The RoundHouse | 2/10/2021 10:15:00 AM

 
February is mostly known for not being as fresh as January, when conference play generally starts, or as full of madness as March, when win-or-go-home games fill the calendar.
 
February is when those March memories get their start. Wichita State starts its crucial February stretch on Wednesday. If it needs inspiration, there is plenty of recent history to draw on.
 
Wichita State interim coach Isaac Brown was on hand for several of those February runs and he know how important these next six games are for the conference standings and post-season play. 
 
He just won't admit it, as most coaches won't. 
 
Talking about March, most wisely reason, is a sure way to ruin March. The Shockers (11-4, 7-2 American Athletic Conference) play at UCF (5-9, 3-8) at 6 p.m. Wednesday (ESPN-plus).
 
"We've just got to keep winning games," Brown said. "The next opponent is the next team on the schedule and we've got to do a good job against Central Florida. If you can continue to win, that'll take care of itself."
 
The Shockers show an encouraging ability to take a lesson – win or lose – and absorb the truths of video and practice. Tough losses to Missouri and Oklahoma State led to defensive improvements, better shot selection, passing and cutting. A loss to Memphis demonstrated the challenges of playing as a front-runner. The Shockers endured tough nights at the foul line earlier in the season. That has largely improved and they are shooting 68 percent in conference play while getting to the line at a good rate.
 
"They come into practice with a good attitude and just try to get better and learn from their mistakes," Brown said. "Back to the Mizzou game, the Oklahoma State game, all those teams that we played early on, we learned from those games. You've got to learn from your losses." 
 
Improvements come easier when a team is comfortable and confident with its identity. Wichita State doesn't turn the ball over, draws fouls to make up for cold shooting nights, plays defense and lets its backcourt shine.
 
The Shockers know they can count on their experienced guards to lead the offense, Dexter Dennis will lock up top scorers and Morris Udeze is a legit scoring threat in the post. Guard Tyson Etienne leads the American in scoring at 18.1 points. Reserves such as Clarence Jackson, Craig Porter Jr. and Ricky Council IV are capable of game-changing contributions.
 
"We come up with the right ways to attack," Etienne said. "Sometimes it's not me necessarily scoring the ball, you know, but somehow, I'm involved in the action. Since they give me a lot of attention that opens up other guys that score."
 
Rebounding remains the consistent source of worry. The Shockers have been outscored in second-chance points in five of nine conference games and rank 10^thin defensive rebound percentage (67.9 percent) in conference play.
 
"It just seems that balls aren't going our way sometimes, but all that is stuff we really try to work on," forward Trey Wade said. "I think we're a little undersized this year so it's a little different, but that doesn't change our mentality. We still try to go out and get every rebound. We've just got to keep working."
 
Working on rebounding is a daily item.
 
"We're just not rebounding at a high level," Brown said. "The last game we played, we gave up (17) offensive rebounds against Temple. We've got to do a better job of checking out and it's got to be all five guys. We do rebounding drills. We do contact drills. We do positioning drills, everything you can think of we've done to try to be a better rebounding team."

Enjoying February is all about improving, embracing the daily grind of workouts and travel and staying healthy. The Shockers did what they needed to do while winning three straight at home to set up this stretch. They play their next two on the road and then enjoy a rare conference four-game home stretch. 
 
Two games against SMU and home matchups vs. Memphis and Houston stand out as particularly important. If the Shockers are going to win the conference and improve their NCAA at-large resume, those are the prime opportunities.
 
At No. 78 in the NCAA's NET rankings and No. 83 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, the Shockers need to beat those teams (all ranked ahead of them in both) to make their case and set up a favorable conference tournament seeding.
 
The 2011-12 Shockers wrapped up the Missouri Valley Conference title and an at-large bid by going 8-0 in February. The 2014-15 Shockers did the same with an 8-0 February that featured a revenge win over No. 10 Northern Iowa with ESPN GameDay in attendance. 
 
The Shockers went 7-2 in February in 2015-16, good enough to cruise to another conference title and earn another at-large bid. In 2016-17, the Shockers went 8-0 in February and routed Illinois State to avenge an earlier loss and claim a share of the MVC title.
 
These Shockers don't need to be perfect. The blueprint for setting up March with a strong February is available for them to study.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.