The RoundHouse | 12/6/2017 10:36:00 AM

Roundhouse review: No. 6 Wichita State 95, South Dakota State 85
 
By Paul Suellentrop
 
Key stats: The last time Wichita State and its opponent both shot 50 percent or better from the field is the 2014 Kentucky NCAA Tournament game. The Shockers made 55.1 percent and the Wildcats made 54.
 
On Tuesday, South Dakota State shot 50 percent from the field; Wichita State 54.7. This was an offensive clinic with both teams executing plays at a high level. According to the statistics, both scored one fast-break basket, so while it was fast-paced it was not a game with a lot of running and gunning.
 
South Dakota State joins this list: Illinois State, Oklahoma State, Michigan State (2016-17); Miami, Iowa (2015-16) and Notre Dame, Northern Iowa, George Washington (2014-15) as teams to shoot 50 percent or better against the Shockers in the past three-plus seasons.
 
Wichita State is 1-8 in those games.
 
The Jackrabbits made some tough shots. They scrambled Wichita State's defense in the first half with pick-and-pop plays. The Shockers talked better on defense in the second half and didn't give up as many open shots. They switched some of the screens to keep a defender close to shooters and avoid confusion.
 
"It was a bad scheme on our part," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "We confused them and had too many concepts. In the second half, we decided to switch all ball screens, (guards and wings), regardless of who their matchups were. If they set a ball screen, we just switched it to try to get them out of their rhythm with their catch and shoots."
 
It reminded me of one of those previously mentioned games – 70-54 loss at Northern Iowa in 2015 when the Panthers shot 60 percent from the field and Wes Washpun bedeviled the Shockers using screens.
 
Wichita State's pressure helped cool off the Jackrabbits, who led 76-71 with 8:03 to play and scored nine points the rest of the way.
 
The Shockers countered by shooting 55.9 percent in the second half, grabbing six offensive rebounds and forcing eight turnovers. They outscored the Jackrabbits 53-35 in the second half.
 
Topper: Marshall headed to his radio show after asking "Would you want to see that team in the first round?"
 
The smart answer is "No." South Dakota State appears to be an NCAA-upset-in-waiting. That is precisely why Tuesday was a good deal for the Shockers.
 
"(That was a) great team that we played," Marshall said. "I think if they make it to the NCAA Tournament, the way they shoot it, they have a chance to win games. We were able to make adjustments at halftime and we were able to squeak out a win against a very hot team."
 
The Jackrabbits are experienced and, with back-to-back NCAA appearances, used to winning and playing elite opponents. Catch them on a good shooting night and they are capable of winning, as Iowa and Mississippi discovered.
 
They are committed to their shooting. There were times in the second half when some teams back off and run clock. South Dakota State coach T.J. Otzelberger doesn't want to play that way.
 
That pace helped Wichita State rally by producing plenty of possessions. Wichita State's press got the Jackrabbits out of some of their sets and produced a few turnovers.
 
"Part of what gave us the advantage was playing loose and free and scoring," Otzelberger said. "What's been successful for us is not trying to slow that down. It's to continue to keep our foot on the gas. We don't want to go to the prevent."

The Shockers are building a solid library of styles and talents that can be helpful in March. They've played zone defenses, fast tempos and crazy-fast tempos. South Dakota State's experience, shooting and offensive system give Wichita State another experience to lean on if it is playing a low-profile opponent in March.
 
Lineup check: The Shockers missed forward Markis McDuffie, who is the perfect defender to disrupt the Jackrabbits. He is agile enough to switch screens and tall enough to guard Jackrabbits star Mike Daum.
 
Samajae Haynes-Jones, out with a stomach ailment, also sat. The Shockers essentially played an eight-man rotation and still managed to make their depth a plus.
 
Numbers: Wichita State guard Landry Shamet went 4 for 8 from three-point range and is 10 for 18 in two games against the Jackrabbits.
 
Since last season's South Dakota State game, Shamet is 76 of 153 (49.6 percent) from three-point range.
 
Shamet did more than score on Tuesday.
 
"I thought Landry was tremendous as a floor general and very aggressive off the bounce," Marshall said.
 
Worth noting: Wichita State guard Conner Frankamp had two assists and no turnovers, giving him 23 assists and four turnovers for the season. That is a 5.75 assist-to-turnover ratio. However, like much of last season, Frankamp's average of 2.9 assists a game falls just below the statistical minimum to rank among the leaders.
 
Next up: at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m. Saturday (ESPN2)
 
The Cowboys (7-1) won't play a true road game until Jan. 3 at Oklahoma. Its loss is to Texas A&M, 77-52 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
 
This is a much different team than the one that routed the Shockers last season at Intrust Bank Arena. Mike Boynton took over for Brad Underwood, who bolted to Illinois last March. Point guard Jawun Evans is in the NBA with the Clippers. Former Shocker star John Cooper is an assistant coach for the Cowboys.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.