It was the Sycamores penetration on offense and their zone defense that stymied the Shockers in the first matchup of these two teams this season. Indiana State is 13-2 this season when holding opponents to 63 points or less.
The Shockers have won 8 of the last 10 against the Sycamores and still hold one of the best road records in the nation over the last three years. A win for the Sycamores tonight would give Indiana State a season sweep of the Shockers for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Wichita State is coming off a three-game winning streak including a tense 68-67 victory over Illinois State in Normal on Sunday night. Cleanthony Early hit the game-winning three against the Redbirds while Malcolm Armstead paced the Shockers with 18 points.
Early and Demetric Williams led the Shockers in scoring against Indiana State earlier this season with 15 and 14 points respectively. Early recorded a double-double in that game adding 11 rebounds. The big problem for Wichita State in that game was the inability to work the ball inside to Carl Hall. Hall took just 2 shots trom the field and 2 free throws. The Shocks were a putrid 27.1% from the field in their loss to Indiana State and just over 32% from three-point range; they made just 9 of their 28 three-point attempts.
Tonight's game will tip off at 6 pm on ESPN3.
