The RoundHouse | 3/13/2021 5:35:00 PM
For most of the past three months, things got better and better for Wichita State. It won close games. It heated up in February, won the big game and took control of the conference race for good.
Saturday, things slipped out of its control for the first time since early December. Fifth-seeded Cincinnati knocked off the top-seeded Shockers 60-59 in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship in Fort Worth.
"Heart-breaker," Wichita State guard
Tyson Etienne said. "They did what we do. Don't go away."
The Bearcats (12-10) advance to Sunday's championship game. They played the second half without leading scorer Keith Williams, out with an unspecified injury.
"We've battled adversity all season, and we've been better because of it," Bearcats guard Mason Madsen said.
Wichita State (16-5) suffered its first loss in a game decided by five or fewer points since Dec. 12.
While the Shockers avoided disaster with Friday's one-point win over USF, they are in for a nervous Sunday waiting for the NCAA Tournament selection show. Entering Saturday, the Shockers appeared in almost every bracket projection. Most of those projections slot them as a No. 11 or No. 12 seed, which indicates a slim margin for error.
Coach
Isaac Brown said he feels confident the Shockers earned a spot in the 68-team field with its conference title and a record built on consistent effort during a tumultous season. The Shockers, almost without exception, won the games it needed to and avoided any huge upsets.
"We did the work we needed to do," Brown said. "I would think the team that wins this conference gets into the NCAA Tournament.
Three of its losses are to NCAA Tournament teams Missouri, Oklahoma State and Houston. Memphis is a borderline NCAA team and Cincinnati is 8-3 since a COVID-19-related pause for most of January.
Cincinnati, No. 119 in the NCAA NET rankings and No. 109 in Ken Pomeroy's rankings, represents the only thing close to a bad loss for the Shockers.
On the plus side, the Shockers defeated Houston (No. 5 in the NET) at home and Mississippi (No. 53) on the road. None of their other wins carry much rankings juice.
Center
Morris Udeze sounded the same note as his coach, with an additional emphasis on prayer over the next 24 hours. The Shockers won the conference ranked No. 7 nationally by Pomeroy with an 11-2 record.
"If you win the conference, how can you not get in the tournament?" he said. "If it's just a one-bid conference, I don't get it."
The Shockers went 9-1 in five-points-or-closer games because they excelled at solid, low-mistake play, their guards are excellent and they possess an ability to find contributions throughout the roster.
On Saturday, the Shockers slipped in those areas. Cincinnati's defense gets most of the credit for holding Wichita State to a season-low point total. The Shockers missed 20 of their 33 shots inside the arc. They lost four of the six games in which they shot 40 percent or worse on two-point shots.
The Shockers missed six of their 12 free throws. They committed 14 turnovers, too many in a low-possession game, leading to 10 Bearcats points. Bearcat reserves outscored the Shockers 26-10.
The Shockers missed seven of their final eight shots, including two in the lane in the final minute with a chance to tie.
"We just couldn't get shots to fall," Brown said. "They were better than us."
The Bearcats gave the Shockers chances to grab the game with their own misses and turnovers. The Shockers kicked away those chances.
Wichita State allowed 11 offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points. Those aren't usually fatal numbers, but in a close game they stung,
Perhaps most painfully, the Shockers gave up an offensive rebound with the game tied, leading to two Cincinnati free throws and a 57-55 lead.
An offensive rebound by the Bearcats of missed foul shot didn't lead to any points, but it did rob the Shockers of two precious seconds in the game's final moments. When Udeze rebounded the next miss with eight seconds to play, he passed to
Dexter Dennis, who then had to find
Alterique Gilbert. That delay forced Gilbert into a long three-pointer that went in and out.
"We were hoping that we could get to the rim," Brown said. "By the time we got it up the court, we couldn't get it to the rim."
When the ball bounced away, the waiting began for the Shockers, waiting on a process that has handed them some unpopular seeding decisions in recent years.
"I believe we have earned a spot in the tournament," Etienne said. "I trust the good energy will come back to us."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
