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Ricky Torres

Shockers Make First Trek to Tampa

1/21/2019 1:40:00 PM


WICHITA STATE (8-9, 1-4) at USF (12-6, 2-4)
TUESDAY, JAN. 22, 2019 | 7 P.M. CT (8 P.M. ET)
TAMPA, FLA. | YUENGLING CENTER
TV: CBSSN
RADIO: 103.7 FM KEYN | GOSHOCKERS.COM/LISTEN
 
>>> Wichita State makes its first-ever trip to Tampa, Fla. where it will take on the USF Bulls, Tuesday evening at the Yuengling Center.
>>> The 7 p.m. CT tip airs nationally on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Steve Wolf.
>>> 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 Bob Hull tip things off at 6 p.m. CT with the INTRUST Bank Pregame Show.
 

OPENING TIPS:
***Due to the league's unbalanced schedule, this will be the only regular season meeting between the teams.
***They also played just once last year -- Jan. 7, 2018 in Wichita. On that day, ninth-ranked WSU hit 12-of-20 from three and a season-best 62.7% overall from the field in a 95-57 win. The Shockers made 75% of their first-half shots (21-of-28) and led 51-20 at the intermission.
***USF is one of four American foes that WSU faced last year for the first time (UCF, Tulane and ECU were the other three).
***WSU junior point guard Ricky Torres hails from just across the bay in Pinellas Park, Fla. He signed with the Shockers last spring after an All-American season at Missouri State-West Plains JC.
***There are five one-loss teams grouped atop The American standings: Houston (5-1), Cincinnati (5-1), UCF (4-1), Temple (4-1) and Memphis (4-1). WSU (1-4) played the entire quintet in a five-game stretch to begin conference play.
***The Shockers have been to seven-straight NCAA Tournaments and posted nine-straight 25-win seasons under head coach Gregg Marshall but are rebuilding this year with 10 first-year players.
***Whether you favor RPI (11th), NET (11th) or KenPom (28th), the youthful Shockers have played one of D-I's strongest overall schedules. Using NET, 11 of their 17 games would be classified by the Selection Committee as Quadrant I or II contests. That's tied for the seventh-highest total in all college basketball. Two more Q2 games are on the way this week.
***WSU split a pair of home games last week against teams that are receiving AP votes. The Shockers handed UCF its lone conference loss last Wednesday, 75-67. Markis McDuffie scored 18 of his game-high 23 points after halftime, and WSU outrebounded the Knights 20-5 in the second half... On Saturday, the Shockers led Cincinnati midway through the second half before bowing, 66-55.
 
***McDuffie is the American Athletic Conference's second-leading scorer at 19.6 points per game. He's scored at least 20 points in four-straight games (tied for the longest Marshall Era streak) and has reached double-figures in each of the last 16 (second-longest). McDuffie (1,187 career points) needs just 24 more to move into the top-25 on WSU's all-time list.
***6-11 center Jaime Echenique is the team's leading rebounder  (5.4) and shot-blocker (21 total).
***Senior guard Samajae Haynes-Jones leads the team in assists (3.0) and ranks second in scoring (13.0). He has an active streak of nine-straight double-figure scoring games.
***Over an eight-year span from 2010-11 to 2017-18, WSU was the nation's best road team at 75-20 (.789). This year, the Shockers are 0-4 in true road games with losses at Oklahoma, VCU, Memphis and Houston.
 
###
 
GOOD AND TWENTY:
***McDuffie's four-straight 20-point games ties the longest Marshall Era streak. 7-footer Garrett Stutz did it in Janary/February of 2012. Ron Baker had one of his own as a sophomore in November/December, 2013. Both went on to earn first team all-conference honors.
***McDuffie is looking to become the first Shocker in 19 years to notch five-straight 20+ games and just the sixth since 1980.
 
Consecutive 20-Point Games by Shockers (1980-81 to Pr.):
18 – Xavier McDaniel (1984-85*)
7 – Xavier McDaniel (1984-85*)
7 – Jason Perez (1999-00)
6 – Maurice Evans (1998-99)
5 – John Cooper (1990-91)
4 – 8x, Last: Markis McDuffie (2018-19)
*=NCAA scoring leader; the streaks were separated by one 18-point game.
 
