WSU suffers back-to-back conference losses for first time since 2013

Life in the American Athletic Conference will be different.

After losing four games in the Missouri Valley the last five seasons, No. 7 Wichita State has two losses in one week in its inaugural season in the American after Houston defeated the No. 7 Shockers 73-59 on Saturday at H&PE Arena. It was the first time WSU lost back-to-back conference games since losing to Evansville and Creighton to end the 2012-13 regular season.

Wichita State’s 11-game road winning streak, tied for longest in the country, was ended by Houston three days after its 27-game winning streak at Koch Arena was snapped by SMU. The Shockers dropped to 15-4 and 5-2 in the AAC, while Houston improved to 15-4 and 5-2 behind a game-high 24 points from Rob Gray.

“We’ve got to work on our ability to score against that type of pressure,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “We’ve got to work on rebounding in crowds. We’ve got to work on finishing in a crowd. We had several layups we missed. We’ve got a lot of things to work on. We didn’t have very many good performances. I’ve got to coach better and we’ve got to play much better.”

For Wichita State, which scored 59 points in 70 possessions, it was the worst offensive outing in the last 49 games since a 62-52 loss to Louisville on Nov. 24, 2016. The Shockers made just 12 of 28 shots (43 percent) near the rim, well below their season average of 61 percent — this coming against one of the shortest teams in the nation — and finished with a season-low four three-pointers on 20-percent accuracy. Shaquille Morris led WSU with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Wichita State never recovered from its worst offensive half of the season in the first half. The Shockers had more turnovers (11) than made baskets (eight) by halftime and finished shooting 35 percent from the floor, as Houston claimed a 35-26 lead.

“They were very physical,” Marshall said. “They did a great job of pushing through screens and getting through and being there on their toes when guys were getting ready to shoot. There were very little openings for us today for our shooters. They did a good job defensively.”

After the Shockers blitzed Houston for 53 points in the first half at Koch Arena earlier this month and essentially ended the game before halftime, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson had his team ready to defend on Saturday morning. Houston’s guards bullied WSU’s ball handlers and prevented them from operating with space.

On ball screens, Houston would trap WSU point guard Landry Shamet and force him to pass out of the play. The strategy to force the ball out of his hands worked in the first half, as Houston held WSU’s leading scorer scoreless and limited him to one shot.

“The one thing we had to get better at was choking off the three-point line,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said. “We did a great job of that today, not over-helping and not dropping off. Sometimes when you take something away, you’re going to give something up. That was offensive rebounding. But I’d much rather give up a few offensive rebounds than to give Shamet and (Conner) Frankamp and (Austin) Reaves open looks.”

It was the most disjointed performance of the season for WSU, even more than the first half in Stillwater where WSU turned the ball over 12 times and scored just 26 points. At least WSU played excellent defense in that game. On Saturday, Houston was able to get its leading scorer, Gray, going early and WSU was whistled for six traveling violations.

“Our defense sucks right,” Shamet said. “We can’t stop anybody. We have a lot to work on and figure out.”

WSU cut Houston’s lead to 22-17 late in the first half, then Gray got loose for a layup that kicked off a 9-2 run that established the first double-digit lead, 31-19, of the game for Houston.

Two Gray jumpers bookended a 7-2 run to start the second half to extend the lead to 42-28, but Wichita State would make its lone rally of the game when Shamet and Conner Frankamp made back-to-back three-pointers, then Rashard Kelly turned a steal into a dunk to cut Houston’s lead to 42-36 with 15:56 remaining.

It was the closest WSU would come.

WSU’s defense forced a stop on the next possession, but the offense couldn’t continue the run as Morris shuffled his feet for a turnover. Gray soon followed with another jumper and WSU came up empty on its next three possessions, as Houston quickly restored a double-digit lead.

“They were disruptive out front and that’s my fault,” said Shamet, who finished with seven points on 2 of 10 shooting with three assists and three turnovers. “As a point guard, I’ve got to make plays for others, especially when we’re struggling to score. I didn’t play well today and I felt like that’s why we lost the game.”

It was Wichita State’s first double-digit loss since Jan. 14, 2017 when it lost 76-62 at Illinois State.

This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 1:18 PM with the headline "WSU suffers back-to-back conference losses for first time since 2013."