UCF (13-2, 3-0) at WICHITA STATE (7-8, 0-3)
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 16, 2019 | 9:05 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN./ CHARLES KOCH ARENA
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>>> Wichita State plays host to first-place UCF Wednesday night at 9 p.m. CT inside Charles Koch Arena.
>>> Reserved seats are available through the Shocker Ticket Office (316-978-FANS) or online at GoShockers.com/MBBTickets.
>>> Watch the game on CBS Sports Network with Brent Stover and Bob Wenzel.
>>> Listen on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen. Mike Kennedy, now in his 39th season as "Voice of the Shockers," and Dave Dahl tip things off at 8 p.m. with the INTRUST Bank Pregame Show.
>>> Join Kennedy on Monday nights for the
Gregg Marshall Radio Show LIVE from 6-7 p.m. at AJ's Sports Grill at The Alley. Listen in on KNSS (98.7 FM / 1330 AM). The show is also rebroadcast in a television format Mondays at 9 p.m. on YurView Kansas (Cox 2022) and online at YurView.com/Kansas.
Remaining Dates: Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, & Mar. 11.
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OPENING TIPS:
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Gregg Marshall will coach his 400th game for Wichita State (most in program history). He's won over 73% of his games in 12 seasons and needs just seven more wins to reach the 300-mark.
***Marshall is 3-1 against UCF (2-0 at WSU, 1-1 at Winthrop).
***UCF is one of four American foes that WSU had never faced prior to last year's conference debut (along with ECU, Tulane and USF). Due to the league's unbalanced schedule, this will be their only regular season matchup in 2018-19.
***WSU took both meetings last year. The Shockers led wire-to-wire in an 81-62 home victory in Wichita and escaped Orlando a month later with a 75-71 overtime win (prolonged by a buzzer-beating three from UCF's A.J. Davis at the end of regulation).
***The preseason favorite in the American Athletic Conference has lived up to the hype. UCF -- the league's last-remaining unbeaten at 3-0 -- has won seven-straight and is receiving votes in both national polls. The Knights rank among the nation's top-25 in scoring defense (21st, 63.1) and field goal percentage defense (12th, .381). 7-foot-6 senior Tacko Fall is averaging more than three blocks per game and shooting 80 percent from the field.
***WSU has played just three times in the last 25 days, thanks to 12-day holiday break and last week's mid-week bye.
***The Shockers fell 79-70 at No. 17 Houston on Saturday. The senior duo of
Markis McDuffie (22 points) and
Samajae Haynes-Jones (14) supplied just over half of the offense. WSU led 38-33 at halftime, but Houston hit 7-of-14 threes in the second-half.
***The Shockers last tasted victory 28 days ago (Dec. 19 vs. ORU). The current four-game losing streak is the program's longest since January, 2009 (Marshall's second-year) when WSU opened Missouri Valley play at 0-6. That group, which also leaned heavily on newcomers, won nine of the next 12 on the way to a CBI bid.
***Whether you favor RPI (27th), NET (24th) or KenPom (34th), the youthful Shockers have played one of D-I's strongest schedules. All four losses in this four-game skid have come against teams ranked among the top-75 in NET. Three of them have been on the road.
***McDuffie is The American's second-leading scorer at 19.3 points. He's topped 20 points on six occasions and scored in double-figures in each of the last 14 games, which is tied for the second-longest Marshall Era streak. Only Cleanthony Early (19 in 2013-14) has put together a longer run.
***6-11 center
Jaime Echenique leads team in rebounds (5.5) and blocked shots (16). Guards
Samajae Haynes-Jones (3.2) and
Ricky Torres (3.1) are both averaging over three assists-per-game. Haynes-Jones has scored in double-figures in each of the last seven contests.
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ALWAYS FRESH:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
***For a stretch of one minute, 26 seconds in Saturday's game at No. 17 Houston, WSU fielded a lineup of five freshmen (the first time this year Marshall has gone with an all-rookie five for any length of time).
***WSU trailed by seven with 9:36 to play.
Jamarius Burton (PG),
Erik Stevenson (SG),
Dexter Dennis (SF),
Rod Brown (PF) and
Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler held their ground, scoring three points while surrendering three.
***After
Markis McDuffie replaced Stevenson the Shockers continued with four freshmen for two more minutes and succeeded in cutting the lead to five.
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SUPER MARKIS:
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Markis McDuffie entered the week ranked second on the conference leaderboard and No. 58 nationally in scoring (19.3). He's averaged a league-best 21.7 points in conference games.
***It's been 19 years since a Shocker last won a conference scoring crown. Jason Perez averaged an MVC-best 20.2 points in 2000.
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American Athletic Conference Scoring Leaders (as of Jan. 15):
19.4 -- Jayden Gardner (ECU)
19.3 -- Markis McDuffie (Wichita St.)
