Wichita State men's basketball head coach Isaac Brown spoke to media on Tuesday at his weekly media availability ahead of Wednesday night's matchup with Tulane. He spoke about what they need to do to win, his reaction to being idle for almost two weeks and what Dexter Dennis did so well in guarding Tulane's leading scorer in the first matchup.
 
The Shockers face off with the Green Wave at 5 p.m. on Wednesday night in New Orleans. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
 
HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN on … 
 
Opening Statement:
"Tulane, big basketball game on the road. They've been good all year at home. They've been in every game. They have won the last three, but a good basketball team. They continue to get better. They're a tough team to score against. They play a matchup zone. So you've got to do a good job of executing and making sure you get good shots. You've got to go against to the glass against them, they're not a great rebounding team. They've got Forbes. The kid who transferred from Alabama. He had 38 their last game. We've got to be able to execute. We've got to make some threes at home. We made 10. You've got to do a good job of taking care of the basketball because they force 16 turnovers a game."
 
… if he got any messages of support that stood out to him:
"I've been trying to focus on his game so bad. Like the deal last week, I was flattered. I was honored. The deal yesterday was great, but we've still got to play the Tulane Green Wave, so I really hadn't been answering my phone. I don't want to like lose focus and not just focus on that task. My mom called me, she congratulated me. She was so excited. She was crying. So I was excited about that, but I've got to get back to a lot of people. I had 425 text messages, so I hadn't returned 400 of them. I just have been trying to focus on his game. After this game is over, I'm gonna get back to every one of them."
 
… if the stakes of this game add any fun to it:
"The guys take it one game at a time. If we go down and win that game, that would be huge for us. I think Houston is going to win out in my opinion, don't quote that I just think they're going to be tough to beat at home. So we've got to win that game at Tulane to have a chance to win the conference title. So even if we get another game, if we don't win that game, I don't think we have a chance to win."
 
… if being idle for nearly two weeks has him anxious:
"The last time we were idle, we, we practiced for like an hour and 30, an hour and 40 minutes every day. I cut the practice back. We're only going an hour and 15 minutes. We're doing a lot more shooting, conditioning and we walk over our plays. So we're not doing as much contact, like bone on bone, going five on five and guys getting hit. So we're doing a lot more drills and shooting and stuff like that. Just to keep those guys sharp, but they're excited. They're ready to play. I think they're a little anxious because we've been out 13 days I think since the Houston game. So the guys are ready to go."
 
… if seeing other teams come off COVID breaks and lose makes him nervous:
"Yeah. It makes me a little nervous just knowing these guys hadn't played in 13 days, but they've been doing exactly what they need to do in practice. We talked about it. In order to play a good game, you've got to have a good practice and we put together some good practices last week and the week before that. The guys have been pretty sharp. We have no injuries, no COVID issues. And I think the guys are in tip-top shape and just ready to go tomorrow."
 
… what Dexter Dennis did in the first matchup to limit Jaylen Forbes:
"The fact that he was there every time Jaylen Forbes caught the basketball. He did a good job of guarding him, not fouling him as much. He draws a lot of fouls. We've got to do a good job in transition, knowing where Forbes is at. Forbes had 38 points against Cincinnati, he made eight threes. We have to do a good job on him. We can not leave him for any wide open looks. He's one of the top three-point shooters in the league. So we've got to do a great job with just making sure we don't give him any wide open looks."
 
… if it is frustrating to not get makeup games scheduled:
"It's not really frustrating. It's like that we can't control and I'm just focused on the game in front of me. I let other people bring that to my attention about the game that we possibly could play. I'm just trying to focus on that Tulane Green Wave. We got to get that game. So that's been my only focus watching film on them. I let other people try to schedule another game, but if it happens, that's great. I would love to play another game at home for our seniors. If we don't, we've just got to be prepared for the next team up on the schedule."
 
… what is different about this year's conference tournament:
"You know what, I'm not really sure about that. I know Todd, our trainer, told us that if one kid test positive and that's your roommate, you are not allowed to play in the tournament, even if you don't have COVID. So we're putting our guys in their own separate rooms. Normally they double up on the road. We're starting that COVID test starting on Thursday and we'll be testing every day. So we had like seven guys that wouldn't have taken COVID tests because they were within the 120 days. Now all of those guys, every guy on the team, will be getting tested every day. So it's kind of hyping it up a little bit for everybody now."
 
… if he reminds the players to remain steadfast with safety protocols:
"Yes. Every day before practice, I talk to them about wearing your mask. Anytime you're in the building, wear your mask, in your dorm room. Anytime you ride in the car with someone, on the bus, on the plane, in the hotel, I can not say it enough, but again, man, when you're dealing with 19 year olds, a lot of times those guys think they're invincible, but our guys have done a great job. Knock on wood. We hadn't had any issues, but now we're coming down to the crunch time and we just got to take care of our bodies and you can't be a selfish person and not wear your mask for yourself, but you got to look out for your own teammates. You got to make sure that we're all good."
 
… his thoughts about how his team has the most game cancellations despite his team not having COVID:
"Yeah. That's pretty unlucky. I think our conference had the highest number of cancellations. I think some of that may have to do with the fact that our conference is in big cities, maybe the population has something to do with it, but it's out of our control. There's nothing we can do. Hopefully going into this conference tournament that all teams are available to play. I think those teams that have been out, they will have the opportunity to play in the conference tournament. Just hopefully we make it there with no issues."