[6] WICHITA STATE (20-14) at [2] CLEMSON (20-13)
NATIONAL INVITATION TOURNAMENT | SECOND ROUND
SUN., MAR. 24, 2019 | 1 P.M. CT (2 P.M. ET)
CLEMSON, S.C. / LITTLEJOHN COLISEUM
TV: ESPN
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM
SERIES: FIRST MEETING
WINNER TO QUARTERFINALS VS. [1] INDIANA or [5] ARKANSAS
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>>> Wichita State is back on the road for second round action in the 2019 National Invitation Tournament. Sunday's 1 p.m. CT tipoff against the host Clemson Tigers airs nationally on ESPN.
>>> Watch the game on ESPN with Mike Morgan (pbp) & LaPhonso Ellis (analyst).
>>> Listen on KEYN 103.7 FM. Mike Kennedy, now in his 39th season as "Voice of the Shockers," is joined by Bob Hull. Coverage begins an hour before tipoff with the INTRUST Bank Pregame Show.
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OPENING TIPS:
***A Shocker win would move them into next week's quarterfinals (Tuesday or Wednesday night) and set up a third-consecutive road game at either top-seed Indiana or No. 5 seed Arkansas.
***WSU and Clemson have never met on the hardwood.
***First and second round sites, Greenville, S.C. and Clemson, S.C., are separated by just 32 miles of road, but WSU elected to return to Wichita for 48 hours in between games. Prior to its appearance in November's Charleston Classic, WSU had never played a game in the Palmetto State. Sunday marks the Shockers' third trip this season and second in less than week.
***In Wednesday's 76-70 first round victory at Furman,
Markis McDuffie supplied 20 points. Centers
Jaime Echenique and
Asbjørn Midtgaard combined for 25 points and 20 rebounds in 40 minutes. Tied with 4:00 to play, the Shockers came away with field goals on five-straight possessions then went 4-of-4 at the foul line to put the game on ice.
***The win at Furman was
Gregg Marshall's 500th. He's 500-195 (.719) in 21 seasons, including 306-112 in 12 years at WSU (.732). Marshall was born in South Carolina and earned his first 194 wins at nearby Winthrop University in Rock Hill.
***This is WSU's 11th consecutive postseason appearance. The streak began with a 2009 CBI bid and continued with NIT's in 2010 and 2011, followed by a run of seven-consecutive NCAA tournaments.
***WSU is looking to become just the fourth school claim titles in consecutive NIT appearances after winning it all in 2011.
***Wichita State is one of only eight programs that have reached the 20-win mark in every season since 2010.
***The Shockers returned 11.2% of minutes from last year (fifth-fewest in Division I). McDuffie is the lone WSU player with postseason experience.
***The rebuilding Shockers were 8-11 (1-6 in American play) in late January but have since won 12 of their last 15 games.
***WSU's stated postseason goal is to "bring Markis home." Reaching the NIT semifinals in New York would be a homecoming for McDuffie, who grew up across the river in Paterson, N.J.
***A second team All-AAC pick, McDuffie's 18.3 points-per-game is the highest Shocker scoring average of the Marshall Era. McDuffie ranks 13th on WSU's all-time scoring list (1,483) and needs just 17 more points to become the 14th 1,500-point scorer in Shocker history. His 156 free throws, 76 three-pointers and 623 points all rank among the top-five on WSU single-season lists.
***If McDuffie clocks at least 32 minutes on Sunday, he'll break WSU's season record for total minutes. Randy Smithson played 1,148 minutes for the 1981 Elite Eight Shockers. McDuffie (1,117) averages a team-high 33.0 minutes-per-game.
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20-WINS... AGAIN!
***The Shockers reached the 20-win plateau for a 10th-straight year with Wednesday's victory at Furman.
***Wichita State is one of just eight schools credited with winning 20+ games in every season since 2010, joined by Kansas, Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Kentucky, St. Mary's and Vermont. (Note -- Louisville vacated wins from three recent seasons but would otherwise qualify, as well).
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Consecutive 20-Win Seasons (Active; Includes 2018-19):
30 -- Kansas
23 -- Duke
22 -- Gonzaga
15 -- North Carolina
14 – Kentucky
12 – St. Mary's
11 – Vermont
10 – Wichita State
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MARSHALL ONE OF THE FASTEST EVER TO 500:
***
Gregg Marshall needed just 695 games to record 500 wins – tied with former Tulsa and Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson for the 22nd fastest in NCAA history. The very next name on the list is one of his boyhood idols, former South Carolina coach Frank McGuire who recorded his own 500th win in game No. 699.
***Marshall is one of only 10 coaches in college basketball history to record his 500th win before the end of his 21st season.
