Wichita State Shockers

Shocker report: Wichita State 68, Illinois State 62


Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet pushes back Illinois State’s Paris Lee on Saturday in Normal, Ill.
Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet pushes back Illinois State’s Paris Lee on Saturday in Normal, Ill. Associated Press

Saturday’s box score

No. 15 WSU 68, Illinois St. 62

WICHITA ST.

Min

FG-A

FT-A

OR-TR

A

PF

PT

Wessel

34

3-6

4-4

0-4

1

1

12

Carter

30

3-7

1-1

2-5

0

3

7

VanVleet

36

3-11

9-13

2-6

3

1

15

Baker

30

5-12

7-7

3-3

1

4

19

Cotton

37

3-10

2-2

3-10

1

1

9

Kelly

14

1-2

2-3

2-3

1

2

4

Henderson Jr

1

0-1

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Morris

17

0-0

2-2

2-5

0

2

2

Glass

1

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Totals

200

18-49

27-32

16-40

7

14

68

Percentages: FG .367, FT .844. 3-Point Goals: 5-19, .263 (Wessel 2-5, Baker 2-6, Cotton 1-3, Henderson Jr. 0-1, VanVleet 0-4). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 2 (Morris, Baker). Turnovers: 14 (Morris 3, VanVleet 2, Kelly 2, Cotton 2, Carter 2, Henderson Jr., Wessel). Steals: 3 (Cotton, VanVleet, Baker). Technical Fouls: Kelly.

ILLINOIS ST.

Min

FG-A

FT-A

OR-TR

A

PF

PT

Lee

30

2-7

0-0

0-1

3

4

5

Knight

30

0-8

0-0

0-3

7

4

0

Lynch

23

4-7

2-2

4-8

0

5

10

Hawkins

21

2-5

1-2

0-1

0

0

6

Akoon-Purcell

27

5-10

5-8

0-1

0

3

18

Hunter

20

2-4

0-0

0-0

1

2

4

Jones

14

3-4

2-3

2-3

0

1

8

McIntosh

19

3-6

3-3

0-3

0

3

9

Wills

13

1-2

0-0

0-1

0

2

2

Ransom

4

0-0

0-0

0-0

0

0

0

Totals

201

22-53

13-18

9-26

11

24

62

Percentages: FG .415, FT .722. 3-Point Goals: 5-19, .263 (Akoon-Purcell 3-4, Lee 1-3, Hawkins 1-4, McIntosh 0-1, Hunter 0-2, Knight 0-5). Team Rebounds: 5. Blocked Shots: 3 (Lynch 2, McIntosh). Turnovers: 12 (Knight 3, Lee 2, Akoon-Purcell 2, Lynch 2, Jones 2, Hunter). Steals: 5 (Lynch 2, Akoon-Purcell, Jones, Hunter). Technical Fouls: None.

Wichita St.

27

41

68

Illinois St.

21

41

62

A—9,345. Officials—Don Daily, Terry Davis, Jeff Malham.

Tough landing for VanVleet

Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet plans to play Tuesday at Southern Illinois, even if his coach sounded worried after the game.

VanVleet landed on the foot of Illinois State guard Paris Lee in the first half. He came out of the game and limped to the bench after leaping high to grab a pass and landing in a heap. He grabbed his right ankle and winced before slowly leaving the court. After a quick checkup on the bench, he came back in less than a minute later.

“I came down on one foot and I think the other foot came down on top of his,” VanVleet said. “Then in the second half, I got pushed down and I think my foot hit someone else’s foot. Once you hit it once, it’s kind of a magnet.”

VanVleet expressed no reservations about the quick turnaround at SIU.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I’ve got to play.”

WSU coach Gregg Marshall will wait to see how much swelling affects the ankle before feeling confident.

“I hope that ankle is not too swollen,” he said. “He rolls it pretty hard. All that weight is on that ankle. He turns it, but he comes back and plays. Most guys would not.”

Stop right there

Wichita State freshman Rashard Kelly took over for senior Tekele Cotton in the category of spectacular dunk at Redbird Arena.

Kelly, however, spoiled his moment with a technical foul when he celebrated too enthusiastically. He converted a three-point play. Illinois State got two free throws. Instead of leading 56-51 with 4:52 to play, WSU led 56-53.

Kelly’s dunk answered one by Illinois State’s Reggie Lynch.

“They crush it on us,” Marshall said. “Then we come back down in transition and crush it on them. Unfortunately, he growls toward the crowd, and (referee) Don Daily pops him. Immature move on his part. We’ll deal with it.”

WSU, ultimately, won the exchange because Lynch fouled out trying to block Kelly’s two-handed slam.

Right state for VanVleet

VanVleet encountered the usual media attention from Rockford, Ill., his hometown. He’s popular for many reasons, and winning is one of them.

He improved to 21-1 against schools from his home state and 9-1 within the borders. His lone loss came at Southern Illinois as a freshman.

In seven games as a starter, he is 28 of 51 from the field, 7 of 16 on three-pointers and 32 of 37 from the line.

Worth noting

Illinois State guard Daishon Knight, who scored 24 points in the first meeting, missed all eight of his shots and went scoreless … Wichita State freshman Zach Brown missed his third game with a concussion … Illinois State outscored WSU’s bench 23-6. Kelly scored four of WSU’s bench points … WSU extended its series lead to 40-37. The Shockers trail 17-10 at Redbird Arena.

Paul Suellentrop

This story was originally published February 15, 2015 at 7:04 AM with the headline "Shocker report: Wichita State 68, Illinois State 62."

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