The RoundHouse | 11/27/2019 12:49:00 PM
WICHITA STATE (6-0) vs. WEST VIRGINIA (5-0)
CANCUN CHALLENGE | RIVIERA BRACKET FINAL
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 27, 2019 | 7:30 P.M. CT (8:30 P.M. ET)
CANCUN, MEXICO | HARD ROCK HOTEL RIVIERA MAYA
TV: CBS SPORTS NETWORK (CBS All-Access)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: FIRST MEETING
Many things are going as expected for Wichita State as it sits as one of the nation's 34 unbeaten teams after a 70-47 win over South Carolina in the Cancun Challenge on Tuesday.
The Shockers out-rebounded South Carolina 43-34, as they have all five other opponents. No opponent shot better than 40 percent and two (Gardner-Webb and South Carolina) committed as many or more turnovers than they made shots.
Add in Wichita State's tiny turnover rate and you have the characteristics of past successful teams.
Some things, however, are not going as expected and that is where sophomore guard
Erik Stevenson comes in.
His contributions have allowed the Shockers to move past injuries and shooting slumps. He scored 22 points against Texas Southern, making all nine of his foul shots, to help the Shockers win without injured guard
Jamarius Burton and center
Jaime Echenique. Against Oral Roberts, Stevenson handed out a career-high nine assists and grabbed eight rebounds.
On Tuesday, he again turned in a well-rounded game with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. His play on the wing has meant
Dexter Dennis' shooting slump almost goes unnoticed and Echenique's limited minutes aren't fatal. Odds are Dennis will start making three-pointers soon and Stevenson will continue his contributions.
"
Erik Stevenson was just dynamite on both ends," Wichita State coach
Gregg Marshall said after Tuesday's win.
And those contributions range from hustle plays on defense to an expanding range of passes that keep the offense moving and get teammates good shots. Stevenson and forward
Trey Wade are the only Shockers to lead the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals in at least one game this season.
Stevenson still isn't shooting the basketball as well as his form indicates he should. His other assets keep him on the floor. And his ability to draw fouls makes up for some of his shooting problems. Stevenson went 5 for 5 from the line against the Gamecocks and is 16 for 20 for the season. As a freshman, he went to the line 52 times in 37 games.
Earlier this month, one of Asbjorn Midtgaard's coaches from Denmark visited Wichita to watch practice and check on his protégé.
At that time, Midtgaard wasn't playing well. Jorgen De Linde Lind talked about how hard Midtgaard worked over the summer and his practices against professional big men. De Linde Lind described him as razor-sharp when he returned to the United States.
De Linde Lind didn't stay for the game the next day, rightly figuring that matchups against 6-foot-7 post men didn't play to Midtgaard's strengths. Whether or not that's a good reason for some of Midtgaard's struggles, the past two games again remind us how effective he can be against other plus-size big men.
On Tuesday, he played a season-high 16 minutes against South Carolina and grabbed six rebounds, blocked a shot and scored his points on a follow dunk. He gave the Shockers a boost during a crucial run to end the first half. He blocked a shot and then altered a shot by Gamecocks big man Maik Kotsar. Midtgaard capped that burst by sprinting to beat everyone to the rim and dunk off a
Grant Sherfield miss.
The Shockers led 41-22 at halftime after South Carolina cut the lead to 29-22 with 2:48 remaining.
Last season, Midtgaard broke off the deep bench with a strong performance against UCF's Tacko Fall. He played 17 minutes that game, 22 in the next game against Cincinnati and finished the season as a reliable part of the rotation. He scored in double figures three times over the final 18 games, blocked four shots against UConn and twice grabbed 10 or more rebounds.
Tuesday's game showed – again – how Midtgaard can influence a game as part of Wichita State's center rotation. West Virginia will challenge the Shockers with size and athletic ability similar to South Carolina.
West Virginia trailed Northern Iowa 42-27 with 10:51 to play and 48-40 with five minutes remaining. The Mountaineers (5-0) then finished the game on a 20-7 run to win 60-55.
The Panthers (6-1) committed five turnovers, the final one with 16 seconds to play while down one point. For the game, UNI committed 17 turnovers, which West Virginia turned into 17 points.
Not surprisingly, West Virginia struggled to make shots and its defensive pressure carried them late in the game. That is the way Bob Huggins' team play.
"Offensively, we were horrible," Huggins said. "We broke all the sets off. We didn't make any shots. We didn't handle their physicality in the post very well."
West Virginia held the Panthers to 40-percent shooting and 3-of-20 shooting from three-point range.
"It was really our defense killing us," West Virginia guard Miles McBride said. "We weren't making shots, but it's a long game. We're going to get in rhythm. If we just lock up on defense, we knew we were going to come back."
The Mountaineers – similar to South Carolina (coached by Huggins disciple Frank Martin) – will try to beat up the Shockers on the offensive glass. They grab 36.1 percent of available offensive rebounds, No. 26 nationally according to Ken Pomeroy's statistics. Freshman forward Oscar Tshiebwe ranks fifth nationally by grabbing 18.9 percent of available offensive rebounds, according to Pomeroy. The Mountaineers hold opponents to 35.7 percent shooting, 25.7 from three-point range.
The Mountaineers saw enough of Wichita State to know a big deficit is a big problem.
"They're better than (UNI), so if we get down early it's going to be even tougher to come back," McBride said. "Just come out with energy and keep playing hard."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
