Wednesday, January 27, 2016 8:00 p.m.
Koch Arena, Wichita, Kan.

The Wichita State Shockers men’s basketball team is 22-0 in conference games and 41-0 overall in home games since Loyola joined the MVC. That’s a pretty intimidating streak, but Northern Iowa was riding a nearly-as-gaudy 14-0 home conference winning streak dating back to 2014 when Loyola beat them two weeks ago. So yes, there is a chance. In Loyola’s two previous meetings with the Shockers in Wichita, the Ramblers stayed in the game until the late minutes by playing great defense—holding the Shocks to their lowest point total of the season in 2014 (57), and their fifth lowest (58) in 2015.

It’s hard to call a 14-5 record, 8-0 in conference, and a #22 ranking “struggling,” but most Shocker fans expected much better this season. WSU is 108-17 when Fred Van Vleet has played a minute of a game during his college career, but 1-3 when he’s missed a game because of injury. Those four games happened early in this season, when the Shockers briefly found themselves with a losing record for the first time since 2009. And still, the losses were away from home, against pretty decent major conference teams: Tulsa, USC, Alabama, Iowa, and Seton Hall.

The familiar backcourt duo of Ron Baker and Van Vleet are back for their senior season together, with some impressive newcomers to add depth. WSU is 109-20 since Baker and Van Vleet first suited up, including an undefeated regular season, a Final Four, and a Sweet 16. Baker is leading the team in points (15.1 ppg), made threes, steals, and minutes. Van Vleet scores 12.5 points on average, dishes 5.3 assists, and shoots the highest three point percentage at 45.1%. Evan Wessel, the 6’4” senior “glue guy” guard, fills out the starting backcourt, and averages 3.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game (half of which come on the offensive glass). The WSU starting backcourt has approximately 400 games of career college experience, almost every one with the three of them playing together.

Six-six sophomore forward Zach Brown and 6’8” sophomore forward/center Shaquille Morris start in Coach Gregg Marshall’s frontcourt. Brown and Morris both average about six and a half points per game and roughly three boards. Morris is the primary rim protection, leading the team in blocks; Brown has quick hands on defense in the paint, ranking third on the team in steals. Like most WSU players, they’re both very good offensive rebounders.

One of the most startling things about this year’s WSU team is the bench depth, primarily provided by newcomers. While Brown and Morris start in the frontcourt, a crop of young players shares time almost equally, and excels in bringing energy off the pine. Six-eight true freshman forward Markis McDuffie (8.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg) is going to be a star—not just in this league, at the national level. He plays fantastic defense, has guard-like hands and passing skills, and shoots well from all over the court. Another 6’8” true freshman, forward Eric Hamilton, has averaged 4.3 points while seeing time in 13 games. Connor Frankamp is a 6’1” sophomore transfer from Kansas who averages 6.9 points per game.

Six-seven forward Rashard Kelly is having a good sophomore season, averaging 3.7 points and 3.4 rebounds in 15 minutes per game. Graduate senior Anton Grady, a 6’8” forward transfer from Cleveland State leads the Shockers in rebounding off the bench at 5.0 per game, and also scores 7.4 ppg. And then there’s 6’1” freshman guard Ty Taylor II and 6’4” freshman guard Landry Shamet, who have both had impressive outings (although Shamet is out for the season with foot surgery). Returning players Bush Wamukota (a big 6’11” senior center), 6’10” sophomore center Rauno Nurger, and 6’6” junior forward Zach Bush are having trouble getting consistent minutes because of all the promising newcomers. Eight Shocker players have 50 rebounds or more; in WSU’s last outing against Bradley, 15 Shockers saw at least four minutes of court time and 14 players scored—and that’s with Shamet out for the season.

The Shockers have won nine straight, and except for a three-point home win against Evansville, they’ve won all their other games in that streak by between 16 and 34 points. Their last home loss was on senior night, February 27, 2013 against Evansville— just before making a Final Four run. Loyola would have to play its best game of the season, and the Shockers would have to play one of their worst for an upset to happen. Yet the same was true earlier this season, when the Ramblers won in Cedar Falls. Regardless of the outcome, a look at WSU’s new talent and another glimpse of Baker and Van Vleet playing together as their careers wind down is going to be interesting.

Loyola game notes: http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/loy ... 126aaa.pdf

Wichita State game notes: http://sidearm.sites.s3.amazonaws.com/w ... pdf?id=759

TV/Streaming video: CBS Sports Network

Vegas odds: Shockers by 20

That's an excellent preview of WSU. The only minor point I would make is that in spite of the size difference, Evan Wessel actually starts at the four, and Zach Brown at the three. And though it has nothing to do with tonight's game, many expect injured guard Landry Shamet to have a similar impact as Markis McDuffie during his career. And there's a chance he could return before the end of the season. We'll know more around mid-February.

I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir here, but I was expecting Loyola to be one of several teams who could challenge for that 2-3 spot in the conference if a few games fell right. Hopefully, Moser will get the ship righted, except of course, when you play WSU.

20 point spread? Wow. In four games since joining the conference, we have lost by 12, 14, 14, and 11. Maybe we are due for a beating, but I expect another decent game. Not to put too much pressure on the guy, but to me this game is all about Milt. Our only chance to win is for him to remain aggressive and make some shots. He has played much better the past three games, and he's got to keep it going and lead us. We're going to need more than just him, of course, but if he struggles against their very good defense, we will probably score in the 40s again.

