Wichita State 66, Illinois State 47

[January 09, 2014]  WICHITA, Kan. — No. 6 Wichita State 66, Illinois State 47: Ron Baker and Cleanthony Early scored 11 points each and the Shockers remained unbeaten with a convincing win over the visiting Redbirds.

Fred VanVleet contributed six points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for Wichita State (16-0, 3-0 MVC), which entered the contest as one of five remaining undefeated teams in the country. Tekele Cotton and Chadrack Lufile chipped in eight points apiece as the Shockers extended their school-record winning streak to 16 games.

Bobby Hunter paced Illinois State (8-7, 1-2) with 11 points and Nick Zeisloft added nine. The Redbirds trailed by 13 after shooting 32.1 percent at the half and never threatened after the break.

VanVleet gave the Shockers a brief scare when he left the game briefly in the second half with an apparent knee injury, but returned after a quick trip to the locker room and hit two free throws to put Wichita State ahead 59-35 with a little more than 6 1/2 minutes remaining. The sophomore point guard did not commit a turnover and has 32 assists and two turnovers over his last six games.

Illinois State shot 32.7 percent from the field and failed to build on last Saturday's 18-point win over Southern Illinois. Ten different players scored for Wichita State, which shot 9-for-22 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Redbirds 44-37.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Wichita State has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against Illinois State. …The Redbirds opened the second half by missing 11 of their first 13 shots, including seven of their first eight from 3-point range. …. VanVleet has not committed a turnover in four straight games.

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.