***Marshall has 16 seasons of 20+ wins (15th best among active coaches).
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Fastest to 500 Wins:
Mark Few (Gonzaga) – 18
th Season (2017)
Roy Williams (Kansas; UNC) – 19
th Season (2007)
John Calipari (UMass, Memphis, Kentucky) – 20
th Season (2012)
Bill Self (ORU, Tulsa, Illinois, Kansas) – 20
th Season (2013)
Jerry Tarkanian (Long Beach St; UNLV) – 20
th Season
Gregg Marshall (Winthrop, Wichita St.) – 21st Season
Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) – 21
st Season (1997)
Bob Huggins (West Virginia) – 2002
Tom Izzo (Michigan St.) – 21
st Season (2016)
Billy Donovan (Marshall, Florida) – 21
st Season (2015)
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PLAYING FOR 'JB':
***Shocker players are sporting "JB" patches on their jerseys in honor of John Bardo, who passed away Mar. 12 at age 70. Bardo, the university's president since 2012, had been battling a chronic lung condition.
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MARSHALL MILESTONE:
***
Gregg Marshall's .719 career winning percentage ranks 12th among active Division I coaches.
***There are now 29 active D-I head coaches in the 500-win club, and 24 of them have logged at least 500 of their victories at the D-I level.
***Marshall is one of just nine active coaches with 500+ wins (while coaching a D-I school) and a winning percentage of .700-or-higher.
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Active Coaches with 500 D-I Wins & .700+ Winning Percentage:
.824 -- Mark Few (566-121)
.789 -- Roy Williams (869-233)
.772 -- John Calipari (706-208)
.767 -- Mike Krzyzewski (1129-343)
.764 -- Bill Self (680-210)
.723 -- Tom Izzo (603-231)
.719 -- Gregg Marshall (500-195)
.711 -- Jim Boeheim (946-385)
.704 -- Bob Huggins (860-361)
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WICHITA STATE IN THE NIT:
***This is Wichita State's 13th NIT appearance. The Shockers are 9-11 all-time, with five of those wins coming in their last appearance (2011) when they won the title.
***WSU's win at Furman marked just the fourth time in 13 NIT trips that the Shockers have advanced in the bracket. They went one-and-done in each of their first six appearances between 1954 and 1984. WSU went 1-1 in 1989, 2-1 in 2005 and 5-0 in 2011.
***WSU's win at Furman was only its second NIT road victory in six tries. They've won back-to-back now, with the other coming in overtime at Virginia Tech.
***
Gregg Marshall is coaching in his third NIT (2009, 2010, 2011), tying Ralph Miller (1954, 1962, 1963) and Mark Turgeon (2003, 2004, 2005) for the most in Shocker history. Marshall has a 6-1 career NIT record.
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PICKING UP WHERE THEY LEFT OFF:
***Wichita State (the 2011 champion) is looking to become just the fourth school to win titles in consecutive appearances. St. John's (1943 & 1944), South Carolina (2005 & 2006) and Penn State (2009 & 2018) are the others.
***With its first-round victory, WSU has now won six-staight NIT games. A win over Clemson would tie for the eighth-longest streak in the event's 82-year history.
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Longest NIT Winning Streaks (All-Time):
10 – South Carolina (2005, 2006)
10 – Penn State (2009, 2018)*** Active
9 – Ohio State (1986, 1987)
9 – Memphis (2001, 2002, 2005)
9 – Michigan (2004, 2006)
8 – Dayton (1962, 1968)
8 – Purdue (1974, 1979)
7 – St. John's (1943, 1944)
7 – Fresno State (1983, 1985)
7 – Nebraska (1996, 1997)
7 – Uconn (1988, 1989)
6 – Several others; including Wichita State (2011, 2019)
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TRENDING:
***WSU played 10 of its 33 regular season and conference tournament games against NCAA tournament teams, defeating Baylor and UCF at home and Temple on a neutral floor. 11 of the Shockers' 14 losses came to teams that qualified for the NCAA or NIT.
***WSU has held 11 of its last 14 opponents to 40% or less from the field. Foes are shooting a combined .396 in that span.
***The Shockers have shot less than 40% themselves in 17 of their 34 games this year. They're a respectable 8-9 in those games. Last year they failed to top 40% on just two occasions.
***WSU shot 65.6% from the foul line in non-conference games (289th nationally). Since Jan. 1, WSU is shooting 76.4% at the line. For perspective, just 14 Division I teams shot 77% or higher during the regular season.
***18 of
Gregg Marshall's 500 career victories have come in postseason play, including five in the 2011 NIT championship run and four on the way to the 2013 Final Four.
