Bisons and Shockers meet in The Garden

The Bisons have stampeded all the way to the Big Apple as the Lipscomb men’s basketball team gets ready to take on Wichita State in the semifinals of the NIT.

Logan Butts  | 

News - Bisons Columbia practice

The Bisons spent the afternoon practicing at Columbia University Monday afternoon.

The No. 5-seeded Bisons have will take on the No. 6-seeded Shockers at 6 p.m. CT in the world famous Madison Square Garden, with the game being televised on ESPN. Fran Fraschilla, Bob Wischusen, and Brooke Weisbrod will handle the broadcast.

The game will also be airing on Westwood One radio where Lance Medow, Jon Crispin, and Brad Heller will have the call.

The two programs have never met on the hardwood. This is Lipscomb’s first trip to the semifinals, while Wichita State reached New York during their 2011 run to the NIT title.

Lipscomb enters the matchup 28-7. The Bisons 14-2 ASUN record earned them a share of the conference regular season title. As the top seed in the ASUN Tournament, Lipscomb secured an automatic bid to the NIT.

In route to the semifinals, the Bisons won 89-81 at No. 4 Davidson, 86-69 at No. 1 UNC G, and 94-93 at No. 2 NC State. The Shockers beat No. 3 Furman 76-70, No. 2  Clemson 63-55, No. 1 Indiana 73-63.

This marks the furthest an ASUN Conference team has advanced in the NIT since 1987 when Arkansas Little Rock reached the semifinals before losing to La Salle.

Wichita State currently sits at 22-14. They bowed out in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference (AAC) tournament.

 

SCOUTING THE SHOCKERS:

  • Wichita State is 11-11 in 13 NIT appearances. This is head coach Gregg Marshall’s third NIT.
  • Senior forward Markis McDuffie leads the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game. He earned a Second-Team All-Conference spot this season.
  • Samajae Haynes-Jones joins McDuffie in double-figures at 12.0, while Jaime Echenique grabs a team-high 5.9 rebounds per contest.
  • The Shockers are the first team in NIT history to take out their region's top three seeds on the way to New York City.
  • Marshall is 20-9 in postseason play during his tenure atop Wichita State.
  • The Shockers are strong on the glass, as they are 18th in the nation in total rebounds, 31st in offensive rebounds per game (12.33), and 46th in total rebounds per game (38.08).
  • Wichita has won nine consecutive NIT games dating back through its 2011 title.

 

HERD NOTES:

  • In their second NIT appearance, the Bisons are now 3-1 in the event. Their previous bid came in 2006 where Lipscomb fell at UTEP 85-66.
  • Lipscomb is 1-0 against AAC teams this season after taking down SMU 79-73 on the road.
  • The Bisons have a nation-best 14 true road wins on the season. The win over NC State broke them from a tie with Stony Brook and UC Irvine.
  • Prior to the postseason, Lipscomb had played seven games against 2019 NCAA Tournament teams this season, posting a 2-5 record, and two against 2019 NIT squads, posting a 1-1 record.
  • The Bisons 5-seed is the highest seed for an ASUN squad in the NIT since the tournament adopted the seeding format in 2007.
  • Senior Garrison Mathews was named to the USBWA All-District IV team last week, the first honor in program history.
  • Mathews leads the ASUN in scoring at 20.6 PPG. He was one of three players nationally to enter the postseason averaging at least 20 points for the third consecutive season along with Campbell’s Chris Clemons and South Dakota State’s Mike Daum who were both eliminated in the first round of the NIT.
  • Mathews also moved into 3rd all-time in ASUN history in scoring during the first round of the ASUN tournament. He has 3,285 career points and has hit a 3-pointer in 40 consecutive games – tied for the 3rd longest streak in the country with Chris Clemons.
  • Fellow senior Rob Marberry joined Mathews on the ASUN All-Conference First Team. He currently ranks 11th in Division I with a 62.7 field goal percentage. His 14.8 PPG is second best on the team.
  • Mathews and Marberry earned nods on the NABC All-District Team last week. Mathews has landed on the squad in three straight seasons, including back-to-back first team selections. Marberry found himself on the second team for the second straight year.
  • Head man Casey Alexander was named the NABC District 3 coach of the year, voted on by his peers in the district. It’s the first time he has received the honor.
  • The Bisons are seventh in the country in both scoring offense (84.0 PPG) and eighth in scoring margin (+13.9).
  • Lipscomb leads the ASUN and ranks seventh nationally with 17.6 assists per game this season.
  • Senior Eli Pepper has controlled the glass on the year for the Bisons, ranking sixth in the ASUN at 7.2 RPG. When he pulls down double-digit boards in a game, the Bisons are 8-0.
  • Junior Kenny Cooper ranks second in the conference for both assists (4.3 per game) and steals (2.0). Cooper’s triple-double against Kennesaw State was the first for the Bisons since Josh Slater in 2011. Those are the only two instances of a triple-double in Lipscomb’s NCAA era.
  • Cooper has his a 3-pointer in 15 consecutive games after nailing one in just six of his first 19 games of the year.
     

NEXT UP:

The winner of this matchup will face the winner of Texas and TCU on Thursday at approximately 6 p.m. CT.