
Wichita State dominates Men's Basketball, 87-45
01/24/2017 | 9:07:00 | Men's Basketball
WICHITA, Kansas — Wichita State's deep and talented front court dominated the action from the opening tip during an 87-45 rout of Southern Illinois on Tuesday.
Markis McDuffie led the front-court onslaught with 20 points, while Darral Willis Jr. added 15 points and Shaquille Morris had 10. Forwards and centers accounted for a whopping 70 of the team's points, as the Shockers (18-4, 8-1) beat SIU for the eighth-straight time.
Wichita dominated just about every statistical category, such as rebounding (47-27), assists (21-3), points in the paint (44-16) and bench points (45-8).
For the Salukis (11-11, 4-5), it was the most lopsided loss in the Hinson era and third-worst in school history.
"We could have had Jesus on our squad tonight and I don't know if it would've mattered," head coach Barry Hinson said. "I know the Lord works miracles, but we would've needed a really big one tonight."
SIU has not won at Charles Koch Arena since 2011 and their chances in this one were hindered from the start by the absence of guards Sean Lloyd and Leo Vincent. Earlier in the day, the Department of Athletics announced it is conducting an administrative review concerning eligibility. The review should be completed within days, according to Hinson.
"Unequivocally, me nor my staff, and more importantly the two players, are in no way, shape or form at fault here," he said.
Southern hung around during the first eight minutes of the game, trailing 13-10 after Armon Fletcher hit a pull-up jumper.
"I thought in the first 10 minutes we executed about as well as we could execute offensively," Hinson said. "I thought we had good looks and just didn't make shots."
The game got away from SIU midway through the first half when its starting front line of Thik Bol, Sean O'Brien and Jonathan Wiley were all saddled with two fouls and seated on the bench. The Shockers blew the game open with a 26-7 run and led by 17 points at halftime.
It only got worse from there as the Shockers out-scored the Salukis by 25 in the second half. The crowd of 10,506 reached a crescendo when the burly Morris took his time before unleashing a 3-pointer that put WSU up, 77-38.
"We've had sizable leads at the half and haven't played well in the second half," Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall said. "You have to have that mindset that the game is still in doubt and not in hand, and go and play as well or better. We weren't equal, we were better in the second half."
The Salukis connected on just 27 percent of their shots — the program's worst mark since 2011. They made just 1-of-12 from 3-point. O'Brien was the team's most effective weapon with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
"I thought Sean gave us everything he had," Hinson said.
The team's leading scorer on the road this season has been Mike Rodriguez, but he was a focal point of Wichita's defense. Conner Frankamp hounded his every move. The 5-foot-10 senior finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Wichita used 16 players in the game. The Shockers seemed able to run fresh bodies at will with no drop off in play.
"We're blessed with team-first guys," Marshall said. "They know they're going to play, they're going to sit for a while, and they're going to play again. When they're sitting, they're cheering for the guys who are playing their position — it's amazing."
Markis McDuffie led the front-court onslaught with 20 points, while Darral Willis Jr. added 15 points and Shaquille Morris had 10. Forwards and centers accounted for a whopping 70 of the team's points, as the Shockers (18-4, 8-1) beat SIU for the eighth-straight time.
Wichita dominated just about every statistical category, such as rebounding (47-27), assists (21-3), points in the paint (44-16) and bench points (45-8).
For the Salukis (11-11, 4-5), it was the most lopsided loss in the Hinson era and third-worst in school history.
"We could have had Jesus on our squad tonight and I don't know if it would've mattered," head coach Barry Hinson said. "I know the Lord works miracles, but we would've needed a really big one tonight."
SIU has not won at Charles Koch Arena since 2011 and their chances in this one were hindered from the start by the absence of guards Sean Lloyd and Leo Vincent. Earlier in the day, the Department of Athletics announced it is conducting an administrative review concerning eligibility. The review should be completed within days, according to Hinson.
"Unequivocally, me nor my staff, and more importantly the two players, are in no way, shape or form at fault here," he said.
Southern hung around during the first eight minutes of the game, trailing 13-10 after Armon Fletcher hit a pull-up jumper.
"I thought in the first 10 minutes we executed about as well as we could execute offensively," Hinson said. "I thought we had good looks and just didn't make shots."
The game got away from SIU midway through the first half when its starting front line of Thik Bol, Sean O'Brien and Jonathan Wiley were all saddled with two fouls and seated on the bench. The Shockers blew the game open with a 26-7 run and led by 17 points at halftime.
It only got worse from there as the Shockers out-scored the Salukis by 25 in the second half. The crowd of 10,506 reached a crescendo when the burly Morris took his time before unleashing a 3-pointer that put WSU up, 77-38.
"We've had sizable leads at the half and haven't played well in the second half," Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall said. "You have to have that mindset that the game is still in doubt and not in hand, and go and play as well or better. We weren't equal, we were better in the second half."
The Salukis connected on just 27 percent of their shots — the program's worst mark since 2011. They made just 1-of-12 from 3-point. O'Brien was the team's most effective weapon with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting.
"I thought Sean gave us everything he had," Hinson said.
The team's leading scorer on the road this season has been Mike Rodriguez, but he was a focal point of Wichita's defense. Conner Frankamp hounded his every move. The 5-foot-10 senior finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting.
Wichita used 16 players in the game. The Shockers seemed able to run fresh bodies at will with no drop off in play.
"We're blessed with team-first guys," Marshall said. "They know they're going to play, they're going to sit for a while, and they're going to play again. When they're sitting, they're cheering for the guys who are playing their position — it's amazing."
Team Stats
SIU
WSU
FG%
.278
.561
3FG%
.083
.474
FT%
.609
.700
RB
27
47
TO
13
13
STL
7
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Players Mentioned
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