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Report: Wichita State’s McDuffie out with stress fracture

Wichita State v Dayton

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 17: Markis McDuffie #32 of the Wichita State Shockers shoots the ball against Xeyrius Williams #20 of the Dayton Flyers in the first half during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on March 17, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

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Wichita State has already suffered its first loss of the season.

Markis McDuffie, the team’s leading scorer in 2017-18, is expected to be sidelined until mid-December due to a stress fracture in his foot, KWCH-TV reports.

The 6-foot-8 junior averaged 11.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last year for the Shockers. The injury will likely keep McDuffie out of Wichita State’s earliest non-conference games and the Maui Invitational, but the question will be if he can be back in time to face the likes of Baylor (Dec. 2), Oklahoma State (Dec. 9) and Oklahoma (Dec. 16) before starting play in the program’s first year in the AAC.

Certainly, losing McDuffie is a blow for the Shockers, but given they return everyone from last year’s 31-win team, they should be well positioned to absorb the hit for at least the short-term. The issue, though, is the fate that met Wichita State last year has to be looming in the back of their minds. Despite winning all those games and being a top-10 KenPom squad, the Shockers garnered just a 10-seed in the NCAA tournament due to its light non-conference schedule and a Missouri Valley Conference that didn’t provide anything in the way of an RPI bump.

Wichita State should earn enough clout playing in the American this year, but a bolstered non-conference record could go a long way in solidifying the top seed they’ll be gunning for this year, which could see them as a preseason top-10 team. In the end, though, getting McDuffie healthy has to be the priority for Gregg Marshall’s group.