WICHITA STATE (12-12, 5-7) at TULSA (16-10, 6-7)
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 2019 | 8:05 P.M. CT
TULSA, OKLA./ REYNOLDS CENTER
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM // GOSHOCKERS.com/LISTEN
SERIES: WSU LEADS 68-61
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>>> A couple of resurgent teams do battle Wednesday night when the Wichita State Shockers (12-12, 5-7) take on the University of Tulsa's Golden Hurricane in American Athletic Conference action at the Reynolds Center.
>>> The 8 p.m. tipoff airs nationally on ESPNU with Richard Cross (pbp) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst).
>>> 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 7 p.m. with the INTRUST Bank Pregame Show.
>>> Join the conversation on social media by following @goshockers and @goshockersmbb.
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OPENING TIPS:
***After a 1-6 conference start, WSU has notched victories in four of its last five games. Tulsa has won three-in-a-row since its Feb. 2 setback in Wichita and can reach the .500-mark by defending its home court on Wednesday evening.
***This is meeting No. 130 all-time in a series that began in 1931. WSU and Tulsa were Missouri Valley Conference rivals from 1945-96... The Shockers hold a 68-61 lead and have won five-straight and 11 of the last 12... WSU won Feb. 2 in Wichita, 79-68, led by
Markis McDuffie's 27 points. The Shockers outscored the Hurricane 27-8 over the last 11:00 to erase an eight-point deficit.
***The Shockers have a losing record in Tulsa (28-35) but are 4-3 at the Reynolds Center (now in its 21st season of use). The Shockers won last year's visit, 72-69, in front of a sellout crowd.
***WSU is 1-7 in true road games this year, with the lone win coming Feb. 6 at ECU. From 2013-18, the Shockers were the nation's best road team at 49-8 (.860).
***WSU is rebuilding this year behind 10 newcomers. Just three lettermen returned from last year's 25-win squad that reached the NCAA Tournament for a seventh-straight year. The youthful Shockers have played one of the nation's toughest schedules (No. 22, per NET). Wednesday will be their league-best 16th Quad I or II game.
***WSU saw its season-best four-game winning streak come to an end Sunday at Cincinnati, 72-62. The Shockers outrebounded the Bearcats, 51-42, with help from 19 offensive boards but shot just 26.8% from the field. Guard
Dexter Dennis notched his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. It was the first double-double by a Shocker freshman in 11 years and the best rebounding effort by a WSU rookie since December, 2001.
***Senior forward
Markis McDuffie (13 pts at Cincinnati) ranks third on the AAC scoring chart (18.7 ppg) and has topped 20-points on 10 occasions this year -- tied with 2014 All-American
***Cleanthony Early for the Marshall Era record. He's scored at least eight points in every game this year.
***
Samajae Haynes-Jones (12.4 pts, 2.8 assists) averages a team-high 32.7 minutes per game.
***6-11
Jaime Echenique has blocked 24 shots in conference play -- tied with Cincinnati's Nysier Brooks for the league lead.
***Point guard
Jamarius Burton's 64 assists are the most by a Shocker true freshman since Fred VanVleet (89 in 2012-13). Burton is on track to finish with one of the five highest single-season totals by a true freshman in program history.
***Already WSU's all-time wins leader, 12th year head coach
Gregg Marshall needs just two more to reach 300. He's nine wins shy of the 500-mark for his career.
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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… improve their record to 13-12.
… give them wins in five of the last six games.
… make them 6-7 in AAC play after a 1-6 start.
… make them 5-3 at Reynolds Center.
… improve their record to 29-35 all-time at Tulsa.
… be their sixth-straight over Tulsa (12th in 13 tries).
… up their series lead to 69-61 all-time.
… make Marshall 10-1 vs. Tulsa (6-1 vs. Haith).
… move Marshall to within seven wins of 500 for his career (493-193) and within one of 300 at WSU.
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A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… drop their record to 12-13 (5-8 American).
… sink them to 1-8 in true road games this year.
… snap a five-game series winning streak vs. Tulsa.
… be just their second loss to Tulsa in 13 tries.
