponents count toward Q1 status. Games with opponents in the 50-100 range are Q2. Cincinnati (7), Houston (19), Temple (52), Tulsa (71), UCF (78) all began the week in the top-100.
 
SHAMET EARNS ALL-AMERICA NOD:
USA Today released its 2018 All-America picks earlier this week. WSU sophomore point guard Landry Shamet made the third team. It's the first such honor of Shamet's career. The four official lists, used by the NCAA for its consensus All-America selections (Associated Press, USBWA, NABC and Sporting News), will begin trickling out later this month.
 
SHOCKER DUO NAMED 1st TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE:
*Senior center Shaquille Morris and sophomore point guard Landry Shamet both landed first team all-conference honors. 
*Morris leads the league in blocks (49) and ranks second in field goal percentage (.563). This year he's averaging career-bests with 14.2 points and 5.5 rebounds. 
*An All-MVC 3rd Team selection last spring, Morris is the Shockers' first multiyear all-conference big man since Xavier McDaniel (3x MVC 1st Team, 1983-85).
*Shamet is WSU's leading scorer (14.6) and tops the conference leaderboard in both assists (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6). He's also second in three-point percentage (.440), third in threes-per-game (2.6) and third in free throw percentage (.837). 
*Shamet has been a first-teamer in two different leagues. A year ago, he was MVC Freshman of the Year and joined  former Creighton standout Doug McDermott (now with the New York Knicks) as the only first team All-Valley rookies in the current era of freshman eligibility.
 
ON THIS DATE:
*** March 9, 2014 -- WSU last played a March 9 game four years ago, and that memory will be difficult to top. The second-ranked Shockers defeated Indiana State, 83-69, in the 2014 MVC Tournament Championship game to improve to 34-0. A week later, they earned a No. 1 seed and became the first team in over two decades to enter NCAA Tournament play with an unbeaten record.
*** March 9, 1985 -- With senior All-American Xavier McDaniel leading the way, WSU won its first-ever MVC Tournament Championship. McDaniel -- who that year became the first player in NCAA 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 at No. 17 Tulsa.
 
PER-FECTION:
*On a per-minute basis, big men Shaquille Morris and Darral Willis Jr. were two of the league's most effective scorers. Among players who appeared in more than 50% of their team's games, Morris averaged a conference-best 24.1 points per 40 minutes during the regular season. Willis ranked third at 23.0 points.
*Minimums aside, WSU's walk-on center Brett Barney (28.6) is your overall conference leader. He's scored 10 points in 14 minutes this year, spanning six games.
 
American Athletic Conference Leaders* – Points/40 Minutes
1.Shaquille Morris (Wichita St.) – 24.09
2.Rob Gray (Houston) – 23.38
3.Darral Willis Jr. (Wichita St.) – 22.96
4.Jeremiah Martin (Memphis) – 21.79
5.Tacko Fall (UCF) – 20.63
*=Players who have appeared in at least 50% of team's games
 
BIGGEST WIN TOTALS AT THE BIG TWO-OH:
Gregg Marshall is in his 20^th year as a head coach and will end the season with at 479 career wins (hopefully more). That would stand as the eighth-highest total in NCAA Division I history by a head coach at the end of his second decade. (Note -- Gonzaga's Mark Few has over 530 wins but is in only his 19^th year).
 
Most Wins After 20^th Season (Division I, All-Time):
1. Roy Williams (Kansas & UNC; 1988-2008) – 560-134
2. Bill Self (ORU, Tulsa, Illinois & Kansas; 1993-2013) – 507-164
3. John Calipari (UMass, Memphis & Kentucky; 1988-96, 2000-12) – 505-152
4. Jerry Tarkanian (Long Beach St. & UNLV; 1968-88) – 501-106
5. Tom Izzo (Michigan St.; 1995-2015) – 495-199
6. Billy Donovan (Marshall & Florida; 1994-2004) – 486-189
7. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse; 1976-96) – 483-159
8. Gregg Marshall (Winthrop & Wichita St.; 1998-2018) – 479-179
9. Bruce Pearl (So. Indiana, Milwaukee, Tennessee, Auburn; 1992-2011, 2014-15) – 477-165
9. Denny Crum (Louisville; 1971-91) – 477-172
 
ONE-OR-TWO PUNCH            :
The Shockers' regular season runner-up finish marks the ninth consecutive year that they've finished either first or second-place in their conference standings. Just three other programs have longer active streaks: Gonzaga (21) and Kansas (18) won the WCC and Big 12 titles outright this year. Belmont (13) was the OVC runner-up. WSU won MVC titles in 2012, 14, 15, 16 and 17 and finished second in 2010, 11 & 13.
 
