Men's Basketball | 2/23/2025 7:04:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
More than 30 minutes after the game, Xavier Bell remained in his white uniform while he took pictures, signed autographs for children and adults and talked with fans near the tunnel at Koch Arena.
 
Were the fans asking about his 18 second-half points, his three three-pointers? How about 23 points total? The eight straight points he scored after halftime that effectively ruined Tulane?
 
All worthy subjects. Let's hope someone asked him about the blocked shot that also turned the vibes in Wichita State's 78-67 win over the Green Wave on Sunday. The Shockers (17-10, 7-7 American Athletic Conference) won their sixth straight game in large part because of a superb second half attacking Tulane's matchup zone defense.
 
Amidst all the shot-making and passing, Bell played "continuous" basketball and snuffed a potential rally in a split-second by blocking a dunk attempt by Tulane center Gregg Glenn III.
 
"X makes a heck of a play," coach Paul Mills said. "That's a huge momentum play."
 
The sequence started with WSU up 57-51 and Bell missing a three-pointer. The Green Wave pushed the ball with a 3-on-2 edge. Glenn took a bounce pass on the wing with a clear path. Bell, five inches shorter than Glenn, took off from the middle of the lane and blocked the dunk at the rim.
 
The Shockers turned that stop into a three-pointer by Bijan Cortes for a 60-51 lead with 7:10 to play. Instead of Tulane (15-12, 9-5) enjoying a six-point run and a four-point deficit, the Shockers stayed in control and led by eight or more points the rest of the way.
 
 

Few have tried to climb Mt. B̶a̶l̶l̶a̶r̶d̶ Bell and lived to tell the tale 😳@XavierBell03 | ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/h306NLv0Zf

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) February 23, 2025

 
 
"Just trying to be continuous," Bell said. "Just trying to do the next right thing. Make a play on the ball."
 
Continuous is Wichita State's term for moving immediately offense to defense or vice versa. Don't hesitate to ponder or look at the officials. Flush the previous play. Keep moving.
 
"Extra effort," Bell said. "Trying to sprint back. Do the next right thing."
 
The Shockers did the right things almost every possession in the second half after trailing 31-29 at halftime. Bell made two threes and a two-pointer. Corey Washington scored and WSU led 39-31.
 
WSU aggressively attacked Tulane's zone in the second half with Cortes expertly manipulating the defense on his way to nine assists. Washington got the ball on the move, cutting hard, and scored 11 points in the second half. Bell made two three-pointers and worked his lefty magic around the basket.
 
The Shockers went 2 for 14 from three-point range in the first half, lured into the type of shots the Green Wave want opponents to take. In the second half, the Shockers did a better job of attacking the zone.
 
"We had a lot of open shots in the first half from three," forward Harlond Beverly said. "We cut down on the attempts. Some of those, we turned them into drives. Drive the matchup."
 
The win opens appealing prospects for the Shockers. One more gives them their highest win total since the 2019-20 team went 23-8 in the COVID 19-shortened season. With four AAC games remaining, they can finish with a winning conference record for the first time since the 2021 Shockers won the AAC title at 11-2 in an abbreviated season.
 
Also possible is the program's first 20-win season since 2019-20.
 
The big goal – and the most difficult – is moving up into the No. 4 seed in the AAC Championship. The top four seeds open in the quarterfinal, meaning they must win three games to grab the automatic bid. Seeds 5-11 face four games in four days and No. 12 and No. 13 must win five.
 
Wichita State is seventh, two games behind fourth-place Tulane with FAU and ECU in between.  
 
 

Nothing to see here just your normal run-of-the-mill alley oop 😲

📺 ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/37neTG9zJz

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) February 23, 2025

Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.