The RoundHouse | 2/20/2019 10:27:00 PM
The Shockers now look like a team that knows how to win on the road. Once mistake-prone and fragile away from Koch Arena, Wichita State played a complete, mature game on Wednesday. Tulsa had beaten five Pomeroy top-100 teams at Reynolds Center – Oklahoma State, Kansas State (with Dean Wade), UConn, Memphis (by 16 points) and Temple (by 18 points).
Wichita State rolled into Tulsa and handled the Hurricane 81-60. Two first-half turnovers and great shooting (7 of 15 from three-point range) helped the Shockers take a 42-28 halftime lead. Tulsa didn't get closer than 10 in the second half and the Shockers led by 18 or more points over the final 8 minutes, 21 seconds.
The Shockers (13-12, 6-7 American Athletic Conference) finished with eight turnovers, made 15 of 33 three-pointers and held Tulsa to 30-percent shooting.
That is a road effort that holds up with almost any from Wichita State's dominant days in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Shockers executed crisply against Tulsa's matchup zone, worked for good shots and made them.
Jamarius Burton handed out a season-high 10 assists and
Ricky Torres added seven to help the Shockers record 30 baskets on 24 assists.
The defense helped by limiting Tulsa's easy shots. The Hurricane missed 18 of their 22 three-point shots and didn't score a point on a fast break.
With three home games remaining and road games against SMU and East Carolina, the Shockers can realistically look at finishing 9-9 or better in the American. They have won five of six games and that trend will continue if they continue to play with that level of confidence and smarts.
Dexter Dennis is joining the ranks of the American Athletic Conference's top freshmen. It took him longer than expected. It wasn't long ago he was so frustrated by foul trouble that he took himself out of the starting lineup.
On Wednesday, Dennis scored 18 points, making 6 of 10 three-pointers, and grabbed eight rebounds in 30 minutes. He dented Cincinnati for 14 points and 13 rebounds in Sunday's loss.
With Dennis shooting so well, the Shockers survived a nine-point effort by senior
Markis McDuffie. Two weeks ago, that would have been unthinkable.
Shockers coach Gregg Marshall's dominance of Tulsa continues with his 10
thwin in 11 meetings. The Shockers have won 11 of the past 12 meetings, its most successful run against its former Missouri Valley Conference rivals.
Wichita State won nine of 11 meetings from 1987-91 and eight of 11 from 1963-68. It won eight of 10 meetings early in the series, from 1931-49.
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
