The RoundHouse | 2/16/2018 9:41:00 AM

Roundhouse review: No. 19 Wichita State 93, Temple 86
 
By Paul Suellentrop
 
Key stats: Start with 10,506 fans who rarely needed their seats in the second half and filled the game (and timeouts) with a roar.
 
As the Shockers rushed to acknowledge, the crowd at Koch Arena seized on the drama and gave a grand accounting of itself. Coach Gregg Marshall compared it to an overtime game vs. Evansville in 2010.
 
"This crowd was top 5," senior Shaq Morris said. "There have been a lot of really good games that I've experienced since I've been here for five years. This crowd today helped us push through this win."
 
The Shockers started the pandemonium by playing well after halftime. They started the second half with an 11-0 run, capped by a lob from Darral Willis to Morris for a dunk.
 
"The crowd was insane," Willis said. "Oh my gosh. I loved it."
 
Temple coach Fran Dunphy, not surprisingly, said he had problems – "no timeouts and no shot hearing anything" – relaying instructions late in the game when he tried to tell the Owls to push up on defense.
 
"This was a fun college basketball atmosphere," Marshall said. "Shocker fans showed up."
 
Records: Temple 15-11, 7-7 American (No. 82 Pomeroy, No. 38 RPI); Wichita State 20-5, 10-3 American (No. 18 Pomeroy, No. 17 RPI)
 
Topper: When Dunphy praised Morris for his 23 points and 13 rebounds, he went right to the cheat codes.
 
"His. I.Q. is off the charts," Dunphy said. "He does his work early. He sets you up – the ball will swing from point to wing and he's already stepped up the lane a little bit so he can catch and finish. Really smart guy."
 
Morris, a fifth-year senior, is enjoying a run of the kind of strong performances that experience, combined with physical gifts, healthy legs and conditioning, produces. He may have played his best game of 126 as a Shocker on Thursday to come up big in a critical moment.
 
In the past six games, Morris averages 17.1 points and 6.5 rebounds. He is 41 of 64 (64 percent) from the field in those games.
 
His ability to get good positioning and set himself up for good shots is learned over the seasons from teachers such as former Shockers Carl Hall, Darius Carter, Kadeem Coleby and C.J. Lufile. They passed on the subtle (sometimes) arts of using arms, hips and legs to carve out favorable position and keep defenders off balance and away from the ball.

Morris is expert at giving the guards a good passing angle by shielding the defender with his body and leading himself into a layup.
 
"They showed me the cheat codes to be able to use my body in good spots and where to be in position," Morris said. "It's getting 50-50 balls and all the little things like that."
 
Morris gives the Shockers an imposing physical presence with his dunks and shot-blocking skills. Dunphy – and Shocker coaches – understand that athletic ability needs to be paired with smarts and experience to do this level of damage.
 
"That's a huge (compliment), especially coming from (Dunphy)," Morris said. "For him to recognize I.Q. on the court and for how long I've been around, that's a huge compliment."
 
Lineup check: The Shockers played deep on Thursday with the bench scoring 38 points. Four reserves combined for 10 assists and one turnover, led by Conner Frankamp's four assists and three from Willis.
 
Willis joined Morris in rampaging in the lane against the Owls and scored 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting. Frankamp made 4 of 6 shots and took advantage of Temple's aggressive defense by driving toward the basket for jumpers and floaters.
 
That's history: The rally from a 14-point halftime deficit is the second biggest on record at Wichita State. It trails the 18-point rally to defeat Missouri State 72-69 in overtime in 2014. Wichita State's box scores date to the mid 1970s . . . Wichita State defeated Temple for the first time in five meetings. Wichita State is 0-5 vs. Pepperdine, its most frequently played opponent without a victory.
 
Numbers: The Shockers finished with seven turnovers. According to kenpom.com, its percentage of 10.4 possessions ending with a turnover is the second lowest of the season, behind 8.7 against Central Florida . . . Temple scored 1.28 points per possession, second highest allowed by the Shockers this season. At halftime, the Owls scored 1.60 per possession on their way to a 56-42 lead.
 
Worth noting: The 56 points surrendered in the first half is a Marshall-era high and the fourth time this season for an opponent to score 50 or more in the first half. Those opponents (South Dakota State, Oklahoma, Arkansas State and Temple) averaged 33 points in the second halves with the Sooners topping out at 37.
 
Next up: at No. 5 Cincinnati (23-3, 12-1 American), 3 p.m. Sunday (ESPN) – The Bearcats lost 67-62 at Houston on Thursday. The Shockers understand this won't be the time to catch the Bearcats napping.
 
Cincinnati is one of the nation's top defensive teams. It ranks No. 2 nationally in Pomeroy's defensive efficiency stat by allowing opponent to score .84 points per possession (1.05 is average). Opponents make 40.2 percent of their two-point shots (also second nationally) and 30.3 percent of their three-point attempts (No. 6 nationally).
 
The Shockers last played Cincinnati, a former Missouri Valley Conference member, in 1981 in a non-conference game at Wichita. The Bearcats lead the series 18-11. They played as MVC opponents from 1958-1970.
 
Cincinnati plays its games at Northern Kentucky University, in Highland Heights, Ky., while it renovates its on-campus arena. Northern Kentucky's BB&T Arena seat 9,400 fans.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.