The RoundHouse | 2/1/2020 8:11:00 PM

 
No. 23 Wichita State held Tulsa to 16 baskets and forced 16 turnovers and it is hard to lose when that statistic goes a team's way.
 
Tulsa knocked off Wichita State 54-51 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Elijah Joiner. The runner kicked off a court-storming by the student section and put the Hurricane alone in first in the American Athletic Conference. 
 
Shockers coach Gregg Marshall didn't need to talk about much more than his team's shooting statistics. Wichita State took 15 more shots than Tulsa – quite often another indicator of a winning performance. It made only 20 and it missed 25 of its 31 three-point attempts.
 
"You have to make shots," Marshall said. "You have to make wide-open shots."
 
The Shockers (17-4, 5-3 American) did not make those shots and most teams don't against Tulsa (15-6, 7-1). The Hurricane mix up their defenses to great effect, switching from man to zone to a different zone. Early in the game, it slowed down the Shockers and took them deep into the shot clock. Throughout, it kept them from getting any flow.
 
Guard Tyson Etienne, who missed 6 of his 8 three-pointers, said the changing defenses cause shooters to hesitate. Should they shoot this shot? Is there a better one coming? Pass up one shot against Tulsa and who knows what's next.
 
Dexter Dennis went 1 for 7 from three. Erik Stevenson missed all six of his threes. Grant Sherfield made 2 of 5.
 
"You're not sure if it's the right shot in that situation," Etienne said. "You're not sure if it's the shot you want."
 
Shooters with clouded minds often struggle. In their next meeting with Tulsa, now that the Shockers got a look at the Hurricane and can study video, things might be different.
 
"We need to find the holes at the right moment," center Jaime Echenique said. "We missed a lot of easy ones. When you don't take care of those easy opportunities, it will be hard to win."
 
Stevenson missed a three with 27 seconds to play. Wichita State's Jamarius Burton grabbed the rebound. After a timeout, Burton drove into the lane. A Tulsa defender poked the ball away. Burton grabbed it, but the Shockers couldn't get a shot off before the shot clock expired. 
 
The turnover gave Tulsa the ball with 3.3 seconds to play.
 
Joiner, a junior guard who entered the game averaging 6.6 points, scored a career-high 22 points and handed out five assists. He entered the game with 10 threes this season and made 5 of 6. 
 
The Shockers held Tulsa leading scorer Brandon Rachal to two points on 1-of-10 shooting. Tulsa outscored the Shockers 15-5 at the foul line after taking 13 more attempts than Wichita State.
 
Echenique, unburdened by fouls, played 30 minutes, 26 seconds, his second highest total this season. 
 
He scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. He made 7 of 12 shots and Tulsa struggled to defend him all game. Echenique also blocked three shots and took three charges. 
 
Echenique, a senior, wanted his teammates to understand much of the season remains. 
 
The Hurricane, thanks to the buzzer-beater and Cincinnati's win over Houston, are alone atop the conference. Wichita State is in fourth, behind Houston and Cincinnati (both 7-2 in the American).
 
Staying in fourth place is important because the top four seeds get a bye in the conference tournament. The Shockers play Cincinnati and Houston next, so their position in the standings could look much different in a few days – if they can make a few shots.
 
"We're right there," Echenique said. "We need to keep working. We just have to understand a few more things."
 
Tulsa is the American's most surprising team and it benefits from a favorable schedule in February. The American's unbalanced schedule spares the Hurricane trips to Memphis and SMU and it plays Cincinnati once. Seven of its remaining 10 games are against teams below .500 in the American.
 
"We knew it was going to be a war," Echenique said. "They're feeling themselves and they've got a lot of confidence."
 
Saturday's crowd of 8,089 filled almost every seat in the Reynolds Center, which lists its capacity at 8,355. Shocker fans more than did their part, just as they did in 2018 when they contributed to the building's most recent sellout of 8,355.

It was good night for those who want the Tulsa rivalry to heat up. The Hurricane visits Koch Arena on March 8.
 
Wichita State fans showed up more than an hour before tip. They grabbed about 15 seats directly behind the Tulsa bench They filled the section behind the Shocker bench, floor to rafters. and a good portion behind the scorer's table. Shocker fans dominated the scene behind ESPNU's broadcast team and filled a smaller section next to the Tulsa students.
 
Tulsa's average home attendance in its first 11 games was 3,577 with a high of 5,607 for its opener against Houston Baptist. In three conference home games, it averaged 3,933. 
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.