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No. 11 Wichita State disposes of Seton Hall

Dec 10, 2014 - 4:44 AM Wichita, KS (SportsNetwork.com) - Ron Baker scored 22 points to lead an efficient effort from Wichita State that carried the 11th-ranked Shockers to a 77-68 victory over previously undefeated Seton Hall.

Baker finished 9-of-11 from the field and hit all three of his 3-point tries, while Darius Carter recorded 16 points on 8-of-12 shooting and added 12 rebounds for Wichita State (6-1).

Fred VanVleet contributed 18 points and eight assists to the Shockers' 22nd straight win at Koch Arena.

The Pirates (7-1) entered the matchup as one of only 11 remaining Division I teams with an unblemished record, but weren't able to handle the step up in competition in their toughest test to date.

Seton Hall did get a game-high 23 points out of Isaiah Whitehead and 19 from Sterling Gibbs, but were plagued by 18 turnovers and trailed by as many as 21 before making a late push.

"It was a good butt-kicking," Pirates head coach Kevin Willard said. "Our turnovers really hurt us, and that's a credit to their defense and they way they got after us."

The Shockers overcame a cold early shooting display to build a 34-18 lead late in the first half, taking charge via a 26-5 run fueled by their defense.

Whitehead dropped in eight quick points to stake Seton Hall to a 13-8 edge eight minutes in, but Wichita State moved ahead to stay with a 13-0 spurt in which it netted nine points off four Pirate turnovers.

"That was a big segment," Shockers head coach Gregg Marshall said. "We finally got some deflections and steals. That was the difference."

Seton Hall had three more giveaways -- all of which led to easy Shocker baskets -- during an 11-0 flurry that accounted for Wichita State's 16-point cushion with 2:25 to go before halftime. The Shockers forced 12 turnovers overall for the period to cruise into the break owning a 40-25 lead.

Wichita State continued to hit shots in the second half to prevent the Pirates from chipping away at the deficit, claiming a comfortable 66-46 advantage with 7 1/2 minutes left following back-to-back 3-pointers by VanVleet and Baker.

Seton Hall was able to make the outcome a bit more respectable in the final 2 1/2 minutes, with Gibbs burying a trio of threes to spark a 9-2 Pirates' run to finish out the contest.

Game Notes

The Shockers recorded 24 total points off turnovers and outscored Seton Hall by a 38-24 margin in the paint ... Gibbs, Seton Hall's leading scorer coming in, did not have a point in the first half while spending much of the period on the bench in foul trouble ... Wichita State extended its home win streak over non-conference opponents to 30 straight ... The lone previous meeting between the programs took place in the First Round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, an 86-66 Wichita State victory in Greensboro, NC.