… shrink their all-time series lead to 68-62.
… be less good than a win.
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UP NEXT:
***WSU plays its next two games at home beginning Saturday, Feb. 23 vs. Memphis at 7 p.m. CT. The game will air nationally on ESPN2. Single-game seats are available, online at GoShockers.com/Tickets or through the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS.
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SCOUTING TULSA:
***Tulsa has won three-straight – two of them on the road – and now has a half-game edge on WSU for seventh-place in the league standings.
***
DaQuan Jeffries leads the team in points (13.8), rebounds (5.5), blocks (30) and steals (30).
 Sterling
Taplin averages a team-high 4.3 assists and has a 2.06 assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 84 nationally).
***The Hurricane entered the week ranked
13th nationally in total free throw attempts (624) and No. 24 in field goal percentage defense (.400).
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MATCHUP MASHUP:
***Wichita State returned just three lettermen and a little over 11% of its minutes this year -- fifth-fewest nationally.
Gregg Marshall is breaking in 10 newcomers. While no one is shedding tears for the Shockers, Tulsa coach Frank
Haith can at least empathize. Two years ago his Tulsa team (fresh off a 2016 NCAA Tournament bid) returned just three lettermen and 17.9% of its minutes -- sixth-lowest nationally -- while also breaking in 10 newcomers. The 2016-17 Hurricane finished 15-17 (8-10 in league play). Last year they improved to 19 wins and a fourth-place finish (12-6).
***Tulsa opponents are shooting a combined .400 from the field this year. The Hurricane have held 12 of their 26 opponents (including each of the last three) under the 40%-threshold. They are 10-2 when doing so.
***The Shockers have shot better than 40% just once in eight true road games this year (43.9% at Memphis on Jan. 3). They've hit a combined 33.7% on enemy rims, including 26.0% from distance (compared to 44.5% from the field in 11 games at Charles Koch Arena).
***Overall, the Shockers have shot less than 40% from the field in 13 of their 24 games this year. That happened on just two occasions all of last season. They hit 44.6% in the Feb. 2 win over Tulsa at CKA.
***Don't be too hard on the Shocker shooters. Wednesday night, they'll face a top-40 field goal percentage defense for the
11th time in 25 games this year. They've faced Cincinnati (No. 28) twice this year and played once-each against Houston (2), VCU (6), Southern Miss (14), UCF (15), Oklahoma (18), Tulsa (24), Davidson (27) and Jacksonville State (36).
***Wichita State averages 19.8 fouls-per-game (just 55 teams have been whistled more). Opponents hit the line an average of 22.6 times-per-contest (six more than the Shockers). In the first meeting, WSU committed just 14 fouls. Tulsa attempted 21 free throws but connected on only 11 of them.
***Tulsa has the league's worst rebounding margin (-3.0). WSU was +7 in the Feb. 2 meeting and has
outrebounded the Hurricane in nine of the 10 Marshall matchups by an averaging margin of +9.1 (Tulsa was +6 in its 2015 win).
***The Hurricane are 12-2 at home this year. The only losses have come to league-leaders Houston and Cincinnati. The latter went to overtime.
***Tulsa is WSU's closest conference trip (less than 200 miles and roughly two-and-a-half hours by bus). A year ago, the teams played in front of a capacity crowd. It was the Reynolds Center's first sellout since 2009.
***
Markis McDuffie's 27-point effort in the Feb. 2 meeting was the most by a Shocker player against Tulsa since Paul
Guffrovich (28) in 1991. He's averaged 16.0 points in four career meetings with Tulsa.
***Notably,
McDuffie was on the roster but did not see action the last time WSU lost to the Hurricane (Nov. 17, 2015). Though he eventually won the MVC's Freshman of the Year Award, Marshall had concerns over the 18-year-old rookie's readiness for a hostile road environment in just his second collegiate game.
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THE ALL-TIME SERIES WITH TULSA:
***Wichita State and Tulsa square off for the
130th time since 1931. Tulsa is WSU's third-most-played opponent behind Drake (151) and Bradley (142). Wednesday's meeting will be the
64th in Tulsa.
