Tonight at 8:05 p.m. ET the No. 5 Wichita State Shockers (19-0, 6-0 MVC) will try to continue proving their 2012-2013 Final Four run was no fluke by remaining undefeated against the Illinois State Redbirds (1-7, 4-2 MVC). Live stream the game free by clicking this link. Wichita State fans can listen to the action on KNSS News Radio 1330, while Illinois State fans may turn their dials to WJBC 1230 AM.
The Shockers are on the verge of becoming just the 11th team in NCAA history to start a season 20-0, and are coming off one of their best games of the season, a 68-48 pounding of Indiana State.
"To beat the No. 2 team in the league like that, it's a statement in itself," guard Ron Baker, Wichita State's second-leading scorer said. "But we're the kind of team that's going to worry about the next game and getting better anyway."
The key to Wichita State's success is a stingy defense that is allowing just 60.1 points per game, good for 13th in the nation. That defense helped the Shockers whip the Redbirds in their first meeting of the season. In that game Illinois State shot a paltry 32.7 percent from the field, and scored their lowest total all year.
"We just forced some bad shots," Illinois State coach Dan Muller said. "Now they make you force bad shots because they're so solid and tough on the defensive end but our shot selection wasn't great."
Wichita State isn't looking past this game though on the road to 20-0, because their head coach is drilling them to recognize every away game as a threat.
"It's very difficult to win on the road in college basketball, as people know," coach Gregg Marshall said. "But somehow we've discovered a pretty good formula to have success on the road so we just have to keep it up."
© Copyright 2024 Sports World News, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
