A look at Wichita State’s few great escapes in a perfect regular season
Wichita State completed the first undefeated regular season since 2004 in Division I men's college basketball Saturday by beating Missouri State 68-45.
Many of the Shockers' 31 victories this season have been decided by similar lopsided margins, but not all of them. Coach Gregg Marshall's team flirted with defeat a handful of times. We look back at those games here by ranking them in order of greatest escape.
Jan. 11, 2014, Wichita State 72, Missouri State 69 (OT) - The Shockers trailed by 19 points in the second half but rallied to force overtime and win behind 22 points and 14 rebounds from Cleanthony Early.
Feb. 1, 2014, Wichita State 81, Evansville 67 - Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker each scored 14 points to lead a comeback from a 15-point deficit.
Dec. 17, 2013, Wichita State 72, Alabama 67 - The Shockers finally found some separation from the Crimson Tide in the final 30 seconds of a back-and-forth affair in Tuscaloosa. The five-point margin of victory tied Wichita State's largest lead of the second half.
Dec. 1, 2013, Wichita State 70, Saint Louis 65 - The Shockers only took the lead for good in the final minute after trailing by seven with less than 7 minutes remaining on the road against the Billikens. Ron Baker, Fred VanVleet and Cleanthony Early combined to score the final six points.
Nov. 26, 2013, Wichita State 75, Brigham Young 62 - In a rough-and-tumble, game the Shockers led by six in the final minute when BYU gave up any hope of a tie or upset with a flagrant foul that led to the ejection of Cougars' guard Nate Austin. BYU coach Dave Rose also earned a technical foul. Ron Baker buried six free throws after taking an elbow from Austin.
