Gregg Marshall became the Shockers all-time coaching wins leader, surpassing hall of famer Ralph Miller, and No. 21/22 Wichita State took care of Southern Illinois, 76-55, Wednesday night to stretch its Missouri Valley Conference lead to four games with seven to play.
A night of milestone achievements also included the program’s 1,500th victory. Marshall (221-81 in nine seasons at WSU) and Miller (220-133 in 13 seasons from 1951-64) have combined for over a quarter of them.
Now in his his ninth season at WSU and his 18th overall, Marshall (415-164 career record) is the only coach in Division I who has posted 30 or more wins in each of the past three seasons, and his .839 winning percentage (151-29) over the last five years is a national-best.
Under Marshall’s guidance, WSU has been on a steady rise, topping 25 wins in each of the past six seasons.
His Shockers followed up a 2011 NIT Championship with four-straight NCAA Tournament trips, including runs to the 2013 Final Four and the 2015 Sweet 16. The 2014 squad ran the table in the regular season, becoming the first team in 23 years to enter the Big Dance with an unbeaten record. That historic 35-0 start also earned him consensus National Coach of the Year honors.
Despite the presence of eight new scholarship players, Marshall led the 2014-15 Shockers to a 27-3 regular season record and a second-straight Missouri Valley Conference title.
In his 18 seasons as a head coach, Marshall’s teams have captured nine regular season conference titles and advanced to the NCAA Tournament 11 times. He’s won seven conference coach-of-the-year honors, including a run of three-in-a-row from 2012-14.
