The RoundHouse | 1/12/2018 7:52:00 AM

Roundhouse review: No. 5 Wichita State 95, East Carolina 60
 
By Paul Suellentrop
 
Key stats: The Shockers put on a clinic of moving, screening and passing to shoot 59.4 percent from the field and score 50 points in the paint. Shocker reserves contributed 51 points, most since 68 vs. Savannah State.
 
Records: Wichita State 14-2, 4-0 American (No. 9 Pomeroy, No. 18 RPI); ECU 7-9, 1-4 (No. 316 Pomeroy, No. 312 RPI)
 
Topper: Things will get more difficult for Wichita State's offense. Really. Probably. Right now, it might seem tough to envision.
 
The Shockers lead the American in conference-only scoring (76.5 points), three-point shooting (46.2 percent), assists (17.5) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6, tied with Tulane).  If you prefer Ken Pomeroy, the Shockers are first in efficiency (1.21 points per possession), effective field-goal percentage (61.1) and second in turnover percentage (16), two-point shooting (54.5) and offensive-rebound percentage (34.1).
 
South Florida and ECU rank in the bottom half of American defense; Connecticut and Houston near the middle of a conference that is strong defensively. The Shockers have six games remaining with Cincinnati, Central Florida and SMU – all top 40 nationally in Pomeroy's defensive efficiency stat.
 
Wichita State's roll is best seen through its assist and turnover totals – a season-low eight vs. Houston (a top 70 defense), 12 vs. South Florida and 11 vs. ECU. In those three games, the Shockers totaled 78 assists, including Gregg Marshall-era highs of 28 vs. USF (Sunday) and 32 vs. ECU (Thursday).
 
"There's very little individual play for us," Marshall said. "We like to share the basketball and turn a good shot into a great shot."
 
The Shockers are largely using their motion offense, which means they are moving, screening and passing crisply and their set plays are working well against a new set of opponents.
 
"More emphasis on moving without the ball and get other guys open," Shocker guard Landry Shamet said. "If you set a good screen and get somebody open, you might get a good shot. A lot of it is just more emphasis on guys cutting and getting open and that's helping everybody."
 
The American tilts toward defense and the Shockers haven't seen the best of the conference yet. What they have seen tilts toward their ability to run an offense and get good shots.
 
Lineup check: Sophomore C.J. Keyser played what Marshall called his best game on Sunday vs. USF. He backed that up with 12 solid minutes on Thursday, highlighted by three assists, one after a steal that led to a Rashard Kelly dunk, and two steals.
 "I'm not trying to do too much with the ball, just compete," Keyser said. "I know have the ability to (pass) and I have to let my defense fuel that first, and then get into a rhythm."
 
That's history: Shamet's 11 assists are the most by a Shocker since Fred VanVleet also had 11 vs. Southern Illinois in 2016. It is the 16^th time a Shocker recorded 11 assists, with VanVleet on that list twice. Robert George had 12 in 1991 vs. Drake and the record is 16 by Joe Griffin vs. Oral Roberts in 1988.
 
Numbers: Because of the American's unbalanced scheduled, the Shockers are done with USF and ECU, the American's lowest-ranked teams in the RPI and Pomeroy. Eleven of its remaining 14 regular-season games are against teams in the top 100 of the RPI and the lowest is a single game vs. No. 117 Memphis. Nine of those 14 games are against teams in the top 100 of the Pomeroy rankings.
 
Worth noting: The Shockers are 4-0 in conference play for the sixth consecutive season . . . Shocker forward Markis McDuffie went 4 of 7 from the field and is 11 of 19 in the past three games after going 2 of 10 in his first two after returning from injury.
 
Next up: at Tulsa (10-7, 3-2), 6:30 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) – The Golden Hurricane is coming off Thursday's 104-71 loss at Houston.
 
The Cougars made a conference-record 18 threes (34 attempts). They made 21 of 31 shots in the first half to build a 59-34 halftime lead.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.