The RoundHouse | 2/27/2020 11:51:00 AM
TEMPLE (14-13, 6-8) at WICHITA STATE (20-7, 8-6)
THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 2020 | 7 P.M. CT
WICHITA, KAN. | CHARLES KOCH ARENA (10,506)
TV: ESPN (WatchESPN)
RADIO: KEYN 103.7 FM (GoShockers.com/Listen)
SERIES: Temple leads 6-3 (3-1 in Wichita)
LAST: Jan. 15, 2020 in Philadelphia (TEM, 65-53)
By
Paul Suellentrop
The American Athletic Conference came stocked with interesting connections for Wichita State and its fans.
A series with Tulsa, the closest former Missouri Valley Conference rival. Cincinnati, for those who remember the 1950s and 1960s Valley of Death. Memphis, another MVC flashback. And UConn, just because it's UConn.
Raise your hand if you saw this coming with Temple.
The series is 3-3 since the Shockers joined the American for the 2017-18 season. Two went to overtime. In five, the team behind at halftime came back to win. In both 2018 and 2019, the Shockers eliminated the Owls from the conference tournament.
In 2018, Temple upset No. 16 Wichita State in overtime in Philadelphia after trailing by seven points with 5:02 to play. The Shockers responded by stopping a five-game win streak by the Owls in the rematch. They trailed by 14 at halftime and won 93-86. The Owls went 16 of 29 from three-point range to set an arena record.
In January, Temple lost by 14 points to Tulane at home and then stopped Wichita State's nine-game win streak with a 65-53 win over the 16
th-ranked Shockers.
The Owls (14-13, 6-8) lost seven of eight earlier this season, with the lone win over the Shockers. That fits the tone of this nutty series. No matter the set-up, expect a crazy finish.
"They're tough, they're city kids and they want to win," Wichita State coach
Gregg Marshall said.
Temple recorded eight steals and forced 15 turnovers in the win over WSU earlier this season. The Owls scored 14 points off those turnovers. Their defense turned the game early in the second half as they flipped a six-point halftime deficit into a 43-37 lead.
The Owls outscored Wichita State 39-21 in the second half, helped by eight Shockers turnovers and misses on all 10 of their three-point attempts.
"We need to attack their pressure," Marshall said. "They had a 1-2-2 two-thirds court nuisance press that slowed us down. We were very timid against it and we've got to be more aggressive if they want to do that. We've got to reverse the ball, reverse the ball, take your shot and go."
With four regular-season games remaining for Wichita State, it is in position to make a solid case for an NCAA at-large bid. Projected NCAA brackets include the Shockers in a seed range (mostly No. 10-12) that means there is little room for slippage.
The Shockers play two of their remaining games at home. They are favored by Pomeroy's projections to win three, although games at SMU (win) and Memphis (loss) are one-pointers. Two wins are vital and more than that adds heft to their resume.
Wichita State is 8-7 in Quadrant I and II games this season with SMU and Memphis offering chances to add to that total. Wichita State is No. 46 in the NCAA NET rankings which help determine inclusion and seeding for the tournament. Memphis is No. 62 (meaning at win at Memphis would be a QI win) and SMU is No. 81.
It matters for their resume that the Shockers are 12-0 against the rest and defeating No. 112 Temple (Quadrant III) is vital.
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
