Spartans Travel To Midwest To Battle Shockers
12/4/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2009
Spartanburg, S.C. - Upstate begins the month of December on the road in the heart of the country as the Spartans make the trek to Wichita, Kan., to take on Wichita State Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. CST, 8:00 p.m. EST. The meeting will be the first between the two schools. Upstate enters the game with a 1-5 record, coming off its top performance of the year in a 22-point victory, 78-56, over Stetson in the Spartans' A-Sun opener. Upstate had two players reach double figures in the game and had four other players score at least eight points in a balanced offensive attack. Upstate will need all of its offensive talents against Wichita State Saturday. The Shockers enter the game with a 6-1 record, having dispatched of Texas Southern, 72-43, Thursday night.
Fans not in attendance at the game can listen to the action live for a free, featuring play-by-play by Scott Larson, by visiting the official Upstate Athletics Web site, www.upstatespartans.com. Fans can watch the action live for a fee online via Wichita State's official Athletics Web site at www.goshokcers.com.
Looking Back At Stetson
Upstate never trailed in the game as the Spartans used a 20-0 spurt late in the second half to turn a four-point lead into a comfortable 24-point cushion, taking a 78-56 victory over Stetson the A-Sun opener for both teams Monday night in the Hodge Center. The Spartans held a 13-point lead at halftime and looked to hold onto the lead with ease in the second half. However, Stetson methodically whittled away at the lead and cut the deficit to four points around the 10-minute mark. That's when Upstate, spurred by the play of center Nick Schneiders, went on its 20-0 spurt to open a 24-point lead with a little less than two minutes to play in the game. Schneiders finished the game with 17 points and eight rebounds to help the Spartans' cause. Josh Chavis added a game-high 18 points, two off his career high, with four three-pointers to lead Upstate. Sharod Minus added a career-high eight points, while Mezie Uochukwu added a solid seven points, six rebounds and two assists. Carter Cook and Pat Posey each added nine in a balanced scoring attack for the Spartans.
Scouting Wichita State
Wichita State enters Saturday's game against USC Upstate with a 6-1 record after its 74-43 victory over Texas Southern Thursday night. The Shockers have won four straight games, dispatching of Iowa, Cleveland State and Alcorn State prior to the win over Texas Southern. Wichita State opened the season with back-to-back victories over Fairleigh Dickinson and Arkansas-Monticello before suffering its only loss of the year in a 68-55 battle against Pittsburgh.
Wichita State is a strong offensive squad. The Shockers average 74 points a game while using solid defense to hold opponents under 60 points a contest at 55.4 ppg. Four Shockers average in double figures. Toure' Murry leads the way with 14.7 ppg and leads the Shockers with 6.1 rebounds per outing. He also tops the club with 23 assists and 14 steals on the year.
In addition to Murry, Garrett Stutz, JT Durley and Clevin Hannah have also posted double figure scoring averages. Stutz and Durley each score at a 10.1 ppg clip, while Hannah averages 10 ppg.
As a team, Wichita State shoots the ball well, hitting 47 percent of its shots from the field. The Shockers are also solid from behind the three-point arc, hitting 37.8 percent of its tries from downtown. At 72.7 percent, the Shockers are also solid from the free throw line. Defensively, Wichita State holds opponents to 40.2 percent shooting from the field and 31.1 percent from behind the arc.
Wichita State, like Upstate, likes to play a lot of players. Ten Shockers average at least 10 minutes per game. Six players average 20 or more minutes per contest.
Gregg Marshall, no stranger to college basketball in South Carolina, is in his third season at the helm of the Wichita State program. He owns a 228-121 career record in 12 seasons as a head coach on the college level. He led Wichita State to a postseason appearance last year, advancing to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational. Prior to his stint at Wichita State, Marshall served as head coach at Winthrop, building the Eagles into a national contender. He coached Winthrop to seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament in nine seasons at the helm of the program. Prior to starting and building his head coaching career at Winthrop, he served as an assistant coach at Marshall, College of Charleston, Belmont Abbey and Randolph-Macon.
