[6] WICHITA STATE (18-13) vs. [3] TEMPLE (23-8)
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP | QUARTERFINALS
FRI., MAR. 15, 2019 | 8:00 P.M. CT
MEMPHIS, TENN./ FEDEXFORUM
TV: ESPNU
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (No Streaming)
SERIES: TEMPLE LEADS 5-2 (1-0 IN 2018-19)
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 >>> No. 6 seed Wichita State takes on No. 3 Temple in quarterfinal action at the Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship. Tip is scheduled for just after 8 p.m. CT.
>>> Watch the game on ESPNU with Kevin Brown (pbp) and Mark Adams (analyst).
>>> Listen on KEYN 103.7 FM. Mike Kennedy, now in his 39th season as "Voice of the Shockers," is joined by Dave Dahl and Bob Hull. Coverage begins an hour before tipoff with the INTRUST Bank Pregame Show.
>>> Shocker Radio streaming will be unavailable in the postseason, but fans outside of the Wichita area can listen to national coverage of all 11 tournament games from Learfield IMG College on Sirius 134/XM channel 202 and via TuneIn on the College Sports Now channel.
>>> For behind-the-scenes coverage of the Shockers, follow @GoShockersMBB on twitter and Instagram. Join the conversation by using the hashtag, #watchus.
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OPENING TIPS:
***The WSU-Temple winner moves on to Saturday's semifinal round to face either No. 2 Cincinnati or No. 10 SMU (4 p.m. ESPNU).
***Temple won the lone meeting on Jan. 6 in Wichita (85-81, ot) and leads the all-time series, 5-2.
***This is the second-straight year that the teams have met in The American quarterfinals. WSU won last year, 89-81, helped by
Landry Shamet's 6-of-8 three-point shooting performance.
***In Thursday's first round, the Shockers defeated No. 11 seed ECU for the third time this year, 73-57.
Markis McDuffie led a group of four double-digit scorers with 15 points on 11-of-12 foul shooting, tying own school record for most free throws in a conference tournament contest.
Jaime Echenique finished with 14 points, nine rebounds.
Dexter Dennis tacked on 13 to go with
Asbjørn Midtgaard's 10 points, seven boards. All 13 active Shockers saw action and 11 of them played at least 10 minutes.
***WSU entered 2018-19 as one of the nation's least-experienced units (10 newcomers; just 11.2% of minutes returning). McDuffie is the only Shocker who saw time in last year's tourney.
***Picked eighth, the rebuilding Shockers opened conference play at 1-6 but have been one of The American's hottest teams ever since, winning 10 of their last 12 games. WSU's five-game winning streak is a season-high and the league's longest active.
***While they'll likely need three more wins in the next three days to extend their string of seven-straight NCAA bids, a strong showing in Memphis would strengthen the youthful Shockers' case for an NIT berth. WSU has appeared in 10-straight postseasons.
***Heading into the week, the Shockers had played a league-best 17 Quadrant I or II games, ahead of UConn (16) and Houston (16).
***10 of the team's 31 games have been decided by four-points in either direction. They're 6-4 with three wins on buzzer-beaters.
***On Feb. 28, head coach
Gregg Marshall recorded his 300th Shocker win (he's 303-111 in 12 seasons). Marshall is now just two wins shy of 500 for his career (498-194, 21st).
***Marshall's teams have reached the semifinals in nine-straight seasons and in 17 of his 20 years as a head coach competing in the Big South, Missouri Valley and American Tournaments. From 2010-17, WSU appeared in an MVC record eight-straight semifinals.
***McDuffie was voted second team all-conference. In the regular season, he ranked among The American's top-10 in scoring (5th, 17.8), free throw percentage (5th, .822) and three-pointers (10th, 2.2). McDuffie is rapidly climbing WSU's all-time lists -- 16th in scoring (1,404) and tied for ninth in career threes (144).
***Dennis (7.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 39.4% 3pt) was named to The American's all-freshman team.
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TOURNAMENT ODDS-AND-ENDS:
***
Gregg Marshall is 36-11 all-time in conference tournament games with nine titles (17-9 at WSU, 4 titles).
***WSU is 2-1 all-time in American Tournament games.
***With Thursday's victory, WSU has won at least one game in 11-straight conference tourneys. The last "one-and-done" came in Marshall's debut season (2008). Marshall is now 19-2 all-time openers.
***A win Friday would advance the Shockers to the semifinals for a 10th-straight year.
***No. 6 seeds are 9-5 in American Tournament games, including 4-1 in the quarterfinal round. Last year Houston became the first No. 3 seed to beat a No. 6.
***Thursday's win was WSU's first ever as a No. 6 seed in a conference tournament. The Shockers landed the No. 6 on five occasions in the MVC Tournament and went 0-5.
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ECU LEFTOVERS:
***The Shockers swept all three games from ECU and are 4-0 against the Pirates all-time.
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Gregg Marshall improved 7-0 against ECU.