25-ALIVE:
The Shockers can secure a ninth-straight 25-win season by winning their quarterfinal matchup. It's one of the four-longest streaks in the nation. Kansas (24-7) looks to push its streak to 13 during this week's Big 12 Tournament. Gonzaga (11) and Duke (10) recently extended their own.
 
A SENIOR MOMENT:
*WSU's six-man senior class is the school's largest in 42 years. The 1975-76 Shockers (who also had six seniors) won the MVC title and became just the third WSU team to qualify for NCAA Tournament play.
*WSU doesn't just have seniors, it has old seniors. Five of the six players have either redshirted or taken a prep year since graduating high school.
*Shaquille Morris is the last remaining link to WSU's 2013-14 undefeated team. He redshirted that year.
*Rashard Kelly has participated in 111 career victories -- the third highest active total in college basketball. Shaquille Morris is sixth on the list with 108.
*Among active seniors who have appeared in at least 90 games,  Rauno Nurger (99-19, .839), Morris (108-23, .824) and Kelly (111-25, .816) all rank in the top-5 nationally in winning percentage.
 
Active Career Wins Leaders (by participation, through 3/6):
1. Silas Melson (Gonzaga), 124-16
2. Dusan Ristic (Arizona), 112-25
3. Rashard Kelly (Wichita St.), 111-25
4. Devonte' Graham (Kansas), 109-25
4. Grayton Allen (Duke), 109-27
6. Shaquille Morris (Wichita St.), 108-23
 
Winningest 2018 Seniors, by Percentage (min. 90 GP), Through 3/6
1. Phil Booth (Villanova) 93-10, .903
2. Silas Melson (Gonzaga) 124-16, .886
3. Rauno Nurger (Wichita St.) 99-19, .839
4. Shaquille Morris (Wichita St.) 108-23, .824
5. Rashard Kelly (Wichita St.) 111-25, .816
 
WSU & TEMPLE, QUICKLY:
*Wichita State and Temple split the regular season series, with each holding serve at home.
*At Temple, the Shockers led by seven with just over 5:00 to play in regulation and by five in overtime but couldn't finish. 
*WSU turned the tables two weeks later, overcoming a 14-point halftime deficit and Temple's arena-record 16 three-pointers to win 93-86.
*Shocker big men factored heavily in both games. Shaquille Morris averaged 23.5 points and 11.0 rebounds while shooting over 73% from the field (19/26). In Wichita, Darral Willis Jr. scored 24 points in 23 minutes.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. TEMPLE:
*The Owls lead the all-time series 4-1…Four of the five games have been decided by five-points or less and two of them have gone to overtime.  The Owls also won a 78-74 overtime game  at the 2011 Puerto Rico Tipoff.
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*Markis McDuffie's sister, Sierra McDuffie, is in her second season as a graduate manager on the Temple men's basketball staff. She played Division II hoops at Felician University in Rutherford, N.J.
*Temple redshirt senior Josh Brown (Class of 2013) and WSU junior Markis McDuffie (Class of 2015) are both St. Anthony's High graduates. The two played a handful of games together late in the 2012-13 season after McDuffie earned a varsity call-up.
 
SCOUTING TEMPLE:
*Temple is the No. 7 seed in the tournament. 
*The Owls are 2-4 all-time in American Tournament play with two semifinal trips (2015, 16) and two first round exits (2014, 17).
*The Owls dropped four of their last five regular season games to fall to 16-14 on the year (8-10 American).
*Temple has played one of the nation's 10 toughest schedules, per the NCAA RPI calculations and began the week at No. 52.
*Sophomore guard Quinton Rose was named honorable mention all-conference earlier this week. Nate Pierre-Louis was named to the All-Rookie Team.
 
REGULAR SEASON vs. TULANE:
*The teams played just once during the regular season. 
*Minus Landry Shamet (illness), the Shockers won 93-86 in Wichita. 
*Shaquille Morris matched his career-high with 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 30 minutes. 
*Conner Frankamp ran the point in Shamet's absence and scored a season-best 18 points with four assists in 32 turnover-free minutes. 
*WSU led 47-31 at halftime but struggled to put away Tulane, which shot 50% from the field and hit 11-of-19 threes. 
*Melvin Frazier led the Wave with 22 points and 11 boards.
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
*Tulane is one of four new American foes that the Shockers had never faced prior to this year (ECU, UCF and USF were the others).
*A former national coach of the year vs. an ex-NBA coach of the year. Gregg Marshall won consensus honors in 2014 after guiding the Shockers to a 35-0 start. Mike Dunleavy Sr. joined the college ranks last year following 17-years leading the Lakers, Bucks, Trail Blazers and Clippers. He was NBA Coach of the Year in 1999 after taking Portland to the Westen Conference Finals.
*Marshall grew up rooting for the University of South Carolina, and Dunleavy was one of his favorite players.
*Tulane athletic director Troy Dannen served in the same capacity at Northern Iowa (one of WSU's former MVC foils) from 2008-15.
 
