Missouri State

Springfield, Missouri is a hospitable town on the edge of the scenic Ozarks, but it might as well be a wasteland for Wichita State.  The Shockers are only 6-20 all-time in southern Missouri as they look to bounce back from a loss at Drake last weekend. Cue music from the Twilight Zone--the last time that WSU lost back to back Valley games was January of 2009 when they lost road games at---Drake and Missouri State.   If you're looking for a common thread in the Shockers four losses, look no further than 20'6" away.  Wichita State is hitting just 25 percent of it's three-pouint shots in their four laosses.

Missouri State put together a five-run third inning and handed Wichita State its first shutout loss since early March with a 6-0 Bears' win Friday at Eck Stadium. The visiting Bears scored their six runs on 13 hits in front of a crowd of 3,275 to open a three-game Missouri Valley Conference series between the series. No. 29 Missouri State improved to 28-11 overall and 7-2 in conference play, while the Shockers fell to 23-18 overall and 5-5 in the MVC. Friday marked the first time since a 4-0 loss March 3 at Hawaii that Wichita State was shut out this season.

Kansas State fans have stepped up once again to ensure that Bill Snyder Family Stadium is packed with purple for the season opener as department officials announced today that all tickets to the September 1 Family Reunion matchup with Missouri State are sold out. The capacity crowd will be the ninth at Bill Snyder Family Stadium since the 2009 season and mark the fourth straight for a season-opener after also selling out the 2009 UMASS, 2010 UCLA...

Wichita State's seniors hit their free-throws down the stretch as the Shockers were able to hang on and beat Missouri State 74-67. The Shockers (19-4, 10-2) were led by Ben Smith and Garrett Stutz with 21 and 25 points respectively.  Stutz also added 11 rebounds to finish with the double-double, his 7th double-double of the season. Wichita State was in danger of losing the program's first back-to-back Missouri Valley games in three years; during that season the Shockers first lost to Drake then Missouri State.

A night of runs from both teams came out in the Shocker favor, Wednesday night. Wichita State went on a 13-0 run in the second half after the Bears broke out for a 19-0 run at the start of the second to win 62-52 in Springfield, Mo. Click here to view a photo gallery. Cleathony Early led the way with 17 points and 11 rebound for his second double double of the season. Carl Hall followed with 15 points in 33 minutes on the floor. Missouri State's and Wichita Heights product Gavin Thurman led all the scoring with 21 points.

22nd ranked Kansas State score 42 points in the second half to beat Missouri State 51-9 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium on Saturday night. After scoring just three field goals in the first half the Wildcats looked like a different team in the second.  Their 42 points included the 2nd longest touchdown run in Kansas State history, a 95-yard rushing touchdown by John Hubert.  That run is the longest touchdown run in the history of Bill Snyder Family...

Update: Carl Hall led the Shockers with 18 points while Ron Baker dropped in 15 in his first game back as Wichita State beat Missouri State 69 to 59 to advance to the semi-finals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.  The Shockers overcame an amazing performance by the Bears' Marcus Marshall who scored 25 points. Click here to read the post game comments Click here to see the final box score Wichita State pounded the boards and outrebounded Missouri State 43-24, including 18 offensive rebounds.  The Shocks also got 37 points off the bench to the Bears' 6.  Wichita State advances to face the winner of the Illinois State vs Northern Iowa game.  The Shockers' next game will be at 4:05 pm Saturday.

When 7-foot center Garrett Stutz was 4 of 20 from beyond the 3-point line this season, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall heard the criticism. "People argued he shouldn't be shooting 3s," Marshall said. "I told them it just wasn't a big enough sample size. " No one will be arguing after Wednesday night, when Stutz went 4 of 4 on 3-pointers attempts and scored 21 points to lead No. 24 Wichita State to its fifth straight victory, 73-58 over Missouri State. Stutz, who was 7 of 8 from the field and grabbed 10 rebounds, said his long-range shooting surprised him, too. "I was awful in warmups, honestly," he said.

Bradley outfield Mike Tauchman and Redbirds' ace Chris Razo highlight the 2013 MVC all-conference baseball teams, being tabbed Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Illinois State's Mark Kingston has been named the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year, after leading the Redbirds to their first outright regular-season title since in program history and the top seed in this week's MVC Baseball Championship. Tauchman is Bradley's second-ever Player of the Year, while Razo is the first-ever Redbird to be named Pitcher of the Year.

Kansas State head men's basketball coach Bruce Weber announced on Wednesday that Brad Korn is leaving the Wildcats program in order to take a job with the Missouri State Bears as an assistant coach. Here is the full press release from the university: Missouri State University men's basketball head coach Paul Lusk announced today (May 22) that Brad Korn will join his staff as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.  Korn, who has spent the last year as director of basketball operations at Kansas State, will begin his new role at MSU on June 3 . He replaces Patrick Baldwin who departed this spring for a coaching opportunity at Northwestern University, his alma mater, after two years with Lusk at Missouri State.

