Wichita State presents hefty challenge for short-handed Missouri State

As so often happens in the Missouri Valley Conference, Wichita State is on the rise while its opponent is struggling with bad news compounded by the next date on the schedule.

The Shockers (10-5, 4-0 MVC) play at Missouri State, a team they’ve defeated 10 straight times, on Wednesday night. It gets worse for the Bears (6-10, 2-2), who are minus two starters and two reserves because of injuries. On Tuesday, coach Paul Lusk told the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader that back spasms will sideline sophomore forward Chris Kendrix, who averages 10.8 points.

“We’re really limited right now with what we can do with our numbers,” Lusk said Monday. “We get hurt in warmups. Chris Kendrix has been doing really a nice job for us. He fell to the floor, I guess, in warmups at Loyola and had some unbelievable back spasms.”

Kendrix joins guards Dorrian Williams, who started 13 games before a hamstring injury benched him, Austin Ruder (hip flexor) and Shawn Roundtree (hamstring) on the injury list. That leaves Lusk with junior transfer Dequon Miller and freshmen Jarred Dixon and Ryan Kreklow in the backcourt.

Even with those issues, the Bears defeated Loyola and Northern Iowa, both on last-second shots by Miller. MSU won both games without scoring 60 points and Lusk’s roster dictates that he coach to keep the score low and the pace slow.

“We’ve got be smart with what we’re doing,” Lusk said. “Taking care of the ball — we have to continue to do that.”

Wichita State survived its injury problems and is the MVC’s lone unbeaten and playing as well as expected when it started the season ranked No. 10. It has won five straight games and 8 of 9, six by 15 or more points. All the worrisome statistical numbers from a 2-4 start are reversing.

In four MVC games, WSU averages 75.5 points and is shooting 40.2 percent from three-point range. After eight games, WSU was shooting 30.9 percent from three-point range, now up to 34.5.

“I thought we were as good a shooting team as we’ve had,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “We’re getting healthy, different personnel out there. We haven’t changed anything we’re doing, it’s just who’s actually running the show and who’s making passes and who’s taking the shots.”

Extra practice time over Christmas break, when there are no NCAA-mandated limits, is also helping. The Shockers rarely practiced as a complete unit in November after guard Fred VanVleet injured his left hamstring. By late November, center Anton Grady and guard Landry Shamet were also out. Now Grady and VanVleet are back into a practice routine and guard Conner Frankamp is a month into his return to action.

The result is better timing, better understanding of roles and what each player is capable of executing. Marshall wants Frankamp to be more aggressive and more of a scoring force. Zach Brown limited his dribbling and one-on-one moves and is 9 of 18 from three-point range since an 0-for-9 start. The center duo of Grady and Shaq Morris averages 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in MVC play.

“We’re ready to make smart plays,” Brown said. “We’ve got a lot more chemistry together. It’s good seeing us click the way we’re supposed to be clicking.”

The Shockers are continuing to execute what they call “push and play” to take advantage of their depth by running and trying to score early in possessions. They are often omitting a quick-hitting play to start the possession, instead going right into their motion or ball-screen offense. On Saturday against Southern Illinois, they attacked the Salukis before they could organize their half-court defense for open shots.

“We’re trying to beat guys down the floor,” VanVleet said. “We’re just getting rebounds and trying to play.”

Frankamp scored a season-high 14 points at SIU, making 4 of 7 three-pointers. His performances are growing more assertive, which is what Marshall wants.

“Everyone knows what he's capable of, when they see it in practice,” Marshall said. “For whatever reason, he was just a little more tentative in games. At some point he's got to shed that. He’s got to just go play, and it was a good sign against Southern Illinois.”

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Wichita State presents hefty challenge for short-handed Missouri State."