***Memphis native
Rod Brown set a career-high with nine rebounds. His previous best was six boards at USF in late January.
***ECU shot 39.2%. The Shockers have held eight of their last 10 opponents to 40% or less from the field. Foes are shooting a combined .382 in that span.
***WSU shot 38.1%. The Shockers are 7-8 when shooting less than 40% from the field.
***Thursday's shooting number may be a touch misleading. Marshall rested his starters down the stretch, and WSU missed 20 of its last 23 shots over the final 12:00. Prior to that, the Shockers were 21-of-40 from the floor and led by 26 points.
***WSU used runs of 14-4 and 9-0 to build a double-digit lead late in the first half.
Erik Stevenson hit back-to-back threes, including a 25-footer for a 33-20 margin with 3:00 to go in the period.
***The Shockers upped a 12-point halftime lead to 20 within the first four minutes of the second half. Midtgaard's layup capped another 11-0 run to make it 60-34 near the 13:00-mark.
***The reserves managed just one more field goal over the last 8:07, allowing ECU cut a 27-point lead to 16.
***WSU was +12 on the glass (44-32). The Shockers have outrebounded ECU by double-digit margins in each of the four meetings since joining The American.
***The three Shocker centers (Echenique/Midtgaard/Poor Bear-Chandler) combined for 27 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks in 40 minutes. It was their eight shared double-double in the past 12 games.
***WSU outscored ECU 14-2 off turnovers and 23-4 on second-chance opportunities, helped by 17 offensive rebounds.
***The Shocker starters minimized their minutes. Only
Dexter Dennis (24),
Samajae Haynes-Jones (23) and
Markis McDuffie (22) played more than half of the game.
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MILESTONES:
***
Markis McDuffie (551 point this year) is just 40 points shy of 2014 consensus All-American Clean-thony Early for the Marshall Era's single-season record. Early scored 591 points that year.
***McDuffie's 198 three-point attempts are 11 shy of Ron Baker's single-season school record (209 in 2014-15).
***McDuffie and Haynes-Jones each surpassed 1,000 minutes for the year against ECU. They're the 10th and 11th Marshall Era Shockers to do it.
***McDuffie recorded his 1,400th career point early in the second half against ECU. He's just the 16th Shocker to reach that threshold. He enters Friday's quarterfinal game needing just 35 more to match former teammate Fred VanVleet for 15th all-time.
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McDuffie on Wichita State's All-Time Scoring List:
12. Toure' Murry (2008-12) -- 1,539 (+135)
13. Cliff Levingston (1979-82) -- 1,471 (+67)
14. Sasha Radunovich (1985-89) -- 1,463 (+59)
15. Fred VanVleet (2012-16) -- 1,439 (+35)
16.
Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) -- 1,404
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***McDuffie (144 career three-pointers) failed to hit a three for only the fourth time this year. He was 0-for-4.
***McDuffie is still tied for ninth on WSU's career list with Paul Guffrovich (1987-91) and needs just nine more to match David Kyles (2008-12) for eighth all-time.
***McDuffie's 68 three-pointers this year is already tied for eighth on WSU's single-season chart. It's the most ever by a Shocker forward.
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McDuffie on WSU's Single-Season 3-Point Field Goal Chart:
1. Sean Ogirri (2005-06) – 91 (+23)
2.
Landry Shamet (2017-18) – 84 (+16)
3. Ron Baker (2014-15) – 80 (+12)
4. David Kyles (2010-11) – 75 (+7)
5.
Conner Frankamp (2016-17) – 73 (+5)
6.
Landry Shamet (2016-17) – 72 (+4)
7. Maurice Evans (1998-99) – 69 (+1)
8. Ron Baker (2013-14) -- 68
9.
Markis McDuffie (2018-19) -- 68
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ABOUT TEMPLE:
***Temple (23-8, 13-5 American) defeated No. 25 UCF in its regular-season finale to claim the No. 3 seed.
***The Owls posted their ninth 20-win season in 13 years under head Fran Dunphy and are a top-three seed for the second time in The American.
***Temple ranks 14th nationally in both steals (8.8) and turnover margin (+3.8).
***First team all-conference pick Shizz Alston is tied for the conference scoring lead at 19.7 points and also tops the league leaderboard in free throw percentage (135/149, .906) and minutes-per-game (37.2).
***Quinton Rose (16.5 ppg, 2.1 spg) was named second team all-conference, and Nate Pierre-Louis (13.4 ppg) made the Most Improved Team.
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THE SERIES WITH TEMPLE:
***This is the second-consecutive year that the Shockers and Owls have met in the quarterfinals of this tournament. WSU (seeded second) outscored No. 7 seed Temple, 89-81, behind
Landry Shamet's 24 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting.
***Temple leads the all-time series 5-2. The schools have split four meetings in The America Era. The Shockers took two-of-three last year, including the aforementioned conference tournament collision in Orlando. Temple won this year's lone meeting.