***McDuffie's eight 20-point games this season are tied for second-most in the American Athletic Conference. Only UConn's Jalen Adams (10) has more.
***McDuffie's eight 20-point games are third-most by a Shocker in the last 20 seasons. Only Cleanthony Early (10 in 2013-14) and Jason Perez (17 in 1999-00) have posted more in that span.
 
Most 20-Point Games by a Shocker; Last 20 Seasons:
17 – Jason Perez (1999-00) – First Team All-MVC
10 – Cleanthony Early (2013-14) – First Team All-MVC
8 – Markis McDuffie (2018-19)
8 – Randy Burns (2002-03) – Honorable Mention All-MVC
7 – Cleanthony Early (2012-13) – First Team All-MVC
7 – Landry Shamet (2018-19) – First Team All-AAC
7 – Shaquille Morris (2018-19) – First Team All-AAC
 
SUPER MARKIS SWEEP:
***Markis McDuffie entered the weekend ranked second on the conference leaderboard and just inside the top-50 nationally in scoring (19.6).
***McDuffie is averaging 22.0 points in American play -- tied with ECU's Jayden Gardner for the league lead.
***Just six Shockers all-time have won conference scoring crowds, and the last came 19 years ago. Jason Perez averaged an MVC-best 20.2 points in 2000.
 
American Athletic Conference Scoring Leaders (as of Jan. 21, 2019)
19.8 – Jayden Gardner (ECU)
19.6 – Markis McDuffie (WSU)
18.9 – Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple)
18.1 – Jalen Adams (UConn)
17.8 – Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
 
A ROLL OF TPs
***McDuffie's run of 16-straight double-figure scoring games is the second-longest of the Marshall Era, trailing only Cleanthony Early (19 in '13-14).
***Xavier McDaniel has the all-time record locked down (65-straight). He scored 10+ in every game of his junior and senior seasons. In the latter (1985), he led the nation in scoring.
***McDuffie's streak is one of the nine-longest by a Shocker in the last 40 seasons.
 
Consecutive Games with 10+ Points (Marshall Era, 2007-Pr.)
19 – Cleanthony Early (2013-14*)
16 – Markis McDuffie (2018-19)
14 – Ron Baker (2015-16)
13 – Cleanthony Early (2012-13)       
* = Streak began the previous year
 
SHOCKERS ON THE LEADERBOARDS (as of Jan. 20):
***Jaime Echenique ranks among conference's top-10 in blocks (5th, 1.24) and field goal percentage 6th, .566.
***Markis McDuffie ranks among the top-10 in scoring (2nd, 19.6), free throw percentage (6th, .835), 3-point percentage (4th, .406) and 3-pointers (6th, 2.5).
 
TRENDING:
***Gregg Marshall's technical foul on Saturday was just his ninth in 12 seasons at WSU. He has two this year.
***Free throws are finally falling. After sinking just 65.6% from the line during the non-conference slate, the Shockers have hit a league-best 84.5% in American play (60-of-71), led by McDuffie (21-23), Dexter Dennis (10-11) and Jamarius Burton (7-7).
***WSU attempted just seven free throws against Cincinnati, compared 35 for the visiting Bearcats. It was the largest home free throw disaparity for a Shocker team in 19 years and tied for the third-largest (regardless of location) in the last 20 seasons. WSU was -31 in a loss to UConn in the 2010 Maui Invitational, attempting 13 free throws to the Huskies' 44, and -29 in a Jan. 12, 2000 home game against Missouri State (16 : 45). On Jan. 13, 2016, they won at Missouri State, despite the hosts' 41-13 advantage in attempts.
***WSU is out to its worst conference start since January, 2009 (Marshall's second-year) when the Shockers opened Missouri Valley Conference 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. It was the first in a still-active run of 10-straight postseason appearances for WSU.
***Marshall has used five different starting-fives. Haynes-Jones and McDuffie have started all 17 contests. Jaime Echenique (16-straight starts) came off the bench in the opener.
***Over the past three seasons the Shockers are 56-4 (6-2 in '18-19) when finishing with a higher field goal percentage, compared to 7-17 (1-7 in '18-19) when outshot.
***The Shockers have shot less than 40% from the field in nine of their 17 games this year. That happened on just two occasions all of last season.
 
