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Jamarius Burton at Memphis

Shockers Set for High-Stakes Finale vs. Tulsa

3/7/2020 1:00:00 AM

TULSA (21-9, 13-4) at rv/rv WICHITA STATE (22-8, 10-7)
SUNDAY, MAR. 8, 2020 | 3:07 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN./ CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,506)
TV: CBS SPORTS NETWORK
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: WSU leads 69-62 (39-23 in Wichita)
LAST: Feb. 1, 2020 in Tulsa (TLS, 54-51)
 
>>> The Wichita State Shockers (22-8, 10-7) cap the regular season at 3 p.m. on Sunday against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (20-9, 12-4) in perhaps the most important series matchup between the two longtime rivals in over three decades.
 
>>> Sunday's matchup airs nationally on CBSSN and live in more than 150 U.S. markets via the CBS All Access subscription service, with additional coverage on cbssports.com and the CBS Sports App. Rich Waltz and Avery Johnson have the call.
 
>>> Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl describe the action on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at goshockers.com/listen. Kennedy, who is now in his 40th year as Voice of the Shockers, will call is 1,258th consecutive game (not including exhibitions).

>>> Tickets are available through the Shocker Ticket Office (316-978-FANS) or online at GoShockers.com/Tickets.
 
>>> Fans are encouraged to stick around after the game was WSU honors its lone senior, Jaime Echenique.
 
 
SEEDING SCENARIOS:
  • WSU enters the day in a fourth-place tie with Memphis but will likely need a win plus a Tiger loss at Houston (Sunday, 11 a.m. CT, CBS) to claim the No. 4 seed and the last of the first-round byes in next week's Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship.
  • Picked 10th in preseason, Tulsa has already clinched a share of its first AAC regular season title. A win over the Shockers gives the Hurricane the outright title and the No. 1 seed in next week's conference tournament. A loss could put them anywhere from No. 1 to No. 3 depending on results from other games.
WSU is No. 4 Seed with...
>>> A Win + a Memphis Loss
>>> A Loss + a Memphis Loss + an SMU or UConn Win
Otherwise, WSU is the No. 5 seed
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • WSU (20th, .392) and Tulsa (26th, .395) both rank among the national leaders in field goal percentage defense.
  • Tulsa is in search of its first Roundhouse victory since 2001 (when the building was known as Henry Levitt Arena). The Shockers have won the last seven meetings in Wichita (six at CKA; one at INTRUST Bank Arena).
  • The Shockers are in search of their 17th home win. That would tie the program's regular season record set two times previously (2010 & 2014).
  • WSU is looking to avenge a Feb. 1 heartbreaker in Tulsa.  Elijah Joiner hit five threes -- the last as the buzzer sounded -- to lift the Hurricane to a 54-51 victory.
  • A win would also do wonders for WSU's postseason resume. The Shockers are seeking their eighth NCAA Tournament bid in nine seasons. Sunday's game qualifies for Quadrant II status on WSU's team sheet. The Shockers are a combined 9-8 in Q-I and Q-II games and have won all 13 of their Q-III and Q-IV contests.
  • Last week, the Shockers erased a seven-point deficit with 5:00 to play against Temple (Feb. 27) and rallied from 24 down to defeat SMU (Mar. 1), but they ran out of magic in Thursday night's 68-60 loss at Memphis. Dexter Dennis scored 15 points to lead the Shockers.
  • WSU has already matched its 2018-19 win total (22) and joins Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas as the only programs to win 22+ games in every season since 2010.
 
 
BLOCK PARTY:
  • Jaime Echenique has blocked a shot in each of his last 10 games and is averaging 2.4-per-contest over that stretch. He had block streaks of 10 and 14 as a junior. The latter was WSU's longest since Antoine Carr in 1983.
  • Echenique's 13-rebound effort at SMU last Sunday matched his career-high and was his seventh double-digit effort of the year.
  • For the season, Echenique ranks among the league's top-10 in blocks (4th, 1.6), double-doubles (t-5th, 6), rebounding (6th, 7.1) defensive rebounds (8th, 5.1) and field goal percentage (8th, .482).
  • Echenique (92 career blocks) is now alone in 10th on WSU's all-time list, despite playing just two seasons.

