Why Sunday’s road trip to Oklahoma State could be crucial to Wichita State in March

Whether or not the Wichita State men’s basketball team returns to the NCAA Tournament later this spring very well could be determined by the results over the next three weeks.

Potentially the most important game of the non-conference portion of the Shockers’ schedule comes Sunday, when the WSU (7-1) travels to Stillwater, Okla. to play Oklahoma State (7-1) in a 1 p.m. broadcast on ESPNU at Gallagher-Iba Arena. This is WSU’s lone road test in its non-conference slate.

Throw in crucial showdowns in Wichita against Oklahoma (7-1) next Saturday at Intrust Bank Arena and then VCU (6-2) at Koch Arena the following Saturday, and the Shockers are about to play three straight likely NCAA Tournament teams.

So why is Sunday in Stillwater so important?

In short, it could be WSU’s only chance to score an elusive non-conference Quadrant 1 victory in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which are used to seed the NCAA Tournament field. Quadrant 1 wins are wins against top-35 teams in the NET at home and against top-75 teams on the road.

It’s still early to predict where teams will fall in the NET — the first rankings don’t come out until Dec. 16 — but Oklahoma State is a near-lock to finish the season as a top-75 team, meaning Sunday’s game is a Quadrant 1 opportunity for WSU. It’s unclear if Oklahoma or VCU will meet the top-35 criteria this season, so those home games for WSU aren’t guaranteed to finish as Quadrant 1 chances.

A loss Sunday won’t harm WSU’s NCAA Tournament résumé, but a win could be the marquee victory that pushes the Shockers above the bubble on Selection Sunday.

“The problem if you’re a Wichita State fan is that South Carolina just isn’t that good whatsoever this season, so you lack a real strong win to this point,” CBS Sports senior writer Matt Norlander told The Eagle. “Oklahoma State presents a great opportunity in a road environment.

“When you’re Wichita State and you’re probably going to be somewhere near that bubble, you need to rack up as many Quadrant 1 victories as possible. It’s fairly important for Wichita State to make sure you get the most of this chance.”

WSU coach Gregg Marshall knows the value that winning in Stillwater presents. Just two seasons ago, the Shockers knocked off Oklahoma State 78-66 at Gallagher-Iba for the first time in 60 years behind 30 points from Landry Shamet. That 25-7 regular season saw them earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But as a coach, Marshall’s not afforded the opportunity to look forward like fans and analysts can. He’s focused on winning Sunday, rather than the potential benefits a win can bring to WSU in March.

“I don’t know about that — you may be right,” Marshall said when asked about the elevated importance of Sunday’s game. “What I do know is that going to Stillwater and winning is difficult. We did it the last time we were down there. It was a great game and it took tremendous heart, toughness and some big-time players making big-time plays. We’ll have to do the same.”

Sunday’s matchup pits two of the best defenses in the country against one another. According to Ken Pomeroy, WSU has the No. 12 defense in the country and Oklahoma State No. 16. WSU is allowing 60.1 points per game and ranks No. 8 nationally in points per possession (0.81), while OSU is allowing 61.2 points per game and ranks No. 13 nationally in points per possession (0.83).

Opponents are making just 25.4% of their three-pointers against Oklahoma State (the ninth-stingiest mark nationally), while 6-foot-10 sophomore Yor Anei (3.1 blocks per game, second-best block percentage in the country) takes care of protecting the rim for the Cowboys.

“Oklahoma State is a real-deal kind of team,” Norlander said. “Right now, defensively, they are terrific. But Wichita State is probably going to be able to prep in practice with some kind of familiarity, because I don’t think the style that Oklahoma State plays defense and the style Gregg Marshall has taught over the years are that different. These are two of the top-20 defenses easily in America.”

So this game will be a chance for WSU to redeem itself after a less-than-stellar showing on offense in a 75-63 loss to West Virginia last week in the Cancun Challenge championship.

After giving up 17 offensive rebounds to the Mountaineers, Marshall publicly challenged the toughness of his post players. They responded in Thursday’s 95-69 victory over Central Arkansas by securing 25 of 28 possible defensive rebounds.

Limiting second chances could once again be the difference in Sunday’s game.

“That will be key on Sunday: can we do it against those type of athletes now?” Marshall said. “We’ve got to carry that on the road and see what you can do against a Big 12 opponent that’s really talented and long and athletic and well coached on Sunday.”

Wichita State (7-1) at Oklahoma State (7-1)

When: 1:05 p.m. Sunday

Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611), Stillwater, Okla.

TV: ESPNU (Ch. 244 on Cox, Ch. 605 on AT&T, Ch. 208 on DirecTV, Ch. 141 on Dish)

Streaming: Watch ESPN

Radio: KEYN, 103.7 FM

Series: Oklahoma State leads 30-9 (15-3 in Stillwater)

Projected starters

Coach: Mike Boynton, third season, 40-36

Coach: Gregg Marshall, 13th season, 315-114

About Oklahoma State: Sunday’s visit to Stillwater marks WSU’s only true road game of the non-conference slate and kicks off a four-year home-and-home series with OSU... OSU is ranked No. 25 in the most recent coaches’ Top 25 poll. WSU received four votes in the poll... Oklahoma State returns all five starters from a 12-20 team last season and was picked to finish sixth out of 10 teams in the preseason Big 12 coaches poll... OSU star Isaac Likekele, a 6-foot-4 sophomore point guard, missed Wednesday’s game against Georgetown, which was the Cowboys’ first loss of the season. Likekele is averaging 13.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.9 steals... Yor Anei, another sophomore, ranks 12th in the country in blocks per game (3.1). He was an honorable mention preseason all-Big 12 pick and is averaging 11.8 points and 6.6 rebounds... OSU has a familiar face on its staff in Barry Hinson, who is in his first season as an analyst. He faced the Shockers 32 times as a head coach at Missouri State and Southern Illinois... The teams share one common opponent, as OSU defeated Oral Roberts, 80-75, on Nov. 6, while WSU beat ORU, 68-59, in Wichita on Nov. 23.

About Wichita State: WSU will look for back-to-back wins over OSU for only the second time in series history... The Shockers closed the 2018-19 season with six straight road wins, a streak that is tied with VCU for the nation’s third-longest road winning streak behind North Carolina (10) and Gonzaga (9). Since the 2013-14 season, WSU’s 78.9% road winning percentage is second only to Gonzaga... WSU is among the national leaders in turnover margin (plus-6.3, tied for 12th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.14, 14th). Erik Stevenson ranks seventh nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.50)... Since an 8-11 start to last season, WSU has now won 21 of its last 26 games... Gregg Marshall is 7-6 against Big 12 teams in 13 seasons, including a 1-1 record against Oklahoma State... On this date, Dec. 8, 1990, WSU defeated OSU, 72-69, at Levitt Arena behind John Cooper’s 21 points. Cooper, who played for the Shockers from 1987-91 and ranks 32nd on the program’s all-time scoring list, works for OSU as a special assistant on the OSU staff... WSU is making 8.4 three-pointers per game, which leads the American Athletic Conference. WSU’s three-point shooting percentage is up nearly three full percent (33.7%) from beyond the arc this season compared to last.

This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 6:00 AM.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

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Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.