The RoundHouse | 12/9/2017 2:19:00 PM

 

No. 6. Wichita State 78, Oklahoma State 66
 
By Paul Suellentrop
 
A lot happened on Saturday for No. 6 Wichita State. Nothing is more important than going 2-0 in road non-conference games, both at Big 12 arenas.
 
On Selection Sunday, those wins and the willingness to go on the road will be an important factor for the Shockers. There won't be more than a handful of teams who can match wins at Baylor and Oklahoma State.
 
"We're tough," Shocker senior Rashard Kelly said. "It's not easy to win on the road. My body hurts, like it's been hit with an 18-wheeler. Everybody 1-17 (on the roster) is tough and you've got to be."
 
Wichita State's Landry Shamet won the final 25 minutes of that game. There can't be many better road games recorded for any Shocker of any era. He scored 30 points and his defense and floor game were just as important.
 
He made 6 of 11 shots and 14 of 16 foul shots in 36 minutes. He drew two charges (both on OSU scorer Jeffrey Carroll) and handled Oklahoma State's pressure in the second half.
 
"An NBA guard," Kelly said. "To get 30 on the road on 11 shots?"
 
Fred VanVleet, at Evansville in 2016, is the most recent Shocker to score 30 in a road game. He scored 32. Before that, Joe Ragland scored 30 at Davidson in 2012.

"He was tremendous going to the basket, finding open shooters and knocking down the three ball," Shocker coach Gregg Marshall said. 
 
"Team win" is kind of cliché, one that fits Saturday's win. Few Shockers did everything well. Most of them did something well and that matters in a tough, grinding game.
 
Players such as Austin Reaves and  Kelly didn't let turnovers or missed shots affect their defense. Kelly kept working and grabbed three offensive rebounds, two in the second half. Darral Willis didn't take a shot in the first half and played six minutes due to foul trouble. He scored 12 second-half points and grabbed four rebounds.
 
Reaves took a charge in the first half, standing near the basket to take a knee to the chest from Oklahoma State's Cameron McGriff to negate a fast-break after a Shocker turnover. Wichita State made those kind of plays all afternoon (as did the Cowboys). Some games don't require that many physically demanding plays. This one did.
 
"You try to do a play like that every game," Reaves said. "I don't even remember – it was either to the chest or the neck.
 
 Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
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