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No. 9 Wichita State crushes South Florida 95-57

Wichita State v California

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 20: Landry Shamet #11 of the Wichita State Shockers dribbles the ball during the first half of the game against the California Golden Bears at Lahaina Civic Center on November 20, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — His team had just been blown out, and South Florida coach Brian Gregory grabbed the stat sheet to make sure his players saw a small number that stood out to him.

Landry Shamet, the star guard for No. 9 Wichita State, took just two shots in a 95-57 victory on Sunday.

“Two shots the whole game,” Gregory said. “He don’t care. I mean, All-American, NBA first-round pick, and he doesn’t care about any of that. That’s because of the type of high-level program they’ve built.”

Shaquille Morris led the Shockers (13-2, 3-0 American Athletic Conference) with 15 points. Zach Brown had 13 points, and Markis McDuffie scored 12 for Wichita State. Darral Willis finished with 11.

Morris, Brown and McDuffie were a combined 16 of 19 from the floor, helping the Shockers shoot 62.7 percent.

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall pointed to Shamet’s unselfishness and seven assists as a catalyst.

“We had 28 assists on 37 baskets,” Marshall said. “Look around college basketball, and you won’t see many teams getting 28 assists. I liked our ball movement.”

Malik Martin led South Florida (7-10, 0-4 AAC) with 15 points. David Collins scored 12 points, and Terrence Samuel added 10 for the Bulls.

South Florida played without leading scorer Payton Banks because of illness.

Wichita State made 16 of its final 18 shots in the first half to build a 51-20 halftime advantage. The Shockers finished the half 21 of 28 from the floor, the best first-half shooting percentage (75) in Marshall’s 11 seasons.

Forcing 13 first-half turnovers and turning them into 21 points helped the Shockers’ offense click.

“We knew South Florida was a man down and not deep to begin with,” Marshall said. “We wanted to push the defense and force a transition-type game.”

FRANKAMP OUT

Wichita State was without starting guard Conner Frankamp, who had with a stomach virus. Frankamp, a senior, entered third on the team in scoring at 11.8 points per game.

He was replaced in the starting lineup by sophomore Austin Reaves, who finished with eight points and seven assists.

“It was great to get the start,” Reaves said. “I just tried to be aggressive.”

THREE FROM THE 3

Marshall said all the small-forward minutes were split between McDuffie and Brown, who each played 20 minutes.

“Those two combine to go 7 of 8 from the 3-point line,” Marshall said. “That will win you a lot of games.”

BIG PICTURE

South Florida: The Bulls got another tough lesson as they rebuild under first-year coach Brian Gregory.

Wichita State: Missing a starter, the Shockers cruised and were able to spread the minutes before playing three of their next four games on the road.

UP NEXT

South Florida: The Bulls host No. 19 Cincinnati on Saturday.

Wichita State: The Shockers travel to East Carolina on Thursday.