Wichita State Shockers Soar Past Golden Eagles
By Eric Hogan
Wichita State put together a solid effort & defeated a quality opponent in Marquette in the Maui Invitational semi-final game.
The Shockers will now face a tougher challenge, playing the winner of LSU & #13 Notre Dame for preseason bragging rights and the chance to take home the Wayne Duke Championship Trophy. This will be the first time the Shockers have made it to the tournament final, and their opponent will be determined tonight at 9:30 central on ESPN.
The bulk of Marquette’s scoring came from just two players, who combined for 51 of the 66 points scored for the Golden Eagles. Wichita State’s defense slowed Andrew Rousey down, who went just 9-22 from the field and 4-12 from behind the stripe. Markus Howard was slightly better, going 9-18 from the field & 3-10 from behind the arch. The Shocker team effort on defense shut down the rest of the Eagle attack, with the rest of the team combining for just 15 points.
Rashard Kelly stood out for the Shockers today, pulling 10 boards & adding 8 assists to go with his 6 points and 3 blocked shots. Austin Reaves also showed what he is capable of, going 5-7 from the field and pulling 8 defensive rebounds to go along with his 10 points.
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Landry Shamet & Conner Frankamp both hit threes to extend their streak of games with a made three pointer. Landry was again outstanding, compiling 19 points while adding 4 assists and pulling 7 defensive rebounds. Frankamp rebounded quickly (pun intended) from a poor game yesterday, as he scored 13 points and knocked down a trio of big 3 pointers.
The Shockers went with a smaller lineup today and as a result, the bigs were not as much as a factor today on the offensive end. Center Shaq Morris was the only big man to score in double figures putting up 11, while Nurger & Willis combined for 16 points and just 6 rebounds.
Overall Wichita State looked like the team the Shocker Faithful has come to love, and the score did not represent how close the game really was. The Shockers now move to 4-0 on the season and will face their toughest test to date: The winner of LSU & #13 Notre Dame.
This upcoming game could mean a lot for seeding come March, as WSU has failed to win many of the big early season clashes in the past. Be sure to check back here at KC Kingdom for a game recap first thing Thanksgiving morning!