Wichita State is the 2012-13 Missouri Valley Conference all-sports champion. It marks the seventh crown in the past 10 years for Wichita State, which has a league best 19 all-time. WSU finished second in the all-sports trophy race in 2011-12. Wichita State finished in the Top 3 in 14 of the 15 sports it sponsors (with softball the lone exception). The Shockers won four team championships (women's basketball, women's indoor track & field, men's golf, and women's tennis) and finished second in eight others.

Bradley outfield Mike Tauchman and Redbirds' ace Chris Razo highlight the 2013 MVC all-conference baseball teams, being tabbed Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Illinois State's Mark Kingston has been named the Dan Callahan Coach of the Year, after leading the Redbirds to their first outright regular-season title since in program history and the top seed in this week's MVC Baseball Championship. Tauchman is Bradley's second-ever Player of the Year, while Razo is the first-ever Redbird to be named Pitcher of the Year.

“Everyone's been saying that we're completely healthy since Carl got back, but we still had our starting two guard and small forward on the sideline.  We haven't been healthy since the eighth game of the season.” Wichita State Head Coach Gregg Marshall after yesterday's win over Missouri State. Baker rising I think we understood that we would see Ron Baker yesterday. I'm not so sure I thought we would see him as much as we did against Missouri State.  His 19 minutes were his first since he played 29 at Tennessee in early December.  A stress fracture in his foot shut him down for twenty one games, nearly three months.  More amazing that the 15 points he had yesterday was his apparent game readiness.  Marshall used him in short bursts, but Baker never seemed gassed.  Afterward he admitted that he was playing on a lot of adrenaline, it'll be interesting to see if he can continue to play at such a high rate, especially in a format that has you playing every day.   Click here to see photos of the WSU v. MSU match up Click here to read postgame comments Use caution It should be noted that, while Baker's return yesterday gave the Shockers an increased vitality, any player looks better when they're hitting shots.  In his first ten games, Baker hit 32 percent of his three point attempts; against Missouri State he nailed three of five.  His 15 points were the most since he had 18 in the opener.  Still,...

Update: Carl Hall led the Shockers with 18 points while Ron Baker dropped in 15 in his first game back as Wichita State beat Missouri State 69 to 59 to advance to the semi-finals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament.  The Shockers overcame an amazing performance by the Bears' Marcus Marshall who scored 25 points. Click here to read the post game comments Click here to see the final box score Wichita State pounded the boards and outrebounded Missouri State 43-24, including 18 offensive rebounds.  The Shocks also got 37 points off the bench to the Bears' 6.  Wichita State advances to face the winner of the Illinois State vs Northern Iowa game.  The Shockers' next game will be at 4:05 pm Saturday.

The Shockers are in St.Louis preparing for their first game in this years Missouri Valley Conference.  They will play Friday at 6 p.m. against the winner of tonights game between Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The tournament is hosting a pre-tournament press conference.  Click here to watch live press conference from St. Louis Bruce Haertl is in St. Louis with the Shockers.  He'll have coverage of the team through the weekend.

If you call yourself a Shocker fan and you weren't nervous for Saturday's game vs. Missouri State, then you either have the highest optimism in the country or you were lying to yourself. Wichita State was down. They acted like someone kicked their cat. They had lost three straight games for the first time in four years. They were in desperate need of a win, and boy did they get one. Wichita State outshot, rebounded and outscored Missouri State for a 79-50 win at Koch Arena. Cleanthony Early led with 16 points off the bench and Malcom Armestead and Tekele Cotton combined for 20 points in a completely dominating win. It stopped the bleeding and improved their record to 20-5, but more importantly boosted their confidence.

A night of runs from both teams came out in the Shocker favor, Wednesday night. Wichita State went on a 13-0 run in the second half after the Bears broke out for a 19-0 run at the start of the second to win 62-52 in Springfield, Mo. Click here to view a photo gallery. Cleathony Early led the way with 17 points and 11 rebound for his second double double of the season. Carl Hall followed with 15 points in 33 minutes on the floor. Missouri State's and Wichita Heights product Gavin Thurman led all the scoring with 21 points.

Fort Hays State fell to 0-3 overall and 0-3 in the MIAA with a 48-10 loss at No. 13 Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. The Tigers produced their first points of the first quarter this season, pulling to within four at 7-3 early in the game, but the Bearcats scored 41 unanswered points before the Tigers scored their only touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter. The Tigers showed life early by driving the ball inside the Northwest Missouri 10-yardline following a touchdown drive by the Bearcats.