The RoundHouse | 2/2/2018 10:30:00 AM

Roundhouse review: Temple 81, No. 16 Wichita State 79 (OT)
 
By Paul Suellentrop
 
Key stats: Sixteen Wichita State turnovers, nine after halftime, stopped the Shockers from building on a 10-point lead in the second half. Guard Landry Shamet committed six of those turnovers.
 
"You can't turn the ball over," Shocker coach Gregg Marshall said. "You've got to make your layups. And you've got to make your free throws. You've got to play better basketball."
 
Those lost possessions gave the Owls good offensive chances and contributed to Wichita State's second-half/overtime shooting woes – 12 of 36 from the field, 1 of 13 from three-point range. Temple committed 10 turnovers. Wichita State finished with its third-largest turnover margin of the season, trailed minus-10 in a win over Savannah State and minus-8 in a loss at Houston.  
 
The Owls shot 39.1 percent from three-point range (up from 28.8 in American Athletic Conference play), with most of that damage coming in the first half. They also scored 16 points at the foul line, most since the second game of the season. Temple outscored the Shockers by one point at the line, unexpected points for a team that doesn't get to the line frequently.   
 
This game reminded me of Marshall's 2008-10 seasons. The Shockers progressed and by 2009-10 moved toward the top of the Missouri Valley Conference. They let road games slip away, spawning Marshall's "Leave no doubt" exhortation for playing away from Koch Arena.
 
The Shockers learned – and eventually executed in this manner – that road games that stayed close until the final minutes often went bad.
 
Home teams rally. Crowds wake up. Calls go against the road teams. Imperfections that a home team can survive are often fatal on the road. A 10-point lead on the road needs be 15. A five-point lead needs to be 10. By 2011-12, the Shockers grew into the fearsome road machine that characterizes this era.
 
The Shockers, with turnovers and defensive breakdowns, left doubt in the final minutes and the Owls took advantage to overcome a seven-point deficit in the final five minutes of regulation and five in overtime.
 
"They played harder (defensively) the second half (than the first half)," Shocker guard Austin Reaves said. "We've got to be better with the ball next time and learn from the mistakes."
 
Temple cut its turnovers from eight in the first half to two after halftime.
 
"Our defense the first half was sort of nowhere," Temple coach Fran Dunphy said. "We talked a little bit about managing the game – so when we have it, they're not scoring. To turn it only twice over that last 25 minutes is pretty great."
 
Records: Wichita State 17-5, 7-3 American (No. 22 Pomeroy, No. 25 RPI); Temple 12-10, 4-6 American (No. 85 Pomeroy, No. 45 RPI)
 
Topper: This is a new situation for the Shockers, who went 18-0, 17-1, 16-2, 17-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference the past four seasons. Wichita State started the season expected, by many, to win the American and make a Final Four push.
 
Instead, it is three games behind Cincinnati, falling in the national rankings and facing a tough February. It faces tough practices, questions and criticism and all of that is part of being a big, big deal.
 
Beyond the X's and O's, it is good from a Shocker perspective to hear Reaves, when asked about Morris' strong stretch of games, quickly mention Morris' demeanor after Thursday's loss.
 
"He showed some good leadership and was like 'Keep your head held high, guys. This isn't the last of it,'" Reaves said. "His maturity coming around is a big key to our team."
 
Morris said he leaned on lessons from former Shockers such as Fred VanVleet for his post-game words.
 
"As soon as the buzzer goes off, that's the final score, you know, and it's on to the next (game)," Morris said. "You can't let that get in your head too much. Keep everybody's heads up."
 
On the court, Morris is on a heater, to steal a phrase usually reserved for outside shooters. He scored 24 points on Thursday to pass 1,000 for his career. He made 10 of 16 shots and grabbed nine rebounds in a career-high 35 minutes.
 
"He was tremendous," Marshall said. "He was a beast on the defensive glass. Thank goodness we had him on our side."
 
Over the past three games, Morris, a 6-foot-8 senior center, averages 21 points and 6.6 rebounds. He made 26 of 38 shots, 3 of 6 from three-point range in wins over Central Florida and Tulsa and Thursday's loss to Temple.
 
"When he is focused and ready to go, he is a problem," Reaves said. "That's what we've got from him the last three games."
 
Morris enjoyed several strong stretches of play over this career, which now includes 1,004 points and ranking second in blocks by a Shocker with 133. This one is marked by consistency and maturity befitting a fifth-year senior. He is directing traffic on the court, avoiding bad fouls, hustling on offense and playing smart defense. While he committed three turnovers on Thursday, his two first-half turnovers were not caused by poor decisions or sloppy execution. In the two previous games, he committed one turnover in 42 minutes.
 
"I've picked it up more," he said. "My teammates, they really want me to lead, be a dominant force on the court. They give me the ball as much as they can. When you get a feeling like that, you've got to play that role. I love that they trust me."
 
Lineup check: Reaves played a career-high 35 minutes off the bench and scored 20 points. After scoring a career-high 23 vs. Tulsa, he owns back-to-back 20-point nights for the first time in his two seasons.
 
That's history: The Shockers are 0-4 vs. Temple. They are 0-5 vs. Pepperdine, the most frequently played opponent without a win. Wichita State is 0-3 against Illinois, St. Peter's, Missouri and Drury.
 
Numbers: According to Ken Pomeroy, Wichita State's offensive efficiency of .976 points per possession is its second lowest this season. The NCAA Division I average is 1.04 points per possession. Wichita State fell under that line for the fifth time.
 
Worth noting: Shamet made 2 of 7 threes for his first made three since the loss at Houston. His six turnovers were a career high. Conner Frankamp played a season-low 10 minutes and scored two points after playing 14 scoreless minutes vs. Tulsa.
 
Next up: at Memphis (14-8, 5-4 American), 8 p.m. Tuesday (CBS Sports Network) – The Tigers are coming off an 86-74 win over South Florida. Guard Jeremiah Martin scored 25 points and averages 18.8. In conference play, he averages an American-leading 19.7 points.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.