The RoundHouse | 2/1/2020 12:53:00 PM
23/22 WICHITA STATE (17-3, 5-2) at rv/rv TULSA (14-6, 6-1)
SATURDAY, FEB. 1, 2020 | 5:05 P.M.
TULSA, OKLA. / DONALD W. REYNOLDS CENTER (8,355)
TV: ESPNU (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: WSU leads 69-61 (29-35 at Tulsa)
Shocker fans love this game because it's close and tickets are available. They will make up a significant portion of the crowd, as they often do in the Reynolds Center.
That support might matter. The Hurricane is scary good at home, as their three January home games show. Tulsa rolled Temple 70-44 on Jan. 3. On Jan. 11, Tulsa defeated Houston 63-61. Eleven days later, it routed Memphis 80-40.
Tulsa is 10-1 at home (losing 66-63 to Arkansas State). The Hurricane shoots 48.6 percent from the field at home, up from 42.7 percent on the road. Their three-point shooting is 35 percent at home, up from 28.3 percent on the road.
That adds up to scoring 6.3 points more in the Reynolds Center.
Defensively, Tulsa holds opponents to 56.6 points at home. On the road, opponents score 68.9 points.
The Shockers are 5-3 in the Reynolds Center.
Tulsa is in a good spot to contend for the conference title after a strong January in which it went 3-1 on the road. It has six home games remaining.
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.
The Shockers face Cincinnati twice and travel to Houston, SMU and Memphis. Tulsa comes to Koch Arena on March 8.
Wichita State's offense pulled itself out of a slump with simple stuff in its 20-assist win over UCF a week ago. The guards led the way with a bunch of smart passes and good decisions on when to drive, shoot or pass.
"That's been an emphasis since we've been in this offensive slump – create offense for others," guard
Erik Stevenson said. "Drive, kick, draw two (defenders), hit the open man for an open look and hopefully he'll burn it."
Those 20 assists represent Wichita State's high mark in conference play, just as its 38.5 percent three-point shooting (10 of 26 stands as a high in conference play. The same things that worked against UCF's mix of defenses can work against Tulsa's zone.
"We shared the ball," center
Morris Udeze said. "Everybody on our team can go."
Against Tulsa, the Shockers will need to find ways to get defenders moving to open shots. They also need to hurt the zone with offensive rebounds. In conference play, Tulsa allows an average of 10.5 offensive rebounds a game. Cincinnati grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and scored 20 second-chance points in its rout of the Hurricane.
You have to attack," Wichita State coach
Gregg Marshall said. "You have to get behind it on the baseline and in the middle. Though they're playing a zone, we think we can throw it down to Jaime (Echenique) and the bigs."
Last season, the Shockers made 15 of 33 three-pointers in an 81-60 win at the Reynolds Center, matching the team record for makes.
Dexter Dennis led the Shockers with 18 points and made 6 of 8 three-pointers.
Dennis played a major role in Wichita State's previous two wins – snapping a two-game skid – as his three-point stroke returned to 2018-19 form. He is 8 of 17 from three in wins over USF and UCF. He averaged 15 points and 8 rebounds in those wins.
"He's seeing the ball go through the basket," Marshall said. "He's playing with a renewed fervor. It was just a matter of time if he was physically and mentally ready to go. I love seeing that success."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