***The Shockers lead the all-time series 68-61 and have won 11 of the last 12, dating back to December, 2003.
***Prior to that, Tulsa had dominated with 13-straight wins between 1993 and 2002.
***The Shockers and Golden Hurricane were conference rivals in the Missouri Valley from 1945 to 1996. Following Tulsa's MVC exit, the schools played 14 non-conference games over a 21-year span.
***WSU swept the series last year... In the first meeting (Jan. 13, 2018) Tulsa had a three-pointer in the air ahead of the final buzzer that would have forced overtime, but the fifth-ranked Shockers survived, 72-69. WSU won the rematch in Wichita, 90-71, with 28 assists.
Austin Reaves set a school record with seven first-half three-pointers.
***WSU has won 7 of the 10 overtime meetings in the series (2-2 in Wichita, 5-1 in Tulsa).
***
Gregg Marshall is 9-1 vs. Tulsa (5-1 vs.
Haith).
***Only Ralph Miller (16-11) has posted more series wins than Marshall.
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LAST TIME vs. TULSA:
Feb. 2, 2019 | Wichita, Kan. | WSU 79, Tulsa 68
***WSU outscored Tulsa 27-8 over the final 10:58 to erase an eight-point deficit.
***Tulsa used a 9-0 run to go up 60-52 with 10:58 to play.
***WSU countered with a 10-0 push.
Jaime Echenique scored inside to tie it and then converted two free throws for the lead (62-60) with 8:16 remaining... Tulsa led 64-62 on Martins Igbanu's three-point play, but
Dexter Dennis' three-pointer sparked a 12-0 Shocker run that gave the hosts a double-digit lead with just over 4:00 to play.
***
Markis McDuffie scored 27 points (his highest home output in four seasons as a Shocker). He matched a career-high with five offensive rebounds and scored putbacks on four of them.
***Echenique scored nine of his 16 over the final 11:00.
***Dennis was 3-of-5 from deep and tallied 11 points.
***
Jamarius Burton dished out a team-high six assists with just two turnovers and hit 2-of-3 from deep on his way to nine points. He was named AAC Freshman of the Week two days later.
***The Shockers had eight offensive rebounds in the second-half (compared to Tulsa's seven defensive boards). Four of those came over the final 4:09, allowing WSU to chew crucial clock time.
***Bench players gave Tulsa lift. Jeriah Horne finished with 16 points and six rebounds in 28 minutes, Darrien Jackson made all five field goal attempts for 10 points in 19 minutes, and Elijah Joiner put up five assists in 19 turnover-free minutes.
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MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENTS:
***Though the series dates back over 88 years, the rivalry really heated up in the early 1980s when Gene Smithson's Shocker teams battled Nolan Richardson's Tulsa squads for MVC supremacy. Three of WSU's all-time greats played during the "MTXE" Era (after Smithson's trademark slogan, Mental Toughness eXtra Effort): Cliff Levingston, Antoine Carr and Xavier McDaniel. Tulsa countered with a fearsome full-court press and the likes of Paul Pressey, Mike Anderson and Steve Harris.
***In 1984, WSU's Karl Papke hit a driving layup down the lane with just under 10 seconds left to lift the Shockers to a 66-64 upset of 10th-ranked Tulsa in Wichita.
***WSU got the last laugh in its final game against Richardson in the 1985 MVC Tournament Championship – Mar. 9, 1985 at the Tulsa Convention Center. Senior All-American Xavier McDaniel scored 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Shockers past No. 17 Tulsa, 84-82. McDaniel led the nation in scoring and rebounding that year.
***Despite coaching changes on both sides, the rivalry continued. On Mar. 4, 1987, WSU again stunned top-seeded Tulsa with a 79-74 overtime win in the conference title game. The '87 MVC Tournament was the first with a three-point line, and the Shockers took full advantage of the new rule, knocking down 8-of-10 from beyond the arc.
***On Feb. 27, 1988, Joe Griffin's corner three -- in the air just before time expired -- forced double-overtime, where the Shockers claimed a 79-78 victory.
