2011 Missouri Valley Conference Basketball

Wichita State Shockers @ Northern Iowa Panthers Basketball Recap

Wichita State 73, Northern Iowa 55

As the NCAA Tournament bubble remains appallingly weak, perhaps the Missouri Valley Conference might get an at-large team into the Big Dance after all. No, the resumes of the league’s foremost teams should not be viewed as worthy of Bracketville, but since no one else around the United States is making a legitimate move in the pursuit of a tourney ticket, a club from the state of Kansas has to be asking, “Why not us? Why not now?”

Indeed, maybe the Wichita State Shockers can crash the field of 68 without winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. If they keep taking care of business they way they did this past Saturday on the road, they might be okay when March 13 comes across the calendar.

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Wichita State had seen an eight point halftime lead go up to 10 and then brought down to three at 50-47 with 10:19 left in the game. In need of a spark to down the Panthers, the Shockers got exactly that. Graham Hatch scored three of his 13 points on a three-pointer with 10:09 left, sparking Wichita State on a 23-1 run over the next 8:15. When it was all said and done, the Shockers owned a 73-48 lead over Northern Iowa with two minutes left and were well on their way to another win in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Toure Murray had 15 points to pace the Shockers, and J.T. Durley and Ben Smith each added 10. The Panthers got 15 from Kwadzo Ahelegbe and 10 from Johnny Moran in what is their third straight loss. The Shockers were coming off of a home loss to Southern Illinois, their third loss at home this season. After going 17-0 at home last year, the home struggles this year have been disappointing to head coach Gregg Marshall and his team.

The Shockers were evidently jolted awake, though, against UNI, the darling of last year’s Big Dance. Wichita played like it was very much at home at the McLeod Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Saturday. WSU seized an early lead and always stayed a few points ahead of the Panthers. In the process, the Shockers picked up some revenge for one of their home losses, a 77-74 loss at the hands of these very same Panthers. The Shockers improved to 7-0 on the road in conference games, with each victory coming by a double-digit spread.

The Shockers shot 57.7 percent from the field, while holding the Panthers to 31 percent from the floor. That’s not the type of offensive performance Panther head coach Ben Jacobson was looking for with his team trying to get closer to Wichita State and fellow Valley leader Missouri State.

Then again, the pattern of Missouri Valley cannibalism – in which each competitor eats the other alive – is diminishing and giving way to a strong top two. Maybe Wichita State or Missouri State will still snag an at-large bid before this college basketball season is through.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer