Preview: Wichita State at Illinois State

[February 14, 2015]  Wichita State is barreling toward another showdown with Northern Iowa in the regular-season finale but will first have to deal with three of the next four games on the road. That string begins on Saturday at Illinois State, which has dropped two in a row. The 13th-ranked Shockers had little trouble earning a third straight win against Indiana State on Wednesday, when Fred VanVleet continued his high level of play with 21 points.

VanVleet posted a triple-double in a win over Missouri State last weekend and was 8-of-14 from the field on Wednesday to reach double figures in scoring for the fourth time in the last five games. “All I know,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall told reporters, “is that when Fred plays well, we usually play well.” The Shockers can win games on the defensive end as well, and held the Redbirds to 36.5 percent from the field in a 70-62 win on Jan. 4.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT WICHITA STATE (22-3, 12-1 Missouri Valley Conference): The Shockers have held their last three opponents under 60 points and limited Indiana State to 34.8 percent from the field on Wednesday after limiting Missouri State to 25 percent while forcing a total of 31 turnovers over the two games. The defense on Wednesday helped cover for a rare off night for leading scorer Ron Baker, who was held to five points on 1-of-6 shooting. The star junior went 7-of-8 from the field en route to 15 points in the first meeting with the Redbirds.

ABOUT ILLINOIS STATE (15-10, 7-6): The Redbirds didn’t do the Shockers any favors by falling at Northern Iowa on Wednesday but have won four of their last five home games. Daishon Knight was the bright spot with 16 points in the 84-63 loss against UNI and caused plenty of problems for the Shockers with 24 points and six rebounds in the first meeting. The senior guard slumped to an average of 10.2 points in a five-game stretch before breaking out on Wednesday for his highest total since posting at least 20 points in three straight games from Jan. 14-20.

TIP-INS

1. Wichita State has taken six straight in the series.

2. Redbirds G DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell has hit multiple 3-pointers in back-to-back games for the first time this season.

3. Shockers F Darius Carter is 15-of-25 from the field in the last three games.

PREDICTION: Wichita State 71, Illinois State 65

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