Men's Basketball | 2/3/2021 10:18:00 PM
Isaac Brown figures his team played 32 minutes of good basketball. The final eight did not meet his expectations.
He is in that happy place for a coach when planning Thursday's video review.
The Shockers won with a strong effort for most of the game. Everybody can feel good about and he can show enough of the winning plays to remind them what worked.
Then he can hit them with a bunch of teaching moments.
The Shockers defeated Tulane 75-67 on Wednesday at Koch Arena. They led by 21 points with 7:39 to play and then allowed Tulane to cut the margin to eight with 4:54 remaining and six with 49 seconds to play.
"I can't wait to break down the film," Brown said. "I'm going to show a little bit of the first 32 minutes. The last eight minutes . . . we may watch that entire (time). You can't settle. Good teams don't play like that."
Take a moment to consider where the Shockers (10-4, 6-2 American Athletic Conference) are in this wacky season. Their interim coach is savoring the opportunity to push his team's buttons after a victory, a victory, by the way, that tied the Shockers with first-place Houston in the loss column.
"I've got to show the mistakes, because I don't want that to come back and bite us," Brown said. "They listen more when they can see it on film."
The Shockers are used to that approach. When they win, they expect to get learn and improve the next day.
"Even after wins we still find ways to get better," junior
Dexter Dennis said. "There's always room to get better."
Brown loved the defense for most of the game. The Shockers won the rebounding battle, even grabbing a few helpful offensive rebounds. They cut down on turnovers for most of the second half and finished with 13.
Dennis led a defense that locked up Tulane's top scorer and he ruined a bunch of layups with chase-down blocks.
Tyson Etienne scored 22 points and
Alterique Gilbert made 9 of 10 foul shots and handed out four assists with one turnover.
Good enough to win without too much stress.
But Brown wants better and the Shockers need that prodding to finish February strong. This is the month where teams win championships and set course for the post-season.
The last eight minutes will stick with any good coach, even if every coach knows playing 40 good minutes is a big ask. On Wednesday, Brown said he saw too much selfish play in the final minutes and a drop in defensive intensity. Tulane (7-6, 2-6) didn't possess the juice to rally. A better team might get closer than six points.
"You've got to learn how to close out games," Brown said. "Let's play as a team. Let's defend as a team. Let's play smart. We closed it out, but we didn't play well."
When Brown decides on the good stuff to show in video, it will feature a lot of Dennis' defense. He blocked four shots and gave a dissertation on the video study, anticipation and hustle it takes to master the chase-down block.
"He never gives up on a play," Brown said. "We call those winning plays. I love his effort."
Dennis took a lead role in holding Jaylen Forbes to nine points on 0-of-13 shooting.
"Elite defender," Etienne said. "We wouldn't be who we are without him."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
