Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall spoke to the media Tuesday ahead of the Shockers' Saturday matchup with nationally-ranked VCU on Saturday. Marshall talked about the upcoming stretch for the Shockers, Erik Stevenson's consistency and Grant Sherfield's performance against Oklahoma. Fans can purchase tickets to Saturday morning's 11 a.m. tip at GoShockers.com/tickets or by calling (316) 978-3267.

GREGG MARSHALL on…
 
... initial thoughts on VCU:
"We'll get into VCU today. I watched some film on them yesterday. They're very experienced, mature, well-coached, well-playing team."
 
… VCU's defense:
"You've got to have players who can handle that type of pressure. I think we'll be a little more prepared this year. We're more talented, that's the biggest thing."
 
… his team's ceiling at this point in the season:
"It's higher than last year, that's for sure. We're more talented. We're more experienced. We've got some guys who have been through college basketball seasons before. They know what it's like to win at home, on the road and in difficult environments. If we can continue to play as hard or harder and play as smart or smarter than the opposition, then we have a good chance. We match up physically and we're not deer in headlights. I like it."
 
... the confidence gained in this stretch:
"You'd have to ask them how confident they are. We're in a tough stretch for sure. Anytime you have some success, you gain confidence. We won't get carried away. Any given day, we know we can play poorly and lose. When we play at our best, we're very good. We're good enough to beat some quality teams.
 
… Erik Stevenson's consistency:
"He's shown some consistency. I mean, out of the sophomores, he's been the most consistent. All of those guys have had their moments. Erik has been that consistent guy all through the summer and the fall. He's a leader. You hear his voice all the time. We've just got to make sure his voice is saying the right things because he's passionate and energetic. He's fun to coach and he has a lot of energy."
 
… Dexter Dennis' struggles:
"We haven't gotten down on him. I thought when he hit that first shot against Oklahoma, I thought he was going to go into old Dex mode. (He didn't), but he helped us win. Everyone that played in that game against OU helped us win. That was a good feeling. It was a good feeling to beat a team that had handled us at their place last year, and they enjoyed it, but you should enjoy throttling a team. Our guys remembered that, and wanted to give it back to them. It was good to see them do that. It was good to see them with some intestinal fortitude and some backbone and fight back against very talented and well-coached team."
 
… Grant Sherfield's performance against OU:
"He's a talented player, and he's had his moments. He's been our leading scorer a couple of times. He's coming along nicely. His little spurt in the second half was really key for us on Saturday. That's what we're expecting him to do. That's what we want him to do. We want him to play downhill, and he's good at doing it. I remember asking him in the West Virginia game at the end when we needed to score quickly, when he started going downhill and making some jump shots why he waited so long to do that. He's just got to find his zone and his comfort level in what we're asking him to do. At this point, just play basketball. He knows what good basketball is. He needs to incorporate what he's learned here and combine it with his talent. He did that Saturday and it was really cool to see.