The RoundHouse | 1/13/2021 9:21:00 PM

Wichita State interim coach Isaac Brown reminded the Zoom faces that Morris Udeze started games at center earlier in his career.
 
"He's starting to be that guy again," Brown said after a 72-53 win over Tulsa at Koch Arena.
 
Wednesday's effort provided the strongest evidence to date that Udeze, a 6-foot-8 junior from Houston, is the big man who can help the Shockers win at an acceptable rate. He scored a career-high 20 points and matched his career-high with eight rebounds.
 
The Shockers (8-3, 4-1 American Athletic Conference) swept the season series from Tulsa (7-4, 4-2) and remain percentage points behind No. 11 Houston for first place.
 
Pair that with his 18-points, five-rebound performance against Cincinnati and Udeze owns back-to-back games in double figures for the first time since early in 2019-20. That season, he started five games, while Jaime Echenique recovered from injury, before returning to a backup role.
 
With Echenique gone, Udeze prepared for 2020-21 like he knew Wichita State needed him to start. Earlier in the spring, he decided to transfer, then changed his decision. That decision to looks better and better each game.
 
Udeze, home in Houston over the summer, decided to use the time productively. He ran. He worked on his shooting and ball-handling. He spent hours in the gym in two-a-day sessions with his trainer.
 
His motivation? He wanted to use the time to catch up to other big men. He put a target on any center who passed him over the previous two seasons and wasn't hard at work at home.
 
"I kind of cranked it up to a whole new level," he said. "Quarantine gave me a lot of time to patch up my game and work on my shot and all that."
 
Udeze showed this kind of potential in his first two seasons. He scored 10 points against Providence in his second game as a freshman, but a shoulder injury ended his season early. Last season, he scored 14 points against Tennessee-Martin, 15 against Gardner-Webb and had a strong stretch that started with eight points in a win over Oklahoma. Echenique, however, gobbled up most of the center minutes on his way to second-team all-conference honors.
 
When Udeze returned to Wichita this summer, Brown saw an improved athlete. He didn't tire as easily. He could dribble with both hands and his shot grew more reliable, especially at the foul line.
 
"He's gotten better using his left hand," Brown said. "He took care of his body. He did a great job in conditioning. Now he can play more minutes. I think that's the biggest thing."
 
Udeze made 6 of 7 shots and 8 of 9 free throws against Tulsa. Last season, he shot 48.2 percent from the line. This season, he is 27 of 33 (81.8 percent) from the line. He made five of those foul shots in the second half to help beat back a Hurricane rally.
 
"Hundred, 200 free throws a night," he said. "Repetition. Just keep on shooting."
 
Udeze's work in the lane complemented good outside shooting (11 of 29 from three-point range) and a motion offense that worked crisply. Guard Tyson Etienne scored 20 points and expressed surprise at some of the open shots the Tulsa defense allowed. Guard Alterique Gilbert handed out a season-high eight assists
 
"Our motion was better than it's been all year," Etienne said. "We were moving the ball."
 
The sweep gives Wichita State its third straight win over Tulsa and its 15^thin the past 17 meetings. The Shockers have won nine straight in Wichita, one of those at Intrust Bank Arena.

Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.