19.0 -- Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple)
18.9 -- Jahmal McMurray (SMU)
17.3 -- B.J. Taylor (UCF)
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***McDuffie's run of 14-straight double-figure scoring games is tied for the third-longest of the Marshall Era, trailing only Cleanthony Early (19 in '13-14).
***If McDuffie reaches 15, his streak would be one of the 10-longest by a Shocker in the last 40 seasons.
***McDuffie has logged back-to-back 20-point games and has six total this year.
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Consecutive Games with 10+ Points (Marshall Era):
19 -- Cleanthony Early (2013-14*)
14 -- Markis McDuffie (2018-19)
14 -- Ron Baker (2015-16)
13 -- Cleanthony Early (2012-13)
12 -- Ron Baker (2014-15*)
12 -- Ron Baker (2014-15)
12 -- Fred VanVleet (2014-15)
* = Streak began the previous year
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SHOCKERS ON THE LEADERBOARDS (as of Jan. 14):
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Ricky Torres is one of just eight American Athletic Conference players averaging 3.0+ assists with a ratio of 2.00-or-higher.
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Jaime Echenique ranks among conference's top-10 in blocks (6th, 1.1) and field goal percentage 4th, .583.
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1,000 FOR McDUFFIE (AND COUNTING):
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Markis McDuffie is the 47th member of WSU's 1,000-point club. He reached the mark in his 100th game (Dec. 8, 2018 at Okla.) and is on pace to finish the regular season with 1,433 points -- 16th all-time.
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McDuffie on WSU's All-Time Scoring List:
25. Steve Grayer (1985-89) – 1,211
26. Robert Elmore (1973-77) – 1,186
27. Cal Bruton (1972-76) – 1,184
28.
Shaquille Morris (2014-18) – 1,172
29. Kelly Pete (1963-66) – 1,169
30. Vince Smith (1970-73) – 1,163
31. John Cooper (1987-91) – 1,153
32. Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) – 1,143
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TOUGH STRETCH:
***WSU is halfway through a stretch of eight-straight games (five of them on the road) against teams that rank among the top-100 in the NCAA's NET calculations. All are considered tier-1 and tier-2 games by the NCAA Selection Committee.
***Tabbed eighth in the preseason poll, the rebuilding Shockers opened American Athletic Conference play with five-straight games against teams picked to finish in the upper-half: @Memphis (4th), TEMPLE (6th), @Houston (3rd), UCF (1st), CINCINNATI (2nd).
***The schedule eases a bit after Jan. 19 with five of the next six against teams picked seventh-or-lower: @USF (12th), @UConn (5th), SMU (7th), TULSA (9th), @ECU (11th), TULANE (10th).
***The unbalanced league schedule favors the Shockers. Four American teams are ranked or receiving AP votes. Houston, UCF and Temple are teams the Shockers face just once this year, and all three will be in the rearview mirror after Wednesday. WSU faces the other, Cincinnati, on Saturday and makes a return visit in February.
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100 THREES FOR McDUFFIE:
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Markis McDuffie went 4-of-7 from three at Houston last Saturday to move into the top-20 on WSU's all-time three-point field goal chart. He's on pace to eventually break into the top-10.
***McDuffie has connected at least three times in five-straight games. During that stretch he's 16-for-38 (.421) from long range.
***Each of the top-13 on WSU's career list are guards. McDuffie needs just 17 more threes to match Rob Kampman (121 from 2001-05) for the most by a Shocker forward/center.
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NO TIME TO SIT AROUND:
***McDuffie has been an iron-man for the Shockers this year, playing at least 30 minutes in 12 of the 15 games.
***Just 12 players have averaged 30+ minutes for
Gregg Marshall at WSU. All of them were listed as guards. F/C Carl Hall averaged 28.6 minutes in 2012-13.
***McDuffie was on the court for 117 of a possible 125 minutes in the first two conference games.
***Fellow senior
Samajae Haynes-Jones played 43 minutes against Temple and has logged 116 minutes conference play.
***Only one player -- Temple's Shizz Alston (40.2) -- has averaged more minutes during conference games than McDuffie (39.0) and Haynes-Jones (38.7).
***What a difference a year has made for Haynes-Jones. The Hutchinson Community College product saw limited action in 2017-18Â behind the NBA-bound
Landry Shamet, appearing in just one game after Feb. 10. This year Haynes-Jones (13.0 ppg) is averaging a team-high 32.2 minutes per contest.
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LEANING ON THE VETS:
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Markis McDuffie and
Samajae Haynes-Jones have taken over 54% of the shots and supplied 51.5% of the scoring in the three conference games.
***For the season, the duo has taken 45.8% of field goal attempts, which would be the highest ratio ever for a Marshall Era team. Next highest? All-Americans Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet combined for 38% of the shots during the 2014-15 season.
***Haynes-Jones is averaging 6.60 three-point attempts per game, closely followed by McDuffie's 6.33. Those would be the second and third-highest in Shocker history, trailing only Terrell Benton (6.61 in 2000-01).