Consecutive Games with a Block (Since 1980):
1. Antoine Carr (1980-81) -- 25    
2. Antoine Carr (1982-83*) -- 24  
3. Jaime Echenique (2018-19) -- 14          
4. Shaquille Morris (2017-18) -- 12           
5. Claudius Jonhson (1990-91) -- 11         
6. Jaime Echenique (2019-20) – 10 (active)
6. Cliff Levingston (1980-81) -- 10
6. Ehimen Orukpe (2012-13) -- 10            
6. Jaime Echenique (2018-19) -- 10          
* = Streak began previous season

WSU Career Block Leaders:
1. Antoine Carr (1979-83) -- 209
2. Shaquille Morris (2014-18) -- 147
3. Robert Elmore (1973-77) -- 132
4. Claudius Johnson (1989-93) -- 109
5. Gene Wiley (1959-62) -- 105
6. Xavier McDaniel (1981-85) -- 103
7. Garrett Stutz (2008-12) -- 101
8. PJ Couisnard (2004-08) -- 98
9. Ehimen Orukpe (2010-13) -- 94
10. Jaime Echenique (2018-20) -- 92

 
 
FEELING 22:
  • Even if the Shockers don't win another game in 2019-20, Marshall career win total will the seventh-highest by a Division I head coach at the end of his 22nd season.

Most Wins After 22 Seasons // NCAA Division I All-Time:
1. Roy Williams (1989-2010) -- 614 @ Kansas & UNC
2. Jerry Tarkanian (1969-90) – 565 @ Long Beach St. & UNLV
3. Bill Self (1994-2015) – 559 @ ORU, Tulsa, Illinois & Kansas
4. John Calipari (1989-96, 2001-14) @ UMAss, Memphis & Kentucky
5. Tom Izzo (1996-2017) – 544 @ Michigan St.
6. Jim Boeheim (1977-98) – 528 @ Syracuse
7. Gregg Marshall (1998-2020) – 524 @ Winthrop & Wichita State
8. Denny Crum (1972-93) – 518 @ Louisville
9. Bob Huggins (1981-2003) – 517 @ Walsh, Akron & Cincinnati
10. Tubby Smith (1992-2013) – 511 @ Tulsa, Georgia, Kentucky & Minnesota

 

BAPTISM BY FIRE:
  • In Marshall's 13 seasons at WSU, only six true freshman have averaged more than 20-minutes-per-game over a full season. Five of them are on the current roster. 
  • Last season Dexter Dennis (25.9), Jamarius Burton (24.0) and Erik Stevenson (21.9) all broke that threshold. 
  • This season Grant Sherfield (25.3) and Tyson Etienne (24.5) are well on their way.

Minutes-Per-Game by Freshmen // Marshall Era (2007-Pr.):
1. Toure' Murry (2008-09) -- 28.2
2. Landry Shamet^ (2016-17) -- 26.7
3. Ron Baker^ (2012-13) -- 26.1   
4. Dexter Dennis* (2018-19) -- 25.9
5. Grant Sherfield* (2019-20)  -- 25.3       
6. Tyson Etienne* (2019-20) -- 24.5         
7. Jamarius Burton* (2018-19) -- 24.0      
8. Erik Stevenson* (2018-19) -- 21.9        
9. Markis McDuffie (2015-16) -- 18.5
10. Fred VanVleet (2012-13) -- 16.2         
^ = Redshirt Freshman  * = Current Shocker
 
Games Started by True Freshmen // Marshall Era (2007-Pr.):
1. Toure' Murry (2008-09) -- 34   
2. Jamarius Burton* (2016-17) -- 28         
3. Dexter Dennis* (2012-13) -- 25
4. Tyson Etienne* (2019-20) -- 16
5. Garrett Stutz (2008-09) -- 12    
5. Grant Sherfield* (2019-20) -- 12          
7. Erik Stevenson* (2018-19) -- 11           
8. Aaron Ellis (2018-19) -- 4          
9. Rashard Kelly (2015-16) -- 4     
10. Noah Fernandes* (2019-20) -- 3        

