Today in Shockers Sports History: January 4th

[WuShock Reaper]

For the day, the Shockers are:
26 and 9

Regular Season (Games of Interest):
2018 - (#9) WSU Beat Houston in Wichita 81-63. After watching his team get blown out fairly quickly, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson wished he had spent Thursday night at the movies. He felt like he was in one as No. 9 Wichita State cruised past his Cougars 81-63. "You know that movie `Gladiator'?" he asked. "I felt like one of those guys, like they just threw us in the middle of the ring with no chance." Wichita State (12-2, 2-0 American Athletic Conference) made nine of its first 11 3-point shots, led by as many as 25 in the first half and by 32 with 6:32 remaining. Landry Shamet scored 18 points in just 22 minutes to lead the Shockers -- "Easily the best player we've faced this season," Sampson said -- but Wichita State had four players in double figures before halftime.

2017 - Beat Drake in Wichita 90-65, Shaquille Morris scored 13 points, Daishon Smith added 13 with three 3-pointers, and Wichita State used a big first half to beat Drake 90-65 on Wednesday night to win its fourth straight and improve its all-time record against the Bulldogs to 41-4. Landry Shamet added 11 points, Markis McDuffie had 10 and grabbed 11 rebounds, and the Shockers (13-3, 3-0, Missouri Valley) outrebounded Drake 54-28, including 18-5 on offensive boards, resulting in 26 second-chance points. Wichita State scored 22 points off of 15 turnovers and outscored the Bulldogs 42-24 in the paint.

2015 - (#16) WSU Beat Illinois St. in Wichita 70-62. Ron Baker scored 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting, and the Shockers held off Illinois State 70-62 on Sunday. Baker dished out a timely assist, Fred VanVleet hit some clutch shots, and Tekele Cotton converted another highlight-reel alley-oop as Wichita State won its 20th straight game over a Missouri Valley Conference foe. The Shockers (12-2, 2-0) have also won 24 in a row at Koch Arena, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.

2012 - Won at Evansville in Evansville, Ind. 67-66. Garrett Stutz had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Wichita State beat Evansville 67-66 Wednesday night. Stutz also had four assists and three blocked shots for the Shockers (11-3, 2-1 Missouri Valley), who overcame a 31-point game by Evansville's Colt Ryan. Kenny Harris had 15 points for the Purple Aces (7-6, 2-1), but missed the second of two free throws in the final seconds that would have forced overtime. Stutz was 10 for 12 from the field and made all five of his free throws. Wichita State scored 40 points in the paint to 14 for the Purple Aces, but Evansville stayed in it by scoring 24 points off of 16 Shockers turnovers.

1999 - Beat Drake in Wichita 53-39

1997 - Won at Indiana St. in Terre Haute, Ind. 54-51

1984 - Won at Creighton in Omaha, Neb. 59-57

1982 - (#2) WSU Beat U.S. International in Wichita 92-67

1979 - Won at Creighton in Omaha, Neb. 94-88 (OT)

1969 - Beat (#10) Cincinnati in Wichita 67-66. Reserve guard Greg Rataj came off the bench to score eight points down the stretch as the Shockers overcame a 12-point deficit. Wichita State trailed 54-42 with 11:30 to play. Forward Ron Washington scored 20 points to pace WSU.

1956 - Beat Houston in Wichita 74-56

1953 - Won at Detroit in Detroit, Mich. 77-75 (OT)

1928 - Beat Northwestern Oklahoma in Wichita 36-33

[WstateU]

NO ‘28 Hahaha! Have I got a ‘doozy’ of a story for you...

[WstateU]

To borrow one of forevershockerfan's openings...

"Well, here's the deal"...

As I've chronicled the past few years, Ross was a '1927 First Team All-American' and on the covers of Time and Life magazines. He was "I Wanna be like Mike" well before Mike was ever Mike.

Northwestern Oklahoma (NO) came to the 'big city' with a major upset on their minds. They were totally focused on stopping Ross and put their star player on him. Ross later said the guy's breath smelled like the south end of a north bound horse and could have used a stick of Beech Nut Gum. He was a 'big ole boy' from Oklahoma and I recall he was part Indian. Ross was 6'-5" in his skivvies and the 'Okie from Muskogee' was that and more. He rode Ross hard the entire game and we were down most of the second half. When it was nut cuttin' time down the stretch, Ross finally provided one of his patented 'Tomahawk' plays; he soared high above the rim and dropped one through the hoop with about 10 seconds remaining giving us a one-point lead. We set up a quick press, Ross stole the inbounds pass and laid it in, to seal the 36-33 come from behind victory. Fans once again stormed the court. Back in those days, we often pulled wins out of our arses similar to what the Chickens in Lawrence do today; Henrion Hall = AFH... there was magic in that old hall.

Also of note, following the game, Ross coined the phrase, "Yipes Stripes Beechnut Gum"; Wrigley's had a chance to purchase the Beechnut Brand and decided to pass; Ross could have had the very first 'NIL' deal.