Wichita State Shockers
Missouri Valley (26-8, 12-6)
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Wichita State got off to a great start, but injuries and inconsistent offense caught up to the Shockers during Missouri Valley Conference play. Ron Baker started the first ten games of the season before suffering a foot injury and Evan Wessel went down with a finger injury after earning eight starts early in the year. Baker is back now, yet all of the lineup changes have created consistency problems for Coach Gregg Marshall.
Big Wins: 11/13 at VCU (53-51), 11/21 vs Iowa (75-63), 1/19 Creighton (67-64)
Bad Losses: 1/13 at Evansville (67-71), 2/5 at Southern Illinois (62-64), 2/27 Evansville (56-59)
Coach: Gregg Marshall (6 seasons at Wichita State)
Why They Can Surprise:
The positive spin on the injuries is the fact that a dozen players have made major contributions during the 2012-2013 campaign at one point or another. That leaves a lot of potential depth for Coach Marshall to work with. The depth and talent in the frontcourt leads the way. Cleanthony Early has emerged from the junior college ranks as a great all-around forward. He is a fine defender and a dynamic scorer who can get the job done inside and out. Carl Hall is the other major scoring threat for the Shockers. The 6-8 senior is a more traditional interior scorer. Hall is also a tough rebounder and a very good shot blocker. Speaking of rebounding and shot blocking, Ehimen Orukpe has had a great senior season. Orukpe, a 7-0 center, is a major force on the defensive end and scoring against Wichita State is extremely difficult when Early, Hall or Orukpe are on the floor. This is a team that wins games with defense, which is mostly spurred by the frontcourt.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The backcourt plays good defense too, yet the shooting woes have been tough to swallow at times. Malcolm Armstead, Demetric Williams, Tekele Cotton and Nick Wiggins are not afraid to shoot, but there are many times when their shots are just not falling. The result has been long stretches of inefficient offense. During a three game losing streak stretching from late January to early February, the Shockers scored 55 points, 52 points and 62 points. Wichita State was able to stay close in those games because of the defense, yet the offense failed to make an impact when the team needed a big bucket. That is not going to be good enough in March and Shocker fans will have to hope one of the guards gets hot at the right time.
Probable Starters:
Malcolm Armstead, Senior, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 4.0 apg
Demetric Williams, Senior, Guard, 8.3 ppg, 2.4 apg
Ron Baker, Freshman, Guard, 7.8 ppg, 1.7 apg
Cleanthony Early, Junior, Forward, 13.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg
Carl Hall, Senior, Forward, 12.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Key Roleplayers:
Tekele Cotton, Sophomore, Guard, 6.3 ppg, 1.7 apg
Ehimen Orukpe, Senior, Center, 2.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Fred Van Vleet, Freshman, Guard, 3.9 ppg, 2.3 apg
Jake White, Sophomore, Forward, 3.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg
Nick Wiggins, Sophomore, Guard, 5.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 69.4 (122nd in nation, 4th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 60.7 (42, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.3 (118, 5)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.0 (52, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.6 (122, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.7 (178, 6)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.8 (194, 8)
Rebound Margin: 8.4 (7, 1)
Assists Per Game: 13.8 (113, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (127, 7)
Last Five Postseason Appearances:
2012 NCAA Round of 64 loss to VCU
2011 NIT First Round win over Nebraska
2011 NIT Second Round win over Virginia Tech
2011 NIT Quarterfinal win over College of Charleston
2011 NIT Semifinal win over Washington State
2011 NIT Final win over Alabama
2010 NIT First Round loss to Nevada
2009 CBI First Round win over Buffalo
2009 CBI Second Round loss to Stanford
2006 NCAA Round of 64 win over Seton Hall
2006 NCAA Round of 32 win over Tennessee
2006 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to George Mason
*all team stats through 3/10
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
