Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet expects to play Tuesday at Tulsa

Wichita State’s All-American backcourt should be together again on Tuesday at Tulsa.

Senior Fred VanVleet practiced Monday afternoon and said he expects to play after injuries limited him to a brief appearance in Friday’s season-opener.

“I feel pretty good about going,” he said. “Expect to see me out there, and hopefully I can give our club a chance to win.”

VanVleet practiced Sunday afternoon, going about half the workout, and went a bit longer on Monday.

“That was an encouraging sign, having him go,” Marshall said before Monday’s practice. “That’s probably the most he’s participated in any game, scrimmage, practice in a long time.”

A strained left hamstring, suffered Oct. 31 in a closed scrimmage, sidelined VanVleet for most practice sessions and an exhibition win over Hawaii Pacific. A minor sprain to his right ankle ended his time in Friday’s opener against Charleston Southern after three minutes.

“I’m just trying to make small improvements every day,” he said. “It’s probably going to take a little while for me to get back to where I want to be.”

VanVleet worked in non-contact drills on Thursday before the opener, trying to recover from the strained hamstring. He wanted to play, in part to shake off rust before Tuesday’s game at Tulsa. When he landed on another’s player foot and limped to the bench, he decided to play it safe and not return.

“I argued and fought to even be out there in the first place,” he said. “When that happened, I kind of respectfully sat down and took a seat like I probably should have.”

Ninth-ranked WSU (1-0) will need VanVleet and backcourt partner Ron Baker against the Hurricane (1-0), which has every reason to approach Tuesday as a season-defining opportunity. On Monday afternoon, Tulsa coach Frank Haith sent a video message out on social media encouraging his fans to show up Tuesday. Saturday’s crowd of 3,839 fans created little atmosphere in the 8,355-seat Reyolds Center.

The Hurricane played in the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and the NIT last season. While Tulsa plays at Oklahoma State and could face Florida State or South Carolina in the Paradise Jam, none of those opponents offer the same potential NCAA-resume boost as the Shockers.

“They are very athletically gifted,” Marshall said. “It’s impressive how they run the court, rebound and jump around and dunk it in the basket.”

Tulsa returns all its starters and its roster contains nine seniors. Guards James Woodard and Shaquille Harrison (second team) are returning All-American Athletic Conference selections who scored 23 points (Woodard) and 22 (Harrison) in Saturday’s 98-81 win over Central Arkansas.

“Woodard is a dynamite shooter and Harrison is a high-wire act driving to the basket,” Marshall said. “It’s as good a guard combination as we’re going to see.”

Shockers up to No. 9 — Wichita State moved up one spot to No. 9 in Monday’s Associated Press top 25 college basketball poll.

The Shockers (1-0) are ranked in the AP poll for a 41st consecutive week, 18 of those in the top 10. It is the program’s longest streak of poll appearances.

WSU and No. 10 Gonzaga changed positions, the only moves in the top 10. Gonzaga’s opening game against Pittburgh was canceled because of slippery floor conditions in Japan. WSU has 1,043 points, three more than the Zags.

This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 2:33 PM with the headline "Wichita State’s Fred VanVleet expects to play Tuesday at Tulsa."