 
 
TRENDING:
  • The Shockers are 10-2 on Senior Day/Night during the Marshall Era. The only losses came in 2013 (Evansville) and 2018 (Cincinnati).
  • WSU is 16-2 when it makes at least 40% from the field and a perfect 15-0 when outshooting its opponent. 
  • The Shockers are 15-1 when they make at least a third of their three-point attempts.
  • Dexter Dennis made his 100th career three-pointer on Sunday at SMU. The sophomore's 103 career triples are tied for 24th on WSU's all-time chart. He's just the fifth player in Shocker history to reach the century mark before the end of his sophomore season, joining Randy Burns, Maurice Evans, Sean Ogirri and Landry Shamet.
  • Wichita State used its ninth different starting-five on Thursday night at Memphis.
 

POP'N FRESHMAN:
  • True freshman Tyson Etienne needs just 12 more three-pointers to match Landry Shamet's rookie  record (72 during the 2016-17 season). Etienne ranks among the league leaders in three-point shooting, by both percentage (.392) and volume (2.0).

WSU Freshman Leaders // 3-Point Field Goals Made:
72 -- Landry Shamet (2016-17)
60* -- Tyson Etienne (2019-20)
59 -- Chad Elstun (1992-93)
57 -- Randy Burns (2001-02)
54 -- Dexter Dennis (2018-19)      

  • Etienne has a seemingly unlimited supply of energy, and the same quickness that helps spring him for three-point looks has also come in handy on the defense end. He's on track to finish the regular season with 37 -- just seven shy of Toure' Murry's Shocker rookie record, set in 2009.

WSU Freshman Leaders // Steals:
44 -- Toure' Murry (2008-09)
39 -- Aubrey Sherrod (1981-82)
38 -- Jason Perez (1996-97)
35 -- Tyson Etienne (2019-20)
35 -- Jamar Howard (2001-02)
35 -- Fred VanVleet (2012-13)

 
 
SCOUTING TULSA:
  • Tulsa has won four-straight and six of  seven coming in.
  • Opponents are shooting just 29.5% from three against Tulsa and its zone defense. That figure ranks among the top-25 nationally.
  • Like the Shockers, Tulsa relies on a balanced lineup with seven players averaging between 20 and 30 minutes and six scoring at least 7.0 points-per-game.
  • 6-8 senior forward Martins Igbanu is the team's leading scorer (13.4). He does much of his damage at the foul line where he's closing in on 200 attempts (130-of-186). Per KenPom, Igbanu ranks 17th nationally in fouls drawn-per-40 and is 12th in free throw rate.
  • Junior college transfer Brandon Rachal – a 6-foot-5 guard – averages 12.4 points and a team-high 5.8 rebounds with 43 steals.
  • 6-7 junior forward Jeriah Horne chips in 10.9 points and has hit a team-high 53 triples on 33.1% accuracy.
  • Four Tulsa players average a steal-per-game or better, led by Darien Jackson (44 total).
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • In 12 of Tulsa's 13 conference wins it has held the opposing team to 61 points-or-less.  In four league losses, the Hurricane surrendered 75, 72, 83 and 76.
  • The Shockers are 21-1 when scoring at least 65 points. and 1-7 when scoring less than 65. They lost 80-79 at home last month to Cincinnati and also bucked the trend with a 54-41 road win at USF in late January.
  • Brandon Rachal played the last two seasons at Pearl River (Miss.) Community College – the same program that produced former Shocker Darral Willis Jr. (2016-18). It's also where Shocker assistant Isaac Brown got his coaching start (1997-99).
  • Igbanu scored a quiet 10 points on two field goals in the first meeting with the Shockers but has been a load in the nine games since, averaging a team-high 19.1 points while shooting nearly 62% from the floor.
  • Five of Elijah Joiner's 22 three-point field goals came in the Feb. 1 game against WSU in Tulsa. He's made 7-of-20 in the nine games since.
  • Tulsa last saw action on Wednesday night at Temple. WSU played at Memphis on Thursday. Notably, it's the 10th time this conference season that the Shockers have played on shorter rest than their opponent. WSU has played seven games on equal rest and just once with more rest (Feb. 1 at Tulsa when the Shockers had seven days off to Tulsa's six).
  • For the 12th time, Wichita State and Tulsa meet in a regular season finale. The Hurricane have won six of them. Three were conference title-clinching victories (1955, 1985 and 1987). The Shockers avenged the latter two losses shortly after, beating Tulsa on its home floor in the championship games of the '85 and '87 MVC tournaments.
 
