‘Most improved player’: Midtgaard’s 42 seconds of bliss helps flip game in WSU’s win
In an absolute must-win game at home against a struggling Connecticut team, Wichita State responded with a lack of urgency that troubled coach Gregg Marshall headed into the first media timeout of the second half.
WSU had just given up 10 points in four minutes and fallen behind by nine points.
“I was not happy and I didn’t like our life and the way we were going about it,” Marshall said. “It appeared we were kind of glazed over. I got into them pretty good during that timeout.”
Eventually the Shockers snapped out of their funk, winning 65-63 Thursday on a left-handed floater from Samajae Haynes-Jones at the buzzer. But it was the play of sophomore Asbjorn Midtgaard midway through the second half that brought the Koch Arena crowd to life for the first time and energized the Shockers.
In a 42-second span, the 7-foot center from Denmark scored two baskets, blocked two shots and punctuated his own 4-0 run with a slam dunk, giving WSU a 49-46 lead with 8:13 remaining. Midtgaard finished with four points, five rebounds (four offensive) and a career-high four blocks in 21 minutes.
“He’s the most improved player on this basketball team,” WSU senior Markis McDuffie said. “He just made things happen. Every game he’s been growing. Every game you see something new from him. I’m just very proud of him and he’s going to be a great player if he keeps working.”
Let’s examine that 42-second burst from Midtgaard that helped flip the game for the Shockers.
The stretch started with Midtgaard rescuing the Shockers from what looked like a possession doomed by a forced chuck from the outside. Midtgaard set an on-ball screen for Haynes-Jones with five seconds on the shot clock, then rolled to the basket with his hands held high. Haynes-Jones picked up his dribble, hesitated, then lofted a pass over the defense to Midtgaard, who caught it, turned and laid the ball in to beat the shot clock for a 47-46 lead.
UConn grabbed the ball out of the net and within seconds, Alterique Gilbert split the head of WSU’s full-court press to give UConn a numbers advantage. Midtgaard is WSU’s furthest back, so he had two UConn players to cover. He took away the nearest one and Gilbert dished it off to Sidney Wilson on the left.
Wilson took one dribble, Midtgaard slid over and both jumped at the same time. Midtgaard went straight up with both hands and Wilson adjusted in the air and tried to wrap around him with a left-handed finger roll. But Midtgaard also adjusted in the air and stretched his right arm out to smother Wilson’s attempt.
“I tried to go straight up and when I saw the ball out there, I knew all I had to do was stick my arm out,” Midtgaard said. “I know that’s not how you’re supposed to do it, but I knew it was going to be a clean block right there.”
The block jump-started a fast break for WSU, which ended with a three-point miss by McDuffie. UConn came down and tried to challenge Midtgaard again at the rim with the same result.
This time Gilbert beat Haynes-Jones off the dribble and went for a twisting layup on the left side. Midtgaard, who was stationed underneath the basket, actually didn’t see Gilbert driving until he planted and took off. Midtgaard was in perfect position and all it took was for him to go straight up to stuff Gilbert’s shot.
“He saved our butts down there with them blocks,” WSU freshman Jamarius Burton said.
What came next will make Midtgaard a film-room hero.
After the block, Midtgaard and UConn center Josh Carlton were running level when they passed UConn’s free-throw line. That’s when Midtgaard dug deep to sprint the floor to beat Carlton and win position on the block.
“I saw him to my left and I thought I could maybe I can beat him down,” Midtgaard said. “Running the floor is one of the emphasis for us bigs. That’s something I try to do. I know I’m maybe not the quickest guy, but I think once I get my pace up I’m pretty fast for a bigger guy.”
That sprint was important because it put UConn’s defense at a numbers disadvantage. Burton passed ahead on the fast break to Dexter Dennis, who returned it to Burton, who found himself with a 2-on-1 against a winded Carlton.
Burton took one dribble to suck Carlton away from the basket, then dumped it off to Midtgaard to reward him for his hustle.
Midtgaard knew what he had to do next.
“I tried to put a little more emphasis on it,” Midtgaard said of the dunk. “I knew I could get the crowd going, get the team going. Dunks give you momentum. So I tried to do a little extra, give it a little extra.”
Rarely one for emotion, Midtgaard let out an emotional scream. After the whistle for a Connecticut timeout, he wants you to know.
“I want to point out I made sure he blew the whistle for the timeout,” Midtgaard said, laughing. “Then I could celebrate.”
WSU didn’t win the game because of this stretch, but it was crucial because it raised WSU’s intensity for the final eight minutes. Afterward, the players raved about Midtgaard’s play and pointed to it as the turning point in the game.
Not bad for a player who played a total of 40 minutes in WSU’s 13 nonconference games, not to mention a total of 49 minutes his freshman season.
“It’s always nice to help my team win,” Midtgaard said. “Even if I help them win in practice, that’s okay. Of course it’s way cooler to help them win in the games. I just try to play my role and I’m happy to do whatever it takes for my team to win.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 3:48 PM.
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