***Among Shockers with at least 50 field goals made,
Asbjørn Midtgaard's .649 shooting percentage is the second-highest season mark in school history, trailing Bret Wise (55-of-83, .663 in 2003-04). Midtgaard is 36-of-73 (.679) since. Jan. 30. The team is 12-3 in that stretch.
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MILESTONES:
***
Markis McDuffie (623 total points this year) is just the eighth Shocker to score 600+ points in a season. He's currrently fourth on WSU's single-season list.
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WSU Single-Season Leaders // Points Scored:
1. Xavier McDaniel (1984-85) -- 844
2. Dave Stallworth (1963-64) -- 769
3. Maurice Evans (1998-99) -- 632
4. Markis McDuffie (2018-19) -- 623
5. Xavier McDaniel (1983-84) -- 619
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***McDuffie has attempted a school-record 219 three-point field goals this year. He broke Ron Baker's mark (209 in 2014-15) last Saturday vs. Cincinnati.
***
Samajae Haynes-Jones (200) hit the 200 plateau on Wednesday night. Prior to this season, only two others Shockers had taken that many in a year. Baker and Sean Ogirri (206 in 2005-06).
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WSU Single-Season Leaders // 3-Point Field Goal Attempts:
1. Markis McDuffie (2018-19) -- 219
2. Ron Baker (2014-15) -- 209
3. Sean Ogirri (2005-06) -- 206
4.
Samajae Haynes-Jones (2018-19) -- 200
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***McDuffie's 76 three-point field goals are fourth on WSU's season chart.
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WSU Single-Season Leaders // 3-Point Field Goals:
1. Sean Ogirri (2005-06) -- 91
2.
Landry Shamet (2017-18) -- 84
3. Ron Baker (2014-15) -- 80
4. Markis McDuffie (2018-19) -- 76
5. David Kyles (2010-11) -- 75
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*** McDuffie has made 151 free throws this year. That total is tied for sixth on WSU's single-season list. McDuffie needs just one more to match Jamar Howard (2003-04) for what is essentially the modern free throw record (1972-73 to present).
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WSU Single-Season Leaders // Free Throw Attempts:
1. Cleo Littleton (1954-55) -- 220
2. Dave Stallworth (1963-64) -- 203
3. Dave Stallworth (1962-63) -- 165
4. Cleo Littleton (1952-53) -- 155
5. Jamar Howard (2003-04) -- 152
6. Markis McDuffie (2018-19) -- 151
6. Cleanthony Early (2013-14) -- 151
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***McDuffie (1,476 career points) scored 20 points int he first round to pass both Sasha Radunovich and Cliff Levingston for 13th on WSU's all-time scoring list. He needs just 24 more points to become the program's 14th 1,500-point scorer.
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WSU Career Leaders // Points Scored:
10. Jamar Howard (2001-05) – 1,571
11. Greg Carney (1966-70) – 1,545
12. Toure' Murry (2008-12) -- 1,539
13. Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) -- 1,476Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
14. Cliff Levingston (1979-82) -- 1,471Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
15. Sasha Radunovich (1985-89) -- 1,463Â Â Â Â Â Â
16. Fred VanVleet (2012-16) -- 1,439
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SCOUTING CLEMSON:
***Clemson ranks No. 30 in KenPom – second-highest currently among the non-NCAA Tournament teams, trailing only Texas (28). The Tigers were No. 35 in the final NET rankings.
***The Tigers have reached the postseason five times in Brad Brownell's nine seasons, including a string of three-in-a-row. Last year Clemson reached the NCAA's Sweet 16 as a No. 4 seed after posting wins over New Mexico State and Auburn. The Tigers fell to top-seed and eventual Final Four participant Kansas in Omaha, 80-76.
***This is Clemson's third NIT under Brownell. The Tigers reached the semifinal in 2014 and lost in the first round in 2017.
***This is Clemson's 17th NIT all-time. The Tigers have reached the semifinals three times with a pair of runner-up finishes but have never won the tournament. Only New Mexico (19) and Manhattan (18) have made more NIT appearances without winning a title.
***Clemson's first round victory was likely bittersweet for Brownell. It came over his former school, Wright State, over his former protégé, Billy Donlon. Brownell led the Raiders to four 20-wins seasons from 2006-10 before accepting the Clemson job.
***Clemson ranks 24th nationally in scoring defense (64.0) and 30th in field goal percentage defense (.406). KenPom ranks the Tigers No. 12 in defensive efficiency – tops among non-NCAA Tournament qualifiers.
***Clemson is 14-4 at home this year (8-1 vs. non-conference opponents). The Tigers' only non-conference home loss came against Nebraska on Nov. 26 (68-66).
***Marcquise Reed, a 6-foot-3 fifth-year senior leads the team in points (19.5), assists (3.1) and steals (63) while pulling down 5.7 rebounds-per-contest. Reed entered the weekend ranked 27th nationally in steals-per-game (2.1) and is the ACC's free throw percentage leader at .845.