***The Golden Hurricane dominated the 1990s, winning 16-of-17 meetings between 1991 and 2002. Following Tulsa's exit from the MVC in 1997, the teams played regularly in the non-conference.
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DOUBLE-DOUBLE FOR DOUBLE-D:
***
Dexter Dennis' double-double at Cincinnati (14 pts, 13 reb) was the first by a Shocker freshman in over 11 years (J.T Durley at Creighton on Feb. 2, 2008).
***It was the best rebounding effort by a rookie since Dec. 17, 2001 when Jamar Howard pulled 13 against Jacksonville.
***It was also the first double-digit rebounding game of any kind by a Shocker freshman in the Marshall Era.
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Freshman Double-Doubles (1998-99 to Present):
Feb. 17, 2019 -- Dexter Dennis (14 pts, 13 reb) -- at Cincinnati
Feb. 2, 2008 – J.T. Durley** (10 pts, 10 reb) – at Creighton
Mar. 19, 2005 – P.J. Couisnard** (13 pts, 10 reb) – Western Kentucky
Mar. 3, 2003 – Paul Miller** (18 pts, 10 reb) – at Creighton
Feb. 12, 2002 – Jamar Howard (14 pts, 12 reb) – at UNI
Feb. 3, 2002 – Jamar Howard (18 pts, 11 reb) – Indiana St.
Jan. 6, 2002 – Jamar Howard (12 pts, 10 reb) – at Indiana St.
Dec. 17, 2001 – Jamar Howard (10 pts, 13 reb) – Jacksonville
Nov. 28, 2001 – Jamar Howard (23 pts, 12 reb) -- UTA
** = Redshirt Freshman
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BIG HELP AT CINCY:
***WSU's three-headed center monster split 40 minutes on Sunday at Cincinnati.
Jaime Echenique, Asbjorn Midtgaard and
Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler combined for 17 points, 25 rebounds (13 of them on the offensive glass) and six blocks.
***The group was excellent defensively, holding the Bearcats to just 18 points in the paint and less than 28% shooting from inside the arc.
***The Shockers outrebounded Cincinnati 30-14 in the second half on Sunday, helped by 13 offensive boards.
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TRENDING:
***
Markis McDuffie is shooting a league-best 88.6% (39-of-44) from the foul line since the start of conference play. He's 15-for-15 in February and has connected on 16-straight going back to the second half of the SMU game (Jan. 30).
***WSU shot 65.6% from the free throw line in non-conference play (289th out of 353 D-I teams) but has hit a league-best .772 in American play. Unfortunately, they're averaging league-low 15.8 attempts.
***The Shockers are 5-1 in conference games when banking more assists than turnovers but 0-6 when turnovers outnumber assists.
***
Dexter Dennis is averaging 8.8 points, 6.3 rebounds off the bench in four February games. He's 10-of-22 from deep over that span (.455).
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MARKIS ON THE MARQUEE:
***
Markis McDuffie (18.7 ppg) began the week ranked third on the American Athletic Conference scoring chart.
***It's been 19 years since WSU's last scoring champ. Jason Perez averaged an MVC-best 20.2 points in 2000.
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American Athletic Conference Scoring Leaders:
19.3 -- Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
18.73 -- Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple)
18.67 -- Markis McDuffie (Wichita St.)
17.7 -- Jahmal McMurray (SMU)
17.5 -- Jayden Gardner (ECU)
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ACCESS DENIED:
***
Jaime Echenique has blocked 24 shots in WSU's 12 conference games -- tied with Cincinnati's Nysier Brooks for the league lead.
***21 of Echeninique's team-high 37 blocks have come in the last nine games. He had four in the Jan. 16 win over UCF and five in the Jan. 30 victory against SMU.
***Echenique has blocked at least one shot in 21 of the 24 games this year, including an active run of nine-straight. He began the year with a 10-game streak.
***The list of double-digit block streaks by Shockers is a short one. In the last 40 years, just six individuals have done it. Echenique is looking to join Antoine Carr as the only WSU players with multiple streaks of 10+.
