OKLAHOMA CITY — Markis McDuffie scored his 1,000th career point, but Wichita State otherwise struggled offensively in an 80-48 loss to Oklahoma Saturday afternoon at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
McDuffie – playing his 100th career game — finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
The senior forward from Paterson, N.J. came into the day needing just 10 more points to become the 47th member of WSU’s 1,000-point club. He reached that mark at the 9:47-mark of the first half on a three-pointer.
Freshman guard Erik Stevenson tallied eight points, five rebounds and a pair of steals off the bench for WSU (4-4).
Jaime Echenique put up seven points, four rebounds and a block. He’s swatted at least one shot in each of his first eight games as a Shocker.
Christian James and Miles Reynolds paced Oklahoma (8-1 and receiving votes in the latest AP Poll) with 14 points each. James also pulled down 13 rebounds.
WSU ended at 24.2 percent from the field – its worst team percentage in over 20 years – on 15-of-62 shooting. The Sooners entered the day ranked among the nation’s top-25 in field goal percentage defense.
OU outrebounded the Shockers 52-33 – the worst margin in 12 seasons under Gregg Marshall.
The Shockers forced 18 Sooner turnovers (matching their season-high) but committed 15 on the opposite end.
WSU’s 48-point performance came on the 10th anniversary of its last sub-50-point game – a 57-48 loss to TCU on Dec. 8, 2008.
The Shockers trailed by eight at halftime, 35-27, despite shooting just 28 percent.
McDuffie had 13 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes
Echenique’s three-pointer sliced the margin to five, 35-30, but the Sooners outscored the Shockers 29-6 over the next 11 minutes to build a commanding 64-38 lead with 8:06 to play.
The Shocker shooting slump deepened in the second half when they hit just 4-of-16 shots, including 1-of-11 from three.
OU padded its lead in garbage time, finishing on 6-0 run to push the final margin north of 30 points.
It was WSU’s first 30-plus point loss under Marshall and the school’s first since Feb. 1, 2003 — a 94-59 setback against Southern Illinois at the Kansas Coliseum.