***Elijah Thomas (13.0 ppg) is the team's leading rebounder (7.8) and shot-blocker (72). He ranks among the top-25 nationally in blocks and has nine double-doubles.
***Senior point guard Shelton Mitchell (11.5 ppg, 32.8 mpg, team-high 95 assists) did not play against Wright State.
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MATCHUP MASHUP:
***For the 12th time in 35 games, WSU will face an opponent that ranks among the nation's top-40 in field goal percentage defense. Clemson foes are shooting just 40.6% for the year (30th nationally). The Shockers faced Cincinnati (No. 30) three times, Tulsa twice (40) and played once each against Houston (1), VCU (6), UCF (13), Oklahoma (24), Southern Miss (25) and Davidson (36).
***Marshall was born in Greenwood, S.C. (64 miles from Clemson) and spent nine years as head coach at Winthrop University in Rock Hill. As was the case in Charleston and Greenville, he'll have a large cheering section of friends and family for Sunday's game. Both of his parents were able to attend his 500th win at Furman.
***This is the Shockers' eighth trip (and 10th game) on the east coast this year. In addition to the NIT and opener at Furman and American Athletic Conference contests at USF (Tampa, Fla.), UConn (Storrs, Conn.) and ECU (Greenville, N.C.), WSU played three games at the Charleston Classic (Charleston, S.C.), a neutral site contest in Annapolis, Md., and a road game at VCU (Richmond, Va.).
***Shocker legend Xavier McDaniel attended Wednesday's win over Furman. The Columbia, S.C. native attended A.C. Flora High School before signing with Gene Smithson. In 1985 he became the first player in NCAA history to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding.
***Both sides reached the 20-win plateau with first round NIT wins.
***WSU has lost its last five games against ACC schools, including back-to-back NCAA Tournament setbacks against Notre Dame (2015 Sweet 16) and Miami (2016 Round of 32). ***Their last win against an ACC foe came under similar circumstances – Mar. 20, 2011 -- in overtime at Virginia Tech in the second round of the NIT.
***Marshall is 1-3 in his career against Clemson. All four took place at Littlejohn Coliseum during his days at Winthrop. The teams met four-consecutive years from 1999-00 to 2002-03. Marshall led the Eagles a 66-61 upset on Dec. 18, 2001. It was Winthrop's first-ever victory over Clemson in seven tries.
 ***Brownell and Marshall's coaching trees share a common branch. Current College of Charleston head coach Earl Grant worked under Marshall for six years (2004-07 at Winthrop and 2007-10 at WSU) before joining Brownell's original Clemson staff (2010-14). In 2014, Grant was named head coach at C-of-C.
***Former Evansville head coach Marty Simmons is in his first year as an assistant coach at Clemson. Simmons and Marshall arrived at their respective stops in the same year (2007-08) and went head-to-head 21 times from 2007-17.
***WSU senior
Samajae Haynes-Jones and Clemson redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Xavier Kelly were high school teammates at Wichita East High School. The pair helped lead the Aces to a state hoops title in Kansas' largest classification (6A) during Haynes-Jones' senior year (2015). The state tournament took place at WSU's Charles Koch Arena.
***Clemson coach Brad Brownell never coached in the Missouri Valley Conference but has ties to some names that might be familiar to long time Shocker fans. His first jobs as an assistant came under Jim Crews at Evansville (1991-92) and under Royce Waltman at the University of Indianapolis. Waltman went on to coach 10 years at Indiana State, where he eventually hired a young assistant named
Lou Gudino. Crews helped Evansville transition to the MVC four years later.
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A SHOCKER WIN WOULD…
… move them into the NIT quarterfinals for the fourth time in 13 trips with a road game at either top-seed Indiana or No. 5 Arkansas. Time and date TBA.
…  make Marshall 501-195 (.720) in 21 seasons
…  make them 21-14 with wins in 13 of their last 16.
…  give them seven-straight NIT wins.
… make WSU 10-11 in NIT games (3-4 on the road).
… make WSU 18-9 in postseason play under Marshall.
… make them 6-7 this year in true road games with wins in six of their last seven.
…  make them 1-0 all-time vs. Clemson.
… make Marshall 2-3 vs. Clemson.
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A SHOCKER LOSS WOULD…
… end their season at 20-15.
… be just their fourth loss since January.
… be their first NIT loss since 2010, snapping a six-game streak that began in 2011.
… make them 0-1 all-time vs. Clemson.
… make Marshall 1-4 all-time vs. Clemson.
… sink them to 8-13 in 13 NIT trips (2-5 on the road).
… be less good than a win.
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