Shockers know what's at stake

By Paul Suellentrop
The Wichita Eagle

After two emotional, exhausting games, Wichita State's men's basketball game gets what appears to be a break.

The Shockers (20-5, 9-4 Missouri Valley Conference), as they are well aware, can't look at Evansville that way. They play the Aces (6-17, 0-13 MVC), losers of 14 straight, on Tuesday at Evansville's Roberts Stadium.

"Every time we watch film of Evansville playing a team that we're about to play, they always play really hard," WSU junior Graham Hatch said. "So we know that Evansville plays really hard, and we're going to have to come and play."

Yes, the Aces are winless in the MVC and they don't have a scholarship senior on the roster. Yes, they haven't won a game since Dec. 19 and their average margin of defeat in Valley games is 12.5 points.

"They can shoot the ball real well," WSU guard Toure Murry said. "We can't have setbacks. We've got to keep moving."

The Shockers don't want to fall in the same trap they did in a loss at Drake, or almost did Saturday against Indiana State. WSU lost its rematch with Drake after easily handling the Bulldogs. Indiana State showed up with eight healthy players and missing its top two scorers. It led WSU by 15 points in the second half before a rally gave the Shockers a 76-70 win.

WSU won't be picky about how it wins, especially after a 59-56 loss at No. 24 Northern Iowa. If that game took a lot out of the Shockers, they recovered just in time against Indiana State to put a stronger grip on second place in the MVC.

"I think, as a team, we were a little down from the UNI game, and it carried over a little bit," Hatch said. "But we stuck together. We were able to pull it off."

Creighton's loss at Missouri State dropped the Bluejays into a three-way tie for third with Illinois State and Bradley. That group is two games behind WSU with five to play. Bradley and Illinois State play Tuesday in Peoria, Ill.. Saturday, Creighton plays host to Illinois State and first-place Northern Iowa is at Bradley. By the end of the week, WSU's closest competitors — or at least two of the three — could be three games back with three to play.

That will only happen if the Shockers handle Evansville and Missouri State on Sunday at Koch Arena. They haven't won more than two in a row since a five-game streak in early January. To wrap up that No. 2 seed in the MVC Tournament, the Shockers need another streak and the schedule is favorable.

After Saturday's rally — WSU outscored Indiana State 33-12 in the final nine minutes — coach Gregg Marshall won't question his team's resiliency. The Shockers played a near-perfect stretch — one turnover in that span — to wear down the Sycamores.

"We're not going to quit," he said. "I've seen them be pretty tough. This was a test — at home, late in the game, down 15."

Check Paul Suellentrop's Shocker blog at blogs.kansas.com/shockwaves. Reach him at 316-269-6760 or psuellentrop@wichitaeagle.com.