Saturday’s opponent will force WSU to do something it’s struggled with: make open jumpers
An easy way to ignite a home crowd is for the offense to break down its opponent and produce a wide-open look from the three-point line. The crowd swells in anticipation, waiting to explode when the shot swishes through the basket.
So far this season Wichita State has failed to capitalize in those moments. In fact, according to Synergy, the Shockers have made just 27.5 percent of their open looks from the perimeter, making them one of college basketball’s worst shooting teams (they rank No. 338 out of 353) on open shots.
That ability might be put to the test more than ever on Saturday when WSU (5-4) plays Southern Miss (7-2) and its pack-line defense in a 4:30 p.m. game at Intrust Bank Arena broadcast on CBS Sports Network. The pack-line defense is known for prioritizing the paint and forcing teams to make outside shots.
“Any time you drive the basketball, two or three guys will collapse at you, which will force you to kick the basketball to someone who has to make a wide-open shot,” said WSU assistant coach Isaac Brown, who has prepared the scouting report on Southern Miss.
That should provide opportunities for WSU’s shooters like Markis McDuffie, Erik Stevenson, Samajae Haynes-Jones and Dexter Dennis. Even guards like Ricky Torres and Jamarius Burton, who are a combined 1 for 26 on three-pointers this season, will likely have the chance to take an open three.
But making them was actually an issue head coach Gregg Marshall identified before the Shockers had even played a game. Nine games into the season and it’s still an issue, as WSU is coming off one of its worst jump-shooting games of the season (8 for 31, 26 percent) against Jacksonville State.
“A lot of these young guys haven’t gotten to the point where they’re consistently knocking down open shots,” Marshall said. “When we do get open looks from whatever we’ve done, whether it’s a layup or a pull-up or a wide-open three, we have wide-open looks we’re not knocking down.”
Open looks from the perimeter are sure to be plentiful on Saturday. By design, USM’s defense is baiting opponents into taking over half of their shots from beyond the arc, which comes out to 28 three-pointers per game. So far this season USM’s defense has rarely been hurt because opponents are making just 31.9 percent of their wide-open shots, per Synergy.
Another factor for WSU’s shooting is the location, at Intrust Bank Arena, where the court has two sets of three-point lines. This setup confused the young Shockers, according to Marshall, during their loss to Oklahoma at Chesapeake Energy Arena, which had the NBA three-point line, which is three feet farther than the college three-point line, in paint and the college line in blue tape.
WSU’s shooters seemed to gravitate to the painted line and, as a result, launched 14 three-pointers from NBA range against OU. The setup at Intrust actually has the college three-point line in paint with the NBA line in blue tape.
“We will definitely go over that in practice because I really do think the guys got the lines confused,” Brown said Friday. “I think a lot of times when you’re on the basketball court and you’re running to the three-point line, you’re looking for that last line on the court.”
The trick for WSU is to show self-control in not settling for the first look at a three during a possession. The Shockers should once again have a size advantage inside with their centers, Jaime Echenique and Morris Udeze, and utilizing them inside will only improve the quality of the offense.
Taking quick shots and missing can be especially demoralizing against a team like Southern Miss. Not only is USM one of the most devastating teams in the country when it can force turnovers or run off long misses in transition, but when it settles in the halfcourt it plays at one of the slowest paces in college basketball.
“You play a team like Southern Miss that controls the ball so much on offense, they want to keep you guarding for 25 seconds,” Brown said. “That’s why you got to take good shots and you cannot turn the ball over because if you do, then you defend for 25 seconds, then you turn it over and have to go over 25 seconds again. I think it’s going to be important to be patient on offense.”
Southern Miss (7-2) at Wichita State (5-4)
When: 4:35 p.m. Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita
TV: CBS Sports Network (643 on Uverse, 260 on Cox, 221 on DirecTV, 158 on Dish)
Streaming: CBSSports.com (subscriber log-in required)
Radio: 103.7 FM and GoShockers.com
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