WICHITA STATE (8-10, 1-5) at UCONN (11-8, 2-4)

Saturday, 5 p.m. CT in Storrs, Conn./ Gampel Pavilion

Telecast: CBSSN w/ Andrew Catalon & Steve Lappas

Radio: Shocker Radio (GoShockers.com/Listen) w/ Mike Kennedy & Bob Hull

Game Notes: WSU

Wichita State makes its first appearance at Gampel Pavilion Saturday evening when it takes on the UConn Huskies.

Watch the game on CBS Sports Network with Andrew Catalon and Steve Lappas.

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 4 p.m. CT with the INTRUST Bank Pregame Show.

Join Kennedy on Monday nights for the Gregg Marshall Radio Show LIVE from 6-7 p.m. at AJ’s Sports Grill at The Alley.  Listen in on KNSS (98.7 FM / 1330 AM). The show is also rebroadcast in a television format Mondays at 9 p.m. on YurView Kansas (Cox 2022) and online at YurView.com/Kansas. Remaining Dates: Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 18, 25, and Mar. 11.

Single-game tickets are still available for the upcoming homestand (Wednesday vs. SMU and next Saturday afternoon vs. Tulsa). Visit goshockers.com/tickets or call the Shocker Ticket Office at 316-978-FANS.

 

OPENING TIPS:

• Wichita State makes its first appearance at Gampel Pavilion Saturday evening when it takes on the UConn Huskies. The 5 p.m. CT (6 p.m. ET) tip airs nationally on CBS Sports Network.
• This is the fourth meeting all-time between WSU and UConn and the third since the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference. WSU leads 2-1, having swept both games last year, including a 72-62 win at the XL Center in Hartford in the team’s American debut. The Shockers won in Wichita, 95-74, on Feb. 10. The only other encounter came in the 2010 Maui Invitational quarterfinals when UConn rallied from a nine-point deficit in the final 10 minutes behind Kemba Walker’s 29 second-half points.
• In Tuesday’s 54-41 loss at USF, the Shockers forced 18 turnovers and limited the Bulls to 54 points, 15 field goals and 30% shooting — all season-lows for Shocker opponents. They also finished +2 on the glass against a USF team that came in ranked 13th nationally in rebound margin. Unfortunately, WSU’s best defensive performance of the year coincided with its worst offensive night of the Gregg Marshall Era. The Shockers scored just 41 points (their lowest output since 1997), committed 20 turnovers and shot just 28.3 %. It was the first time in more than two years (and just the third time in eight years) that opponent had led wire-to-wire.
• The Shockers have been to seven-straight NCAA Tournaments and posted nine-straight 25-win seasons under Marshall but are rebuilding this year with 10 first-year players.
• Whether you favor RPI (11th), NET (10th) or KenPom (28th), the youthful Shockers have played one of D-I’s strongest schedules… Using NET, 12 of their 18 games would be classified by the NCAA Selection Committee as Quadrant I or II contests. That’s tied for the seventh-highest total in all college basketball. Saturday’s game will be No. 13… This is the Shockers’ eighth-straight game against a NET top-100 team. Five of those have been on the road.
• Senior forward Markis McDuffie is tied for The American scoring lead at 19.2 points-per-game. He’s reached double-figures in 17-straight games — two shy of the longest Marshall Era streak (19), set by consensus All-American Cleanthony Early in 2014… McDuffie needs just two more points to become the 26th 1,200-point scorer in Shocker history. He’s 13 shy of the top-25 on WSU’s all-time chart… McDuffie has hit at least two three-pointers in nine-straight games — one shy of the school record (10) currently held by Landry Shamet and three others.
• 6-11 center Jaime Echenique is the team’s leading rebounder  (5.4) and shot-blocker (23 total)… Samajae Haynes-Jones (12.7 ppg, team-high 2.9 assists) is averaging 32.8 minutes —  most by a Shocker since 2008. A year ago he averaged just 11.0 minutes over 24 games.
• Last season the Shockers rolled into XL Center with an eight-game road winning streak. This year, they’re 0-5 with losses at Oklahoma, VCU, Memphis Houston and USF. Over an eight-year span from 2010-11 to 2017-18, WSU was the nation’s best road team at 75-20 (.789).

 

SUPER MARKIS SWEEP:

• Markis McDuffie entered Thursday tied atop the conference leaderboard and 64th nationally in scoring.
• Just six Shockers all-time have won conference scoring crowds, and the last came 19 years ago. Jason Perez averaged an MVC-best 20.2 points in 2000.

