Missouri State

Wichita native David Arkin was selected in the 4th round of the NFL draft by the Dallas Cowboys. Arkin started all 44 games in college for Missouri State. Dallas picked the offensive lineman with the 110th overall pick. In high school Arkin was a consensus Kansas all-state performer for Kapaun Mt. Carmel High. He also earned a selection in the 2006 Kansas Shrine Bowl All-Star game.  

Hunter Sparks capped a consistently excellent performance at the 2012 State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship with a third round 73 to capture medalist honors and help the Wichita State University men's golf team to a fifth straight Valley title. The Shockers topped the field with a three round total 288-293-296=877, besting Missouri State by 18 strokes at Prairie Dunes Country Club. Sparks carded a 7-over (72-72-73=217) to edge Evansville's Andrew Luo by a single stroke.

Hunting a championship. Wichita State can clinch no worse than a share of the Missouri Valley Conference title with a win over Missouri State tonight at Koch Arena. You have to love the irony, as it was Missouri State that beat the Shockers on the final day of last season in Springfield, Mo for the championship. It's been a heady week for the Shockers who received their first national ranking in five and a half years, but that should only be the beginning. Yes, WSU is hunting a conference title-- but they're also trying to put themselves in the best position possible for 'Selection Sunday'.

The Wichita State Shockers are the #2 seed in this year's Missouri Valley baseball tournament.  The Shockers will play No. 7 Evansville in the 12:30 game next Tuesday in Omaha. The Creighton Blue Jays defeated Missouri State 3-1 this afternoon to earn the top seed in this year's Valley Tournament. Some good news for the Shockers is that Tim Kelley threw a full bull-pen session last week and will be available for a couple of innings during next week's tournament.

Wichita Heights' senior Gavin Thurman has made a verbal commitment to sign a letter of intent with Missouri State.  Heights head coach Joe Auer made the announcement Sunday night. Thurman originally went to Heights but then transferred to play his sophomore and junior seasons at Wichita Southeast.  Thurman averaged 19 points per game as a junior. He also earned first team all conference, all metro and 2 nd team all state honors as a junior. Thurman has a shot to be a part of a state championship team this year with the Falcons who have won 3 straight 6A state titles.

Ben McLemore had nine points, 12 rebounds and five assists in his Kansas debut, and the seventh-ranked Jayhawks pulled away from pesky Southeast Missouri State for a 74-55 season-opening victory Friday night. Jeff Withey finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Perry Ellis added 15 points and eight boards for the Jayhawks, who have won 40 straight season openers at Allen Fieldhouse. This one was a bit tougher than expected. The Redhawks managed to close within six midway through the second half, but Kansas slowly extended the lead behind its slew of freshmen to put the game away.

It wasn't the blow-out Kansas fans have come to expect for exhibition games but it was still a double-digit win for the Jayhawks.  On Monday night, Kansas beat Washburn 62-50 in the team's final exhibition game of the season. Ben McLemore led the 'Hawks in scoring with 17 points while former Wichita Heights Falcon Perry Ellis dropped in 10 points and grabbed 5 rebounds. The offense struggled at times for Kansas and only three players scored in double-digits for the Jayhawks; Elijah Johnson scored 13 points.

Wichita State was able to snap a 2-game home losing streak tonight, beating Creighton 67 to 65 at Koch Arena.  Aaron Ellis' bank shot with 3 seconds to play gave Wichita State the edge to win. While perfect on the road this season, Wichita State has been shaky at best at home but was able to send their seniors out on a high note. J.T. Durley led the Shockers in scoring with 16 while Joe Ragland continued his hot shooting streak dropping in 14 for Wichita State.

The first thing you notice about the Kansas basketball team this year is that it's big. Not in height, though 7-footer Jeff Withey stands out, but in numbers. There are a lot of players on the roster this season, 17 to be exact, and for the most part they land on the extremes of experience. The main contributors will be either seniors who were part of a national title run last season or wide-eyed freshmen who watched the Final Four from afar. The Jayhawks get on the court for the annual "Late Night in the Phog" on Friday night.

For the first time in 35 years, the Shockers will miss out on the NCAA Regional Field for three straight years. Wichita State was left out of the 64 team field Monday morning by the NCAA Committee. The Missouri Valley Conference received three bids to the tournament; Missouri State, Indiana State received at-large bids while Creighton earned their spot by winning the Valley Tournament. WSU finished the season 35-25 with an RPI of 43 and a Strength of Schedule of 35. But they lost the first two game of the Valley Tournament last week and that certainly washed out many hopes of making the post season.