The RoundHouse | 12/13/2019 11:07:00 AM
OKLAHOMA (7-1) at WICHITA STATE (8-1)
SATURDAY, DEC. 14, 2019 | 5:05 P.M.
WICHITA, KAN. / INTRUST BANK ARENA (15,004)
TV: ESPN2 (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 (GoShockers.com/Listen)
A month ago, the Shockers used words such as "selfish," "hero ball," and "one-on-one" to describe a clunky offense in the days following a win over Texas Southern.
After an 80-61 win at Oklahoma State on Sunday, coach
Gregg Marshall called it a beautiful brand of basketball.
The numbers back that up. Since registering six assists against Texas Southern, the Shockers handed out 16 or more in six of the next seven games. They hit 29 against UT Martin, 22 against Central Arkansas and 18 at Oklahoma State.
The improvement is combination of factors – practice, video review, experience and a trust for teammates and how everyone fits in the offense.
"I think our young players are starting to feel the rhythm of how college basketball actually works," center
Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler said. "It's pretty exciting, because seeing them excel in this makes us want to keep pushing ourselves. That's where the experience comes in."
The Texas Southern game provided one marker in the season. The Shockers had six assists and shot a season-low 24.2 percent from the field. That game provided a strategic turning point, demonstrating the value of unselfishness and running the offense to get the best possible shot as often as possible.
The loss to West Virginia demonstrated how focus and determination are also required. The Shockers shot 30.6 percent in that game and again finished with six assists.
"After the West Virginia game, we finally got ahold of what we needed to do," Poor Bear-Chandler said. "West Virginia, it's an NCAA Tournament team and I don't think we had seen that. Now that we have, I feel like our ceiling is higher than it was. They showed us how hard we have to play."
Freshman guard
Tyson Etienne scored 19 points and had four assists at Oklahoma State. He sees that rhythm in Wichita State's assists totals in their wins.
"We saw that playing one-on-one wasn't going to get us the victories that we wanted," he said. "We had to believe in each other. That if you make the extra pass, it's going to go in and good things come to those people. You'll get the ball and you'll make a shot, too."
Since that Texas Southern game, the Shockers (8-1) dramatically improved their two-point shot accuracy. They went 13 of 50 inside the arc, a season-low 26 percent. Since then, they hit 45 percent or more in six of the next seven games and better than 52 percent in five of those.
The Shockers are running the offense, creating good shots and hitting the offensive boards to produce put-back opportunities.
"We're moving, cutting, screening, getting other people open," forward
Trey Wade said.
Oklahoma (7-1) has played four top-100 teams in the Pomeroy rankings. Against that schedule, they are No. 51 nationally in Pomeroy's defensive efficiency ranking. The Sooners thrive on different defensive plusses – they don't foul, they block shots and they don't turn the ball over. They outscore opponents 124-68 at the foul line and they outscored six of their eight opponents in points off turnovers.
The burden on Wichita State's offense is to match that efficiency and take advantage of offensive-rebounding opportunities that the Sooners surrender.
Etienne is a primary beneficiary of improved offensive execution. Against Oklahoma State, he expertly moved to open areas to receive passes.
"When I drove, and other people drove, he was able to read the defense and get to the open spot and knock down the shot confidently," guard
Jamarius Burton said. "We're playing for one another. We all are gaining more and more trust in one another, which I'm pretty sure we didn't have early on."
It's no coincidence that Wichita State's big leaps came after extended practice time. They had a week in between the Texas Southern game and their next outing. After losing to West Virginia, they had another week off before a warmup game against Central Arkansas and then two more days to prepare before playing Oklahoma State.
Proof: The Shockers won by 19 points on the road without getting a point from sophomore
Dexter Dennis and with center
Jaime Echenique limited to 10 minutes because of foul trouble.
"These guys are now listening and getting better," Marshall said. "That's an exciting thing about this team. What we've proven now is our ceiling, but there are so many ways to keep improving. It's fun to come to work."
The Sooners will bring in several familiar faces to Intrust Bank Arena.
Former Shocker Austin Reaves leads OU in scoring at 17.6 points a game. He is shooting 31.8 percent from three-point range, but is 39 of 48 from the line. That's twice as many attempts as any Shocker. He also averages 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Forward Brady Manek averages 14 point. As a freshman, he scored 21 points and made five three-pointers in a win over the Shockers at Intrust Bank Arena, one in which former OU star Trae Young also excelled.
Last season, Manek missed all five of this threes in OU's win in Oklahoma City.
OU is No. 14 nationally in time of possession, according to Pomeroy, at 14.9 seconds per possession.
Marshall likes the direction of his team's defense. OU will challenge the Shockers again. Last season's they made 10 of 25 threes in an 80-48 win. Two seasons ago, the Sooners won 91-83 with Young scoring 29 points and handing out 10 assists.
"You know they're going to be well-coached and that they'll have Big 12 athletes," Marshall said. "Over the last couple of years, we've had a tough time containing (OU), so we'll see how elite our defense really is."
The Shockers held seven of their nine opponents under 40 percent shooting. They forced 14 or more turnovers in seven of nine games. Like on offense, that is a result of experience and depth. It starts on the perimeter, where Wichita State does a better job limiting penetration.
"This year I have more options to defend the point of attack," he said. "Last year, I had to go with who we had. We had so many young guys we threw out there to defend the point of attack."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
