National Basketball Association
Wichita St. 68, Illinois St. 55
When: 8:05 PM ET, Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Where: Redbird Arena, Normal, Illinois
Officials:
# Jeff Campbell, # Hal Lusk, # Zelton Steed
Attendance:
4573
By SportsDirect Inc.
WICHITA STATE 68, ILLINOIS STATE 55: Joe Ragland scored 14 points and Garrett Stutz had 12 points and 14 rebounds as the No. 19 Shockers clinched their first Missouri Valley Conference regular season title since 2006.
Demetric Williams and Ben Smith each added 11 points for visiting Wichita State (25-4, 15-2 MVC), which has won seven straight and 23 of 25. The Shockers are the No. 1 seed in next month’s conference tournament and a lock to reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years.
Wichita State never trailed. The Shockers scored 17 of the first 23 points en route to their sixth straight win over the Redbirds and their 10th win in 11 road games this season.
Bryant Allen scored 17 points for Illinois State (17-12, 8-9), which ran out of gas while trying to overcome a big deficit against the Shockers for the second time this season. The Redbirds cut a 17-point deficit to nine with 3:45 to play, but couldn’t get closer.
Wichita State took control by hitting eight of its first 10 shots. Illinois State rallied, but Williams scored six points during a 10-2 run that gave the Shockers a 34-22 lead heading into intermission. The Redbirds never got closer than seven points.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Shockers, who shot 80 percent in the second half in Saturday’s victory over Davidson, hit their first six shots. … Illinois hasn’t beaten Wichita State since 2009. ... The Redbirds fell behind 22-5 in a 65-62 loss to the Shockers on Jan. 10.
Top Game Performances
| Wichita St. |
|
Illinois St. |
|
Joe Ragland 14 |
Scoring |
Bryant Allen 17 |
|
Joe Ragland 4 |
Assists |
Nic Moore 4 |
|
Garrett Stutz 14 |
Rebounds |
John Wilkins 8 |
|
Ben Smith 2 |
Free Throws Made |
Tyler Brown 2 |
|
David Kyles 2 |
Steals |
Bryant Allen 2 |
|
Toure' Murry 1 |
Blocks |
Jon Ekey 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Wichita St.
|
68 |
47.3 |
10-23 |
6-8 |
15 |
31 |
2 |
9 |
14 |
| Illinois St.
|
55 |
37.7 |
6-15 |
9-14 |
9 |
31 |
3 |
7 |
13 |
For more information, contact us