It's A Balancing Act
Needing a solid all-around offensive game, Upstate certainly got it on Monday night in the season opener against Stetson in the Hodge Center on Nov. 30. Josh Chavis and Nick Schneiders each reached double figures with 18 and 17 points, respectively. But four other Spartans finished with at least seven points, Carter Cook and Pat Posey each added nine points, while Sharod Minus tallied a career-high eight and Mezie Uzochukwu added seven. It marked the first game this season when six Spartans finished with eight or more points in a game. Upstate also dished out a season-high 19 assists.
Home For A Change
Starting with Monday night's win over Stetson, Upstate is in the midst of a four-game span that will see the Spartans play at home three times. It marks the first time in the Division I era that Upstate will have played this many home games this close together prior to the Christmas break. Saturday's game at Wichita State is the only road game during this stretch of games. The Spartans return home to face Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 14) and Winthrop (Dec. 16) after final exams.
Schneiders Looks To Take Down All-Time Blocks Record
Upstate center Nick Schneiders is on the verge of breaking the Upstate all-time blocked shots record. He currently has 135 blocks in his four-year career, just four shy of reaching the all-time record of 136 held by Kevin Harrington (2000-04). He averaged over two blocked shots per game last season and has blocked 15 shots in the first six games of this season. If he maintains his 2.6 blocked shots per game average, he could break the record against A-Sun foe Florida Gulf Coast at home on Dec. 14.
An Offensive Explosion
Not only did Upstate score a season-high 78 points Monday night in the 22-point win over Stetson, the Spartans turned in an offensive performance unmatched for a number of years. The Spartans shot a torrid 61.2 percent from the floor, reaching 60 percent from the floor for the first time since defeating Edward Waters, 92-80, on Dec. 14, 2002, head coach Eddie Payne's first season at the helm of the Upstate program. The Spartans also scorched the nets from downtown, hitting 8-of-12, or 66.7 percent, from behind the three-point arc, marking a Division I-era high. The Spartans also dished out a season-high 19 assists.
Schneiders Records Double-Double & Career High
Upstate's 7-3 center Nick Schneiders turned in quite a performance in Upstate's home opener against UNC Greensboro. He finished the game with a career-high 23 points and tallied his third career double-double with 12 rebounds, one off of his career high. He has had a double-double in each of his last two seasons, tallying 10 points and 11 rebounds against Campbell on Jan. 24 last year, while recording his first double-double with 13 points and 10 boards against Mercer late in the 2007-08 season. All three of his double-doubles have come at home in the Hodge Center.
Spartans Turn It On At Home
Upstate sure feels comfortable in the friendly confines of the Hodge Center. In two games this season, the Spartans average 74 points while shooting over 51 percent from the field. Comparatively, Upstate scores a little more than 49 points per game and shoots 36.5 percent from the field on the road. Upstate has dished out 35 assists at home, an average of 17.5 per game in two outings, while dishing out just 39 in four games on the road for an average of 9.8 per contest.
Schneiders Tops The A-Sun
No doubt about it, Nick Schneiders is the main shot-blocking threat for Upstate. He leads Upstate, and the A-Sun, with 15 blocks on the year, averaging 2.6 per game. Chalmers Rogers and Caleb Palkert are tied for second on the team with three blocks apiece, while Mezie Uzochukwu has one.
Hitting The Offensive Glass
Of Upstate's 191 rebounds on the season, 61 of the boards, or nearly one-third, have come on the offensive glass. Nick Schneiders leads the was for the Spartans. He has grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, accounting for 41 percent of his total rebounds of 44 on the season.
Uzochukwu, Schneiders Lead The Way Offensively
Junior forward Mezie Uzochukwu and senior center Nick Schneiders have proven to be consistent performers on the offensive end of the court. The two players, seasoned veterans in the Upstate system, are the only two Spartans to score at least six points in every game this season. Uzochukwu has reached double figures two times, finishing with 14 points at Indiana and 13 at Winthrop. He also turned in efforts of six points at Nebraska and has posted seven points in each of the last three games. Schneiders leads the team with four double-figure games, finishing with a career-high 23 against UNC Greensboro, 17 against Stetson, 13 at Winthrop and 11 at Miami.
