WSU’s youth shines on the road in its biggest road test of the non-conference schedule
Wichita State started 2-8 away from Koch Arena and 0-6 in true road games last season. The Shockers already have two wins in three games outside of Kansas.
The Shockers beat Oklahoma State 80-61 Sunday in Stillwater for their biggest possible road victory of their 2019-20 non-conference schedule. It could go down as one of the key reasons to put WSU back into the NCAA Tournament in March.
The Shockers are the 15th-youngest team in Division I basketball. Eleven of the 16 players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores. Seven of the 10 who touched the floor in the first half are in their first or second season in a Shocker uniform.
Last year, playing on the road was a problem for some of those same players.
“I just love the upside that we have,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “Today, we showed what the present looks like. It wasn’t about the future.”
Sunday, freshman Tyson Etienne had a game-high 19 points. Sophomore Erik Stevenson was behind him with 13. In fact, WSU’s youngest players accounted for 67.5 percent of the scoring.
Marshall said Etienne was the best scorer on the floor, and sophomore Jamarius Burton was the most impactful. Burton finished with a career-high 11 assists.
WSU hadn’t beaten a Big 12 opponent by at least 19 points in more than a decade. Sophomore forward Isaiah Poor-Bear Chandler said the win taught this young group something.
He said last year, the younger players looked up to Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones as, “idols.” Those same players are starting to get it now, he said.
“All of us sophomores were there last year,” Poor-Bear Chandler said. “We had to tell the freshmen to kick it in gear from the start or it was gonna be the same as last year. I’m just glad that our young boys are more comfortable.”
WSU hit some of those last season road woes to end the first half. The Shockers went more than six minutes without a field goal before junior center tapped in a bucket. Even with the struggles to end the first 20 minutes, WSU still carried a 38-31 lead into the locker room.
Marshall said the game could have gone one of two ways.
“They were going to bring it back and tie it and take the lead or we’re going to push it over 10,” Marshall said. “We were able to push it over 10 and ultimately over 20.”
The biggest lead was 29.
To start the second half, the Shockers went on a 20-7 run in the first seven minutes to widen the lead to 60-38. OSU called a timeout, and the momentum was too heavy to swing back the other direction.
Last season, WSU held a 38-33 halftime lead at Houston. The Cougars went on a 14-2 run to open the second half and pulled away for a 79-70 win in the Shockers’ second road game of the AAC schedule.
For the freshmen like Etienne, Sunday was their first true road test. Burton said he knew a run was going to come from the Cowboys; it was important to stick to the game plan, he said.
“Regardless if I had a good game or not, the opportunity to play on this stage is amazing,” Etienne said. “It was fun going into another team’s home and pulling out a W.”
WSU won’t hit the road again until Jan. 12 when it goes to Connecticut and then Temple three days later. Between Sunday’s win and then, the Shockers have six home games, including what could be another quality win come March against VCU.
After the game, WSU’s celebration could be heard through two cinder block walls into the interview room. The win was clearly important for a group that averages about 20 years old.
“This is going to go a long ways,” Stevenson said.