SCOUTING TULANE:
*Tulane has been in the 7-10 game in all four years since joining the conference. This is the program's third straight year as the No. 10 seed.
*Tulane (2-3 all-time in American Tournament action) owns the only quarterfinal upset of a No. 2 seed in the tournament's brief four-year history. In 2016, The Green Wave upset No. 7 seed UCF and No. 2 seed Houston before falling in the semifinal round.
*The Green Wave (14-16) have doubled their win total from a season ago.
*Tulane has a potent offensive duo in Melvin Frazier (the league's fourth-leading scorer at 15.9 points) and Cameron Reynolds (8th, 14.8).
*Frazier (also second in the league in steals at 2.2 per game) was named to the all-conference second team and voted its Most Improved Player.
*Four Tulane players averaged 30+ minutes per game during the regular season. Reynolds ranked third in the league in minutes played (36.0) with Frazier fifth (34.4). 
 
POLL NOTES:
*Wichita State held its ground at No. 11 in this week's AP Poll, despite Sunday's loss to No. 10 (now No. 8) Cincinnati. The Shockers fell three spots to No. 14 in the Coaches Poll.
*WSU's No. 3 AP ranking on Dec. 11 was its highest since finishing the 2013-14 regular season with four-consecutive weeks at No. 2.
*WSU opened at No. 7 in the AP preseason rankings and No. 8 in the Coaches' -- its highest starting point since the '81-82 campaign.
*Going back to Dec. 12, 2012 -- a span of five years -- WSU has been ranked or received AP and/or Coaches votes in 125 of the last 135 poll weeks.
 
ON THE LEADERBOARD (as of 3/5):
*Wichita State is on pace to set American conference records for scoring offense (83.1), rebounding offense (40.7) and assists per game (18.8). The Shockers also lead the league in rebound margin (+9.8), field goal percentage (.480), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6), defensive rebound percentage (.771) and three-pointers per game (9.2).
*Landry Shamet leads the league in assists (5.2) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.54). He's third in free throw percentage (.837), third in threes-per-game (2.6), second in three-point percentage (.440), and ninth in scoring (14.6).
*Rashard Kelly is The American's top offensive rebounder (3.1) and is fourth in total boards /game (7.4).
*Shaquille Morris leads the league in blocks per game (1.7) and ranks second in field goal % (.563).
*Austin Reaves ranks third in the league in three-point percentage (.438)
 
TRENDING:
*Zach Brown has hit 20-consecutive free throws. His last miss came Jan. 4 against Houston.
*Brown's next three-pointer will be his 100^th. Just 24 other Shockers have hit triple-digit triples, including a couple of current teammates (Shamet & Frankamp).
*Shaquille Morris has scored in double-figures in seven straight games and in 15 of 17 going back to Jan. 1. Since New Years Day, Morris has averaged a team-high 16.1 points with 6.0 rebounds and is shooting over 60 percent from the field.
*Morris needs one more block to reach 50. It's happened just nine other times in school history.
 25 of Morris' has a team-high 35 dunks have come in conference play. He has 92 career slams.
*Landry Shamet's 74 three-pointers are fourth on WSU's single-season list. Shamet now has two of the top-six single-season totals in Shocker history. A year ago he set a freshman record with 72.
*WSU's 61 points against Cincinnati was a season-low at Charles Koch Arena. Prior to that, the Shockers had scored at least 78 in each of their first 14 games on campus.
 
ON SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… lock in a ninth-consecutive 25-win season.
… advance them to the semifinal round of a conference tournament for the ninth consecutive year.
… set a Saturday 2:30 p.m. CT semifinal date with either Houston, UCF and ECU on CBS.
… make Marshall 35-10 in conference tournament games with semifinal trips in 17 of his 20 seasons.
… give Rauno Nurger his 100^th Shocker win, making him the ninth member of WSU's century club.
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… be their first one-and-done at a conference tournament since 2008 (Marshall's first season).
… drop their record to 24-7.
… be less good than a win.