Shockers improve to 3-0 after scorching the nets for 103 points in win over UT Martin
What a difference a week in the practice gym made for Gregg Marshall’s Shockers.
Exactly one week after the worst shooting performance in a win at Koch Arena in program history, Wichita State scorched the nets in a 103-62 victory over Tennessee at Martin to improve to 3-0 this season at the Roundhouse on Saturday.
WSU made 68.8 percent of its shots in the first half and finished with 15 three-pointers, which tied the program record, as the Shockers poured in 103 points — the most by WSU since a 109-57 win over UMKC on Nov. 10, 2017.
Freshman Tyson Etienne scored a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, while sophomore Jamarius Burton returned from injury and finished with 18 points (including a career-best four three-pointers), six rebounds, five assists and no turnovers. WSU had three other double-digit scorers in Morris Udeze (14), Trey Wade (10) and Erik Stevenson (10).
The Shockers’ favorite statistic? WSU finishing with 29 assists on 40 made baskets.
“That’s Shocker basketball,” Stevenson said.
“We talked before the game about loving the game and loving our teammates and the people we play with,” Marshall said. “If you love the people you play with and you love the game, then you’re not going to be selfish. We were nowhere close to selfish (Saturday).”
It was great shot after great shot for the Shockers, who made 10 of their first 11 shots to blitz UT Martin for a 24-4 lead after just seven minutes. The visitors burned two timeouts during that span, but nothing was cooling off WSU in the first half.
It was the polar opposite from last Saturday when WSU went 13 minutes in between field goals against Texas Southern, which featured 21 straight missed shots. The Shockers finished with six assists on 16 made baskets in that game.
Marshall couldn’t have imagined a better response from his team after spending the entire week of practice harping on his team to share the ball in pursuit of a great shot.
“It was the emphasis coach put on us this whole week,” Etienne said. “Everybody is going to eat. You saw today the way we shot the ball. Everybody knocked down shots, everybody was getting that extra pass. If we play like that and everybody does their job, there’s going to be a lot of open games like that for us.”
Everything was working for WSU, which looked like a different team with much better ball movement, cutting, screening and passing.
Burton, who made 10 three-pointers all of last season, showed off an improved stroke he spent the whole summer refining and had a career-high three three-pointers in the first half. A Burton three-pointer capped a 14-2 rally by WSU to open the game and force UT Martin to call a timeout with 16:09 remaining.
“I’m not trying to get complacent after one game,” Burton said. “I’m going to continue to put in the work and get better.”
WSU built a 28-4 lead in the first eight minutes of the game and took a 57-30 lead into halftime, as the Shockers made 68.8 percent (22 of 32) of their shots, including 10 of 15 three-pointers.
After 10 minutes last Saturday, WSU had seven points and trailed Texas Southern by three points. After 10 minutes this Saturday, the Shockers had 34 points and led UT Martin by 22.
“That was a little more fun anyway,” Marshall said. “Better than the last game, which was more like a visit to the dentist with a root canal.
“We were a little angry with how we played last week and we had a really, really good week of practice and it carried over into the game.”
After the center position had accounted for more fouls (20) than points (15) through two games, the trio of Morris Udeze, Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler and Asbjorn Midtgaard combined to finish with 26 points on Saturday.
Building that kind of lead in the first half could have made a young and inexperienced WSU team content. But the Shockers did well to never relent and turned a 27-point halftime lead into a 41-point victory.
WSU finished the game shooting 56.3 percent from the field and 53.6 percent on three-pointers. The Shockers out-rebounded UT Martin 43-27, limiting the Skyhawks to seven offensive rebounds. UT Martin finished 38.6 percent from the field with 18 turnovers.
The game was a preliminary game for the Cancun Challenge, as the Shockers will play Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. Tuesday in another preliminary game. The outcomes do not affect the bracket play in Cancun, as the Shockers are slated to play South Carolina on Nov. 26 and either West Virginia or Northern Iowa the following day.
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 3:56 PM.
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