The other key: can we somehow slow down Van Vleet?

In his last three games against us, he's shooting 78% from the field for 21 points per game, plus 6 assists.

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MBB Scholarship Chart

Great info but I do want to provide a few insights from a Shocker Fan. Zach Brown nearly exclusively plays the 3 and Wessel plays the 4. They started the year with Wessel at the 3, but its just not his strength. He actually does better when he's down low fighting for rebounds against bigger guys. He's not a major scoring threat, though if he does score its normally always a 3. You wont see him driving or getting FTs often. Brown on the other hand is extremely athletic and can score from anywhere. He hasn't been extremely confident this year but when he is, he's good. He's just very inconsistent.

Mcduffie generally comes in to play the 3 also, though we have been seeing him play the 4 more in the last few games and has been very effective. He's 6'8 but extremely quick. Generally Baker, Brown and McDuffie guard the other teams best small player. Its fun to watch McDuffie keep up with smaller guys like Balentine or Beane. He's still really raw and makes Freshmen mistakes. He's going to be a great player, but has a lot of work to do. He needs to bulk up a lot. His improved play is one of the reasons we have been able to make the run that we have the last 10 games or so.

You wont see Hamilton on the floor unless the game gets out of hand. He's extremely athletic (he was our dunk contest champion with a windmill dunk over WuShock), but he's young and gets sped up. He is definitely a "bull in the china closet" when he gets in. Frankamp you will see on the floor. He's a great shooter, but hasn't shot well yet, especially at home. He a reliable ball handler, that can make some good passes and you have to respect his shot. Even when his shot isnt falling, you have to account for him which opens up the floor for others.

Kelly is our 2nd team 4 man. He's a great rebounder and hustler. He has some good moves in the paint, but has trouble finishing. He's missed a TON of easy layups and even dunks this year. Once that comes to him, he will be a great player. Right now he just does a lot of everything else, but isn't a huge scoring threat. He will come flying in and make a highlight reel put back dunk, but then miss a layup on the next play. He CAN hit threes but isn't reliable out there. Grady is the other sub down low. He's good but inconsistent. He sometimes gives up silly fouls. He's great at getting position, and can make some good post moves, but seems to prefer the midrange jumper. Morris is by far our strongest and best big man. He just doesn't have the stamina to go for more than 20 min a game normally. You might see a little bit of Nurger, but he's mainly only used when the other 2 bigs are in foul trouble. You wont see Taylor, JR Simon (Walk On), or Zach Bush (Walk On) unless it gets out of hand. As you mentioned, Shamet is out (at least until mid February). It's disappointing because he was our most promising freshman. He was starting while Fred was out and was well ahead of McDuffie on the Freshmen depth charts at the beginning of the year.

The rotation you will see is
Both Guard Postions: Van Vleet, Baker, Frankamp
SF - Zach Brown, McDuffie
PF - Wessel, Kelly
C - Morris, Grady. Sometimes Nurger and Wamukota.

They stay pretty close to that, but have slid McDuffie down to 4 and played with 1- Van Vleet, 2- Frankamp, 3-Baker, 4-McDuffie, and 5 Morris/Grady/Kelly depending on the matchup.

I think it should be a fun game. I had high hopes for you guys at the beginning of the year. I'm not sure what's going on, but I hope the recent games start an upward trend for your team.

Thanks for the info from the Shocker fans!

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MBB Scholarship Chart

Thanks for the clarification by Shocker fans. Officially, Wessel is listed as a guard, and 81% of his shots come from beyond the arc. But a lot of his work is clearing space, getting tough rebounds, and playing inside as a 4-- he has a big upper body. His minutes are down a little this year because of the added depth in the frontcourt.

You are correct on all counts. He is a guard in build, but plays a forward game. He pulls defenders out to the 3 point line. He's not going to be a drive it to the hole and lay it in guy. He's taking the 3, getting a shot fake and taking a long 2, or he's getting a board and putting it back in. He's been losing time recently to McDuffie, who is really built and plays like a guard/small Forward (except for being 6'8). McDuffie can comfortably play and guard anywhere from the 2 to 4. Wessel is really only a 4. He can only do the 3 against certain matchups.

And Folks wonder WHY I have been negative lately !!! Well, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO should NEVER be 20 point dogs to anybody in college hoops --anybody !!

Having said this, Milt and the boys will do just fine--I do not believe they will be embarrassed as they have talent--just not as much and THAT , people , is all on PORTER and the Admin.
But our guys will offer a good game for sure.

Look at the bright side brot, that's 10 points better than Bradley was last week in Wichita.

Wessel hasn't been playing as many minutes but he still does the dirty work and makes hustle plays. Kelly has been getting a few more minutes lately at the 4 as well. McDuffie has played there some when we've been in foul trouble, but he's a natural wing. I also think the emergence of Shaq Morris being a more consistent and better conditioned player has effected Wessel's minutes. They don't play the same spot, but with Shaq playing 5 to 10 minutes more every game, and potentially more, it allows other post players to seek time at the 4 instead of having to fill in for an out of shape Shaq.

Personally, I can't wait until Eric Hamilton is unleashed. The kid has major potential if he can learn the game. And I can't wait to get Shamet back, be it in a couple of weeks or next year. He was easily our top FR this year.

I do hope you guys get things turned around. Just not tonight.

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The Roundhouse

Is it me or does Porter look like he's age ten years this year