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SCOUTING UCF:
***UCF won 24 games and was an NIT semifinalist in 2016-17 but injuries took a toll last year. ***Three key contributors missed extensive time in 2017-18. Michigan transfer Johnny Dawkins – son of head coach Johnny Dawkins – suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in late October. Two weeks later, guard B.J. Taylor (a preseason first team all-conference selection) was diag-nosed with a foot injury and missed the next 16 games. Taylor return on Jan. 16, but four days later UCF announced that 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall would miss the remainder of the year with a shoulder injury. All three players are back this year and playing well:
***Taylor – again voted preseason first team all-conference – is averaging a team-high 17.3 points. Just 11 D-I players have attempted more free throws this year than Taylor (127).
***Dawkins ranks second on the team at 15.9 points.
***Fall (preseason second-team all-conference and the league's 2017 defensive player of the year) ranks sixth nationally in blocks-per-game (3.13) and is shooting 80 percent from the field.
***Terrell Allen averaged 4.7 assists-per-game and ranks No. 21 nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.18).
***Four Knights are averaging at least five rebounds-per-game: Fall (7.1), Collin Smith (5.7), Dawkins (5.7) and Chad Brown (5.1).
***UCF tops the nation in "free throw percentage defense" – if such a thing exists. Opponents have hit just 59.2% from the line this year.
***UCF leads The American in field goal percentage (.485) and three-point accuracy (.363). They rank second in field goal percentage defense (.363) and are averaging a league-best 5.1 blocks per game.
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MATCHUP MASHUP:
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Gregg Marshall is 3-1 vs. UCF. He faced the Knights twice at Winthrop, going 1-1. On Dec. 2, 1998 (in just his fifth game as a head coach), Marshall's Eagles fell 79-57 in Orlando. A year later – Nov. 23, 1999 – he defeated UCF, 87-54, in a return game at Winthrop Coliseum.
***Marshall is 2-1 vs. Johnny Dawkins. In March, 2009, Dawkins' Stanford team defeated the Shockers, 70-56, in the CBI quarterfinals to end WSU's first postseason bid under Marshall. Dawkins' 14-point win is still the most lopsided victory by a road team in Marshall's 11 seasons at WSU.
***Last Saturday at Houston, WSU began a three-game stretch against some of the nation's best shooting defenses: Houston (.365), UCF (.381) and Cincinnati (.385) are all holding opponents under 40% for the year.
***9 p.m. is late, but not nearly the latest home tip time for a Shocker game at Charles Koch Arena. On Nov. 11, 2012, WSU hosted Western Kentucky as part of ESPN's 24-Hour Tipoff Marathon. Start time that night was 11:59 p.m.
***WSU is shooting a league-best .826 from the foul line in conference play (38-of-46) but has averaged a league-low 15.3 attempts.
***UCF has shot a league-worst .492 from the foul line in conference play (58-of-98) but has averaged a league-best 32.7 attempts.
***Tacko Fall was injured for both 2017-18 games between WSU and UCF. Shocker bigs capitalized.
Shaquille Morris (19.0 pts, 7.5 reb, 2.0 blk),
Darral Willis Jr. (9.5 pts, 7.5 reb) and
Rashard Kelly (7.5 pts, 9.5 reb) all played well. All three are gone.
***
Markis McDuffie averaged 5.0 points in 17 minutes in the two meetings last year. The only other holdover who saw action against the Knights was --
Samajae Haynes-Jones -- scored seven points in 13 minutes in Wichita but did not play in Orlando.
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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…  Â
… improve their record to 8-8 and a four-game skid.
… be their first in conference play (1-3).
… snap UCF's seven-game winning streak.
… make WSU 6-2 at home (5-2 at CKA) in 2018-19.
… up their CKA record to 77-5 over the last six seasons.
… give them a 3-0 lead all-time against UCF.
… move Marshall to within 12 wins of 500 for his career (488-189) and within six victories of 300 as Shocker head coach (294-106).
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A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD… Â
… drop them under .500 at 7-9 (0-4 AAC).
… extend their streak to five (longest since Jan. 2009).
… shrink their series lead with UCF to 2-1.
… drop them to 5-3 at home (4-3 at CKA) in 2018-19.
… be just the sixth CKA loss in six seasons (76-6).
… give them back-to-back home losses.
… be less good than a win.
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UP NEXT:
***CBS returns to Wichita for a Saturday, Jan. 19 matchup against Cincinnati at 1 p.m. CT.
***Last year's game in Wichita marked CBS' first-ever broadcast from the Roundhouse and was the highest-rated regular season men's basketball telecast in American Athletic Conference history, drawing a 1.4/4 metered market rating. No. 10 Cincinnati defeated No. 11 WSU, 62-61, to deny the Shockers a share of the conference crown.