***Closely contested games have been the norm between
Gregg Marshall and Fran Dunphy. Three of the five meetings, including a chance encounter in the 2010 Puerto Rico Tipoff, have gone to overtime.
***No lead has been safe for either side...
***WSU lost its first visit Liacouras Center on Feb. 1, 2018 (81-79 in OT) after leading by eight at halftime and by seven with 5:02 to go. The Shockers managed just two more points in regulation. Shizz Alston Jr. forced overtime on a layup with seven seconds remaining and delivered two go-ahead free throws with 18 seconds to play in overtime.
Markis McDuffie missed a potential game-winning three before the final buzzer.
***Two weeks later in Wichita (Feb. 15, 2018), the Shockers overcame a 14-point halftime deficit and Temple's arena record 16 three-pointers for a 93-86 win.
***Earlier this year in Wichita, the Shockers led by 13 at halftime and by 11 with just over 3:00 to play. Temple scored the last 11 points of regulation to force overtime and went on to win, 85-81.
***In the 2011 Puerto Rico tipoff, the Shockers battled back from down eight at the 7:00-mark to force overtime, but Temple won 78-74 in extra time behind 23 points from Ramone Moore. ***Toure' Murry scored a game-high 24 for the Shockers, who went on to win 25 of their next 27 games en route to the first NCAA Tournament bid of the Marshall Era.
***In Dec. 1983, junior Xavier McDaniel played all 40 minutes and tallied 24 points and 18 rebounds, but Temple survived, 78-73, in Wichita.
***Two seasons later, the Owls squeezed out a 62-60 win
in the finals of the Pizza Hut Shoot Out. The Shockers held a 51-42 advantage with 8:56 remaining, but Tim Perry's three-foot jumper at the buzzer capped a furious Temple comeback.
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LAST TIME vs. TEMPLE:
Jan. 6, 2019 | Wichita Kan. | Temple, 85-81 (ot)
***WSU's 13-point halftime lead tied for the third-largest in a loss (box score archives date the early 1970s).
***The game was tied at 63 before WSU ripped off an 11-0 run, sparked by six points from
Samajae Haynes-Jones.
Markis McDuffie's three-pointer made it a 74-63 edge with 3:32 to play and seemingly put the game on ice.
***Temple scored the last 11 points of regulation to force overtime -- capped by Shizz Alston Jr.'s game-tying jumper with 34 seconds to go.
***Temple scored 30 of its points directly off of WSU's season-high 21 turnovers. The Owls were +10 for the night, committing just 11 of their own in 45 minutes.
***Each team had a pair of 20-point scorers: McDuffie (24) and Haynes-Jones (21) for WSU; Alston (22 points) had seven of the Owls' 11 overtime tallies. Nate Pierre-Louis (21) supplied the other four.
***
Dexter Dennis scored 14 points and finished with a team-high four assists.
Ricky Torres led the rebounding with a career-high eight.
***McDuffie never sat, becoming the first Shocker in 23 years to play every minute of a game and the first in 24 years to do so in an overtime contest.
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MATCHUP MASHUP:
***
Gregg Marshall (497) and Fran Dunphy (580) have combined for 1,077 wins. Dunphy (270-160 in 13 seasons at Temple) is coaching his 30th and final season.
***Temple sophomore Justyn Hamilton and WSU freshman
Jamarius Burton were teammates at Independence High School in Charlotte, N.C. (or at least that was the plan). Shortly after transferring to Independence, Burton tore his ACL and missed the entire 2016-17 season. He returned for his senior year and led Independence (minus Hamilton, who had already graduated) to North Carolina's 2018 Class 4A state title.
***
Markis McDuffie is the only current Shocker who saw minutes in last year's WSU-Temple American Tournament clash. He finished with seven points in 16 minutes off the bench.
***McDuffie's sister, Sierra, spent the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons as a graduate manager for Temple. She played Division II hoops at Felician University.
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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… move them into Saturday's semifinal round vs. either No. 2 seed Cincinnati or No. 10 seed SMU (approx. 4 p.m. CT, ESPN2).
… make them 19-13 with wins in 11 of their last 13.
… give them a season-high six-game win streak.     Â
… make WSU 3-1 all-time in AAC Tournament games with two of them coming against Temple.
… avenge a Jan. 6 loss to Temple and make them 3-2 against the Owls since joining The American.
… narrow Temple's all-time series lead to 5-3.
… put the Shockers in the semifinal round of a conference tournament for the 10th consecutive year.
… be the 18th time in 21 seasons that
Gregg Marshall has coached in the semifinals of a conference tourney.
… be Marshall's 499th career win.
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A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… eliminate them from the tournament.
… drop their record to 18-14.
… snap a five-game winning streak.
… be just their third loss since Jan. 27.
… make them 0-2 against Temple this year and 2-3 in since joining The American.
… make Marshall 2-4 against Fran Dunphy.
… give Temple a 6-2 all-time series lead.
… be the first time since 2009 that WSU has been knocked out prior to the semifinal round of a conference tournament.
… be less good than a win.