1,000 FOR McDUFFIE (AND COUNTING)       
***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 1,440 points -- 15th all-time.
 
McDuffie on WSU's All-Time Scoring List:
20. P.J. Couisnard (2004-08) – 1,303 (+116)
21. Warren Armstrong (1965-68) – 1,301 (+114)
22. Joe Stevens (1955-58) – 1,295
23. Gus Santos (1983-87) – 1,278 (+91)
24. Paul Guffrovich (1987-91) – 1,247 (+60)
25. Steve Grayer (1985-89) – 1,211 (+24)
26. Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) – 1,187
27. Robert Elmore (1973-77) – 1,186
 
TOUGH CROWD:
***WSU just completed a stretch of six-straight games against NET top-100 teams (half of them on the road).
***Coming into the week, Wichita State had played a conference-best 11 Quadrant I and II games* --tied for  seventh-most nationally. Only Kansas (13), Oklahoma (13), Oklahoma State (13), Seton Hall (13), Penn State (12) and Wisconsin (12) have played more.
 
MORE McDUFFIE MILESTONES:
***Markis McDuffie is three steals shy of 100 for his career. He'd be just the 16th Shocker to do it.
***McDuffie needs 28 rebounds to hit the 500-mark.
***Only seven players in program history have  recorded the combo of 500 rebounds AND 100 career steals: Cheese Johnson (1975-79), Xavier McDaniel (1981-85), Jason Perez (1996-00), Jamar Howard, (2001-05), P.J. Couisnard (2004-08), Toure' Murry (2008-12) and Ron Baker (2012-16).
***McDuffie went 4-for-7 from three-point range against Cincinnati on Saturday to move into 18th 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 two times in eight-straight games. During that stretch he's 24-for-55 (.436) from long range.
***Each of the top-13 on WSU's career three-point field goal list are guards. McDuffie needs just 11 more to match Rob Kampman (130 from 2001-05) for the most by a Shocker forward/center.
 
ROAD MAP:
This is WSU's second go-around in The American, but there will still be plenty of unfamiliarity. Five of the nine conference road venues will be first-time visits for Shocker teams since joining the league. Cincinnati and Houston debut newly-renovated buildings in 2018-19 (Fifth Third Arena and the Fertitta Center). WSU did not play at USF or Tulane in 2017-18 due to the unbalanced league schedule. On Jan. 26, the Shockers trek to UConn's Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn. Last year the teams played in Hartford at the XL Center.
 
LAST YEAR vs. USF:
Jan. 7, 2018 in Wichita
#9 WSU 95, USF 57
***WSU shot a season-best 62.7% from the field, thanks to a 12-of-20 performance from three-point range.
***28 assists (on 37 baskets) were a Marshall Era best.
***Defensively, WSU blocked eight shots and turned 18 USF turnovers into 32 points. The Bulls shot just 36.4%.
***WSU led 51-20 at the break after hitting 75 percent from the field (21-of-28). It was the second-best  shooting half of the Marshall Era, trailing only an 80 percent second half effort at Davidson in 2012.
***WSU's 31-point halftime lead was the fifth-largest in school history (box scores prior to 1972 are unavailable).
***Eight Shockers finished with eight-or-more points, led by Shaquille Morris' 15 points in 18 minutes. Morris was 7-of-9 from the field and collected three blocks.
***Zach Brown was a perfect 5-for-5 from field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, to finish with 13 points.
***Markis McDuffie (12 points) went 4-of-5 from three and cleared a team-high six rebounds... Darral Willis Jr. added 11 points, five boards and three blocks... Conner Frankamp missed the game due to illness, clearing the way for Austin Reaves (career-high seven assists) to make his third start.... Rashard Kelly became the sixth player in school history to participate in 100 career wins.
 