 

American Athletic Conference Scoring Leaders (as of Jan. 24, 2019):

19.2 — Markis McDuffie (Wichita St.)

19.2 — Jayden Gardner (ECU)

18.9 — Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple)

18.9 — Jalen Adams (UConn)

18.1 — Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)

 

GOOD AND TWENTY:

• McDuffie’s run of four-straight 20-point game, which ended Tuesday at USF, matched the longest Shocker streak of the Marshall Era.
• McDuffie’s eight total 20-point games this season are tied for second-most in the American Athletic Conference. Only UConn’s Jalen Adams (10) has more.
• McDuffie’s eight 20-point games are third-most by a Shocker in the last 20 seasons. Only Cleanthony Early (10 in 2013-14) and Jason Perez (17 in 1999-00) have posted more in that span.

American Athletic Conference Leaders; Most 20-Point Games

10 – Jalen Adams (UConn)

8 – Markis McDuffie (Wichita St.)

8 – Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)

8 – Jayden Gardner (ECU)

8 – Shizz Alston Jr. (Temple)

 

Most 20-Point Games by a Shocker, Last 20 Seasons

17 — Jason Perez (1999-00)

10 — Cleanthony Early (2013-14)

8 — Markis McDuffie (2018-19)   

8 — Randy Burns (2002-03)

 

A ROLL OF TPs:

• McDuffie’s run of 17-straight double-figure scoring games is the second-longest of the Marshall Era, trailing only Cleanthony Early (19 in ’13-14). McDuffie’s streak is also one of the nine-longest in the last 40 seasons.
• Xavier McDaniel has the all-time record locked down (65-straight). He scored 10+ in every game of his junior and senior seasons.

 

Consecutive Games with 10+ Points (Marshall Era, 2007-Pr.)

19 — Cleanthony Early (2013-14)*

17 — Markis McDuffie (2018-19)

14 — Ron Baker (2015-16)

13 — Cleanthony Early (2012-13)

12 — Ron Baker (2014-15)*

12 — Ron Baker (2014-15)

12 — Fred VanVleet (2014-15)                 

* = Streak began the previous year

 

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 1,428 points — 16th all-time.

 

McDuffie on Wichita State’s All-Time Scoring List:

20. P.J. Couisnard (2004-08) – 1,303 (+105)
21. Warren Armstrong (1965-68) – 1,301 (+103)
22. Joe Stevens (1955-58) – 1,295 (+97)_
23. Gus Santos (1983-87) – 1,278 (+80)
24. Paul Guffrovich (1987-91) – 1,247 (+49)
25. Steve Grayer (1985-89) – 1,211 (+13)
26. Markis McDuffie (2015-Pr.) – 1,198

 

MORE McDUFFIE MILESTONES:

• Markis McDuffie is two steals shy of 100 for his career. He’d be just the 16th Shocker to do it.
• McDuffie needs 26 rebounds to hit the 500-mark.
• Only seven players in program history have  recorded the combo of 500 rebounds AND 100 career steals: Cheese Johnson (1975-79), Xavier McDaniel (1981-85), Jason Perez (1996-00), Jamar Howard, (2001-05), P.J. Couisnard (2004-08), Toure’ Murry (2008-12) and Ron Baker (2012-16).
• McDuffie went 2-for-9 from three against USF and is in 18th on WSU’s all-time three-point field goal chart. He’s on pace to eventually break into the top-10.
• McDuffie has connected at least two times in nine-straight games. During that stretch he’s 26-for-64 (.406) from long range.
• McDuffie is sinking 2.5 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 75 total triples, which would tie for fourth on the school’s single-season chart.
• Each of the top-13 on WSU’s career three-point field goal list are guards. McDuffie needs just nine more to match Rob Kampman (130 from 2001-05) for the most by a non-guard.

 

Consecutive games with Multiple 3-point Field Goals Made

10 — Maurice Evans (1998-99)

10 — Aaron Hogg (2002-03)

10 — Ron Baker (2014-15)

10 — Landry Shamet (2017-18)

9 — Markis McDuffie (2018-19)

9 — Jason Perez (1998-99)

 

SCOUTING UCONN:

• Picked fifth in the preseason AAC poll, UConn (11-8) is out to a 2-4 conference start under new head coach Dan Hurley.  Hurley led a successful six-year turnaround at Rhode Island, ending with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. His 2018 URI team won the Atlantic 10 regular season crown, and Hurley was the league’s coach of the year.
• Three of the four Husky conference losses have come on the road, including an overtime game at Cincinnati.
• UConn is 10-2 at home this year (with losses to UCF and Arizona) but is undefeated at Gampel Pavilion (6-0). The Huskies have won seven-straight at Gampel and are 14-2 on campus over the last two seasons.
• UConn leads The American in three-point percentage (.353) and ranks 33rd nationally in three-point field goal percentage defense (.303). The Huskies also chart among the national leaders in blocks-per-game (36th, 4.7) and turnovers forced (44th, 16.05).
• Jalen Adams is the team’s leading scorer at 18.1 points-per-game (22.4 ppg in conference play) and is shooting nearly 52% from the field.  He ranks second on The American’s all-time scoring list (1,611 points) and needs just 100 more to surpass Houston’s Rob Gray as the league’s career leader… Alterique Gibson (13.4 ppg) is the team’s assist leader (3.7) and one of two Huskies who are shooting better than 40% from long range. Together, Gibson (36-of-89; .404) and Christian Vital (42-of-101; .416) are averaging 4.1 threes-per-game. Vital is the team’s top rebounder at 5.6 per-contest.
• UConn has won four national titles; all in the last two decades (1999, 2004, 2011, 2014).

 

MATCHUP MASHUP:

• Wichita State has never faced Dan Hurley, nor has Gregg Marshall.
• McDuffie played for Hurley’s father, Bob Hurley Sr. at St. Anthony High School. Dan Hurley began his coaching career at St. Anthony (1996-97).
• As of Thursday, three AAC players are averaging 20+ points in conference play. McDuffie (20.0), UConn’s Jalen Adams (21.3) and Cincinnati’s Jarron Cumberland (21.3).
• The three returning Shockers who saw time against UConn last year totaled just 14.5% of the minutes. McDuffie, Samajae Haynes-Jones and Asbjørn Midtgaard combined for 19 points (on 6-of-27 shooting) in 58 minutes over the two games. UConn used 11 players last year aganst WSU. Eight of them are back (65% of minutes), led by Adams (20.0 ppg) and Christian Vital (19.5). The duo combined for 11 steals.
• A pair of Connecticut prep school standouts signed National Letters of Intent with the Shockers last fall: Tyson Etienne (Putnam Science Academy) and Noah Fernandes (Woodstock Academy) will both be freshmen in 2019-20.

 

LAST YEAR:

Dec. 30, 2017 | Hartford, Conn. | #8 WSU 72, UConn 62

• WSU won its American Athletic Conference debut in front of a national CBS audience and a sellout crowd at the 15,564-seat  XL Center.
• Rashard Kelly finished with 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds (six offensive) on 5-of-6 shooting. Kelly grabbed his 500th career rebound in the first half, becoming just the 40th Shocker to reach that milestone.
• The Shockers outrebounded UConn 24-7 in the second half to finish at +13. They turned 17 offensive rebounds into 16 second-chance points.
• WSU went 12-of-25 from three (.480). Landry Shamet (5-of-6), Austin Reaves (3-of-4) and Conner Frankamp (3-of-7) did the bulk of the damage.
• Shamet logged a team-high 16 points and six assists. Reaves and Frankamp added 11 points each.
• WSU hit six of its last seven three-point attempts to close out their ninth-straight road win.
• Tied with 9:25 remaining, WSU used a 17-6 run over the next seven minutes to pull away. Back-to-back threes by Shamet and Frankamp gave the Shockers an 11-point lead with 2:23 to go.

 

Feb. 10, 2018 | Wichita, Kan. | #22 WSU 95, UConn 74

• WSU hit 14 threes — one shy of the school record — on 28 attempts (50%) to squash visiting UConn and earn Gregg Marshall his 150th victory at Charles Koch Arena.
• Landry Shamet scored a team-high 16 points to go with four assists and two steals.
• WSU reserves accounted for nearly half of the team’s scoring output with 46 points.
• Conner Frankamp snapped out of a shooting funk to hit 4-of-5 threes on his way to 14 points, and Shaquille Morris (12) and Darral Willis Jr. (10) joined him in double-figures. Rashard Kelly led the rebounding (10) and assists (5) with just one turnover.
• WSU outrebounded UConn 40-24 with help from 15 offensive rebounds. Five of those belonged to Kelly.
• The Shockers finished with 24 assists on 33 baskets while committing only nine turnovers. The ratio was even better in the first 20 minutes when WSU recorded assists on 17 of its 19 baskets (the other two came on offensive rebound putbacks) against just two turnovers.