(WICHITA, Kan.)—
Wichita State at Illinois State:As the second season gets ready to start, the Shockers look to close out the first in grand fashion today. A win at Illinois State would give WSU the Missouri Valley Conference title outright. At a time when so much hype is swirling around the program--keeping its eye on the prize is key. Focus, or the lack thereof, hasn't been an issue with this team and it's hard to imagine it would be tonight--but Illinois State is capable.
The Redbirds still hold out hopes of finishing third in the Valley and are 14-2 this season at home. Wichita State lead Illinois State by as many as 19 in Koch Arena on January 10th, before finally holding them off 65-62. 'Birds coach Tim Jankovich, who assisted under Bill Self at KU and before that was head coach at Hutchinson CC, has a team that's built for the future. On his team's Senior Night there are exactly no seniors on his roster. Look for Illinois State to be picked top three in the Valley next year--how that helps them tonight remains to be seen.
It's hard to imagine a team playing any better than the Shockers, over their last four games they've hit better than 60 percent of their shots--go back ten games and they're hitting well over 50 percent. No one exemplifies the 'Shocker heat' better than Joe Raglund. After going 1-7 at Northern Iowa on January 18th, the senior point guard has hit 60 percent of his shots in the ten games since. That's a remarkable stat when you consider where Raglund plays. Sure, he gets to the basket a lot, especially in transition, but he's also hit 56 percent of his three-point attempts during that stretch. Considering that he's averaged over 18 points in February--Raglund makes you anxious to see what March brings.
Just for the fun of it--one man's opinion on all-MVC first team:
Garrett Stutz, WSU
Joe Raglund, WSU
Greg McDermott, Creighton
Kyle Weems, Missouri State
Colt Ryan, Evansville
Ryan's the guy you could argue with, but his 45 at Creighton last night should give him the nod over Illinois State's Jackie Carmichael and Toure Murry of WSU. By the way, the game is in high definition on Cox for the first time tonight. Tune in at 7:00pm on channel 2022 to see just how old I really look.
Kansas at Texas A&M:
Thanks to K-State some of the luster is off Missouri's final trip into Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. Not that KU won't take it--KSU's win at Mizzou last night puts the Jayhawks on the inside track to their eighth straight Big 12 championship. Consider that for a moment--WSU is trying to clinch its seventh MVC title since the end of World War II--Kansas has won that many conference championships in a row--remarkable.
Bouyed by a one game lead with four to play, the Jayhawks head to Texas A&M to play the offensively challenged Aggies. A&M will defend, they held the 'Hawks to their lowest home point total of the season in a 64-54 loss on January 23rd, but they've struggled to score all season which is one of the reasos they're just 13-13. It's been a bust of a season for rookie coach Billy Kennedy, who wrestles with health problems while learning the ropes in the rugged Big 12. Texas A&M was picked first in the conference, but are struggling to stay out of last. Kansas has won seven straight against the Aggies and are 18-1 all-time against them--including a perfect 5-0 record in College Station. Don't expect Kansas to struggle tonight, especially since their path to another conference title has unexpectedly been cleared.