SCOUTING USF:
***Former Dayton and Georgia Tech coach Brian Gregory is in his second season at USF. The Bulls have already exceeded their 2017-18 win total (10-22) by two games with 13 regular season contests still to play.
***USF had 10 newcomers in its first season under Gregory, including a trio of graduate transfers who handled the bulk of the scoring. This year's roster has 12 more new faces
***USF leads league in rebounding margin (+7.4). Redshirt freshman forward Alexis Yetna plays a big part in the stat. He's averaging a double-double at 12.7 points and a conference-leading 10.2 rebounds-per-game (also 14th nationally). Yetna has posted double-double stat lines in nine of USF's 18 games this year.
***USF has one of the nation's best defensive duos in Laquincy Rideau and David Collins. Rideau ranks second nationally at 3.3 steals-per-game. Collins is 13th on the list at 2.6-per-game.
***Rideau's 5.6 assist-per-game is a conference-best and ranks among the top-40 in Division I. The 6-1 junior sat out last year after transferring from Gardner-Webb where he was a second team All-Big South performer.
***Earlier this month, Rideau recorded the rare "point-assist-steal" triple-double in an overtime game at Temple. He finished with 18 points, 10 assists and a conference record 10 steals in 37 minutes.
***Collins – one of the lone holdovers from last year – is the team's leading scorer at 14.8 points per game. Much of that damage has come at the foul line, where he ranks 29th nationally in attempts (128).
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
***WSU senior Samajae Haynes-Jones was teammates with USF's 7-foot-2 senior center Nikola Scekic as Hutchinson (Kan.) CC. The pair helped the Blue Dragons to the 2017 NJCAA National Championship.
***There won't be many familiar faces on either bench. Second-year head coach Brian Gregory has 12 newcomers on this year's roster. WSU went through a large-scale shakeup of its own.
***USF sophomore Justin Brown is the only starter back from last year's Jan. 7 box score. He finished with eight points and five rebounds in 33 minutes. David Collins added 12 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Scekic hit a pair of threes on his way to seven points in 17 minutes.
***Three Shockers saw action – Markis McDuffie was 4-of-5 from three in a 12-point, six-rebound performance. Asbjorn Midtgaard supplied two points and two boards in eight minutes. Haynes-Jones had his most-productive conference outing of the year, finishing with eight points and two assists in 16 minutes.
***Ball-hawking defense have been a common theme on the Shockers' schedule. For the fourth time they'll face a team that ranks among the top-25 in steals. Memphis (8.8, 16th) and Temple (9.2, 12th) finished with a dozen steals apiece against WSU earlier this month. Jacksonville State (8.5, 25th) managed seven.
***USF entered the week at No. 11, averaging a league-best 9.3 steals-per-game. In its tempo-free ratings, KenPom lists the Bulls at No. 7 in steal percentage.
***WSU has led its conference in rebounding margin in every season under Gregg Marshall. The last two Shocker teams have finished No. 2 nationally in that category. The streak might be on its last legs. WSU's +2.2 margin is its worst of the Marshall Era and seventh out of the 12 American teams. The Shockers are +0.2 in conference play.
***USF is a league-best +7.4 on the boards this year.
***No American Athletic Conference team has made (239) or attempted (527) more free throws than USF.
***No American team had made (207) or attempted (295) fewer free throws than WSU. The Shockers have attempted more than their opponent just three times.
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…   
… improve their record to 9-9.
… up their conference mark to 2-4.
… be their first true road win of the season (1-4).
… be their 50th true road win in the last six seasons.
… make WSU 2-0 all-time against USF.
… move Marshall to within 11 wins of 500 for his career (489-190) and within five of 300 at WSU (295-107).
 
A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…  
… drop them to two-game under .500 for the first time since a 2-4 start to the 2015-16 season.
… sink their record to 1-5 in conference play.
… make WSU 1-1 vs. USF all-time.
… drop them to 0-5 in true road games.
… be less good than a win.
 
UP NEXT: SATURDAY AT UCONN      
***After a quick stop home, the Shockers repack their bags for another trip east -- this time to Storrs, Conn. WSU faces UConn Saturday evening at 5 p.m. CT on CBSSN.
***The Shockers won both matchups last year and lead the all-time series 2-1.
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