 
THE SERIES: WSU leads 69-62
  • Wichita State and Tulsa square off for the 132nd time since 1931. Tulsa is WSU's third-most-played opponent behind Drake (151) and Bradley (142). The teams have met in each of the last 10 seasons going back to 2010.
  • The Shockers lead the series, 69-62 and have won 12 of 14. They're 4-1 in the AAC era.
  • Gregg Marshall is 10-2 against Tulsa (6-2 vs. Haith and a perfect 6-0 in Wichita). Only Ralph Miller (16-11 from 1951-64) has posted more series wins.
  • The Shockers swept the 2018-19 series, coming from behind in the last 10 minutes to win in Wichita. 18 days later at Tulsa they never trailed, jumping to a 14-point halftime lead en route to a 21-point win.
  • WSU also swept the season series in 2017-18 – its first in the AAC. 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.
IN TULSA // TLS, 36-29
  • The teams have met 65 times in Tulsa. The Shockers have a losing record there but are 5-4 at the Reynolds Center (currently in its 22nd season).
IN WICHITA // WSU, 39-23
  • The Hurricanes last won in Wichita on Dec. 8, 2001 (82-76). The Shockers have won the last seven home meetings (six of them at CKA).
  • WSU has won just over two-thirds of the games played inside the Roundhouse (1955-pr.), 33-16.
NEUTRAL SITES // TLS, 3-1
  • Tulsa has won three of the four neutral court matchups. WSU's lone victory came in the 1988 MVC Tournament. Tulsa picked up a pair of Arch Madness wins in the 1990s and edged the Shockers in the 1958 All-College Tournament in Oklahoma City.
IN OVERTIME // WSU, 7-3 (Last: 1993 in Wichita)
  • WSU has won seven of the 10 overtime games in the series (2-2 in Wichita, 5-1 in Tulsa).
 
 
MEMORABLE SERIES MOMENTS:
  • 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's 2017 move to The American reunited the two.
  • 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 and Tulsa for MVC supremacy. Three of WSU's all-time great 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). McDaniel  (who led the nation in scoring and rebounding that year) scored 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Shockers past No. 17 Tulsa, 84-82.
  • 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.
  • Tulsa dominated with 13-straight wins between 1993 and 2002, but the series took a dramatic turn following the completion of the Roundhouse Renaissance.
  • On Dec. 20, 2003 – the first meeting at the newly renovated CKA – WSU finally stopped the slide, winning 66-58 behind recent Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame inductee Jamar Howard's 23 points. That started a run of seven-straight Shocker victories.
  • A year later – Dec. 18, 2004 – the Shockers stopped an eight-game losing streak in Tulsa with their first win since 1991.
  • Gregg Marshall revived the series in the 2010 when Tulsa was guest of honor for the first-ever basketball game at downtown INTRUST Bank Arena (Dec. 21, 2010). Justin Hurtt hit six of Tulsa's 14 threes (both are still arena records), but the Shockers held on for an 82-79 win.
 
 
A SHOCKER WIN WOULD….
... improve their record to 23-8 (11-7 American).
... guarantee at least a tie for fourth-place.
... salvage a season split with Tulsa.
... give them a 70-62 series lead.
... give them eight-straight home wins vs. Tulsa.
... tie WSU's regular season record for home wins (17)
 
 
UP NEXT:            
  • WSU is off to Fort Worth to compete in the American Athletic Conference Championship, Thursday through Sunday, at the brand-new Dickies Arena.
  • If the Shockers are the No. 5 seed they will open at 2 p.m. Thursday on ESPNU against No. 12 Tulane. 
  • If WSU is the No. 4 seed, it will play at 2 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 against the winner of No. 12 Tulane and the No. 5 seed (SMU or Memphis).
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