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Consecutive Games with a Block:
25 -- Antoine Carr (1980-81)
24 -- Antoine Carr (1982-83*)
12 --
Shaquille Morris (2017-18)
11 -- Claudius Johnson (1990-91)
10 -- Cliff Levingston (1980-81)
10 -- Ehimen Orukpe (2012-13)
10 --
Jaime Echenique (2018-19) -- Nov. 6 - Dec. 15
9 -- Jaime Echenique (2018-19) -- Jan. 16 to Pres.
*= Streak began the previous season
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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 1,413 points -- 16th all-time.
***On Feb. 17 at Cincinnati, McDuffie became just the 22
nd Shocker to reach 1,300 points.
***McDuffie needs just two more points to crack the top-20.
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McDuffie on WSU's Career Scoring List:
15. Fred VanVleet (2012-16) -- 1,439 (+138)
16. Jamie Thompson (1964-67) -- 1,359 (+58)
17. J.T. Durley (2007-11) -- 1,327 (+26)
18. Ron Harris (1969-72) -- 1,322 (+21)
19. Paul Miller (2001-06) -- 1,317 (+16)
20. P.J. Couisnard (2004-08) -- 1,303 (+2)
21. Warren Armstrong (1965-68) -- 1,301 (--)
21. Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) -- 1,301
23. Joe Stevens (1955-58) -- 1,295
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KENPOM SAYS:
***
Jaime Echenique ranks 26th nationally in block percentage (9.8%) and is also 26th in defensive rebound percentage (27.7%). The latter figure is tops in The American and the best by any Shocker in the KenPom Era (2001-02 to present).
***As of Monday, home teams have won exactly two-thirds (50-of-75) of the games in American Athletic Conference play. That .667 percentage ranks second-highest among the 32 Division I conferences behind the SWAC (where home teams have a .695 percentage).
***KenPom rates
Markis McDuffie as The American's fourth-most efficient offensive player among those utilitized on more than 24% of possessions.
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GREAT EIGHT:
Markis McDuffie recorded his 500th career rebound late in the first half at Cincinnati. He's's just the eighth player in Shocker history with 500 boards and 100 steals. Four of the seven others in the group went on to play in the NBA.
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Shockers with 500 Rebounds + 100 Steals (All-Time):
Cheese Johnson* (1975-79) -- 1,027 rebounds + 126 steals
Xavier McDaniel* (1981-85) -- 1,359Â 114
Jason Perez (1996-00) -- 659 + 222
Jamar Howard (2001-05) – 711 + 153
P.J. Couisnard (2004-08) – 685 + 148
Toure' Murry* (2008-12) – 626 + 180
Ron Baker* (2012-16) --- 521 + 163
Markis McDuffie (2015-19) – 501 + 103
* = Played in the NBA
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McDUFFIE A TRIPLE THREAT:
***McDuffie (135 career three-pointers) hit two triples on Sunday to move into a tie for 12th on WSU's career list -- most every by a Shocker forward or center. He needs just six more to break into the top-10.
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McDuffie on WSU's All-Time Three-Point Field Goal Chart:
7.
Landry Shamet (2015-18) – 159 (+24)
8. David Kyles (2008-12) – 153 (+18)
9. Paul Guffrovich (1987-91) – 144 (+9)
10. Fred VanVleet (2012-16) – 141 (+6)
11. Ryan Herrs (1992-96) – 140 (+5)
12. Toure' Murry (2008-12) – 135 (--)
12. Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) -- 135
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***McDuffie has hit at least one three-pointer in 15-straight games (a career-best). All-time, it's the ninth WSU streak of 15+. If he extends it Wednesday, he'd tie for the fifth-longest streak in program history.
***McDuffie has hit multiple threes in 14 of the 15 games since his streak began. In that span, he's shooting 40.1% (40-of-105) from deep.
***McDuffie is sinking 2.46 threes-per-game. Just two Shockers have averaged more over a full season:
Landry Shamet (2.63 in 2018) and Sean Ogirri (2.60 in 2006).
***McDuffie is on pace to end the regular season with 74 total triples, which would be the fifth-highest single-season total in school history.
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