How the Shockers went from being bullied to ‘physically man-handling’ Oklahoma State
How did Wichita State beat Oklahoma State by 19 points on Sunday?
The answer lies in a single play midway through the first half, a five-second burst that tells you everything you need to know about why the Shockers prevailed, 80-69, in Stillwater.
WSU had just missed a shot and the rebound was up for grabs. OSU’s Hidde Roessink, a 6-foot-10 center, has inside position and initially comes down with a contested rebound over WSU’s Jamarius Burton. But Burton, a 6-4 guard, refuses to come away without the ball and simply rips the ball out of Roessink’s hands and lays the ball in.
It was just two points for WSU early in a game that had yet been decided. But no play better personified the difference between the two teams on Sunday. Perhaps that play had been seared in OSU coach Mike Boynton’s mind when he took the podium afterward.
“They physically man-handled us in a lot of ways, particularly in rebounding the ball,” Boynton said. “They pursued the ball more aggressively than we did. They brought the fight to us and we didn’t necessarily fight back strongly enough and there’s the result. Several times in the game our guys are slapping at the ball and their guys were going and grabbing it with two hands and pursuing the ball with purpose.”
It was redemption of sorts for WSU, which completed an 180-degree turn from allowing 17 offensive rebounds and getting bullied on the boards by West Virginia in the Cancun Challenge championship. On Sunday, WSU was the bully and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to outrebounded the Cowboys by 11.
“No one wants to do that again, so we all took that very personally,” junior center Asbjorn Midtgaard said. “We tried to get better about that and I think we showed that today.”
WSU not only dominated the offensive glass, but it capitalized on its advantage to outscore OSU 23-8 in second-chance points.
When asked if WSU did anything in particular to hit 11 three-pointers (a season-high against OSU’s defense), Boynton linked it back to the Shockers’ edge in rebounding.
“They got all of the offensive rebounds that they wanted,” Boynton said. “You’re usually not in position to defend (threes) because a lot of guys are in the paint. When you’re in scramble mode, those are just much more difficult shots to defend as a second shot. They did a really good job of taking advantage of that.”
WSU’s rebounding advantage is even more impressive considering its top two centers — Jaime Echenique and Morris Udeze — were strapped with foul trouble for the majority of the game. But the Shockers received a lift with two strong performances Midtgaard and sophomore Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler in relief. Midtgaard and Poor Bear-Chandler combined for 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes.
“Thank goodness we had Asbjorn, who was huge on the glass,” Marshall said. “He really extended and made a couple baskets on set plays. Poor Bear was in there battling the whole first half and doing yeoman’s work on the glass.”
After Marshall publicly questioned the toughness of his team following the West Virginia loss, the four-man rotation at center vowed to themselves they would respond.
In the last four days, WSU secured 25 of 28 possible defensive rebounds in a win over Central Arkansas, then beat Oklahoma State on the glass on Sunday.
“One of the good things about this group is that we learn really fast,” Echenique said. “We don’t hang our heads about our mistakes. We just keep battling. We took that as a challenge and we won the challenge (Sunday).”
But no one had a bigger impact on winning than Burton, despite him scoring just seven points. That’s because he dished out a career-high 11 assists (with a single turnover) to go along with eight rebounds and three steals. Add it up and WSU scored 1.48 points per possession that ended with him shooting or passing, the fourth-best mark of his career. Even better, WSU outscored OSU by a whopping 31 points in Burton’s 26 minutes.
“JB, I thought was the toughest guy on the whole floor,” Marshall said. “He only takes five shots, but he impacted the game as much as anybody with his determination, coming up with loose balls, rebounds, assists, running our team and being the toughest guy on the floor.”
“(Marshall) told us to be relentless, so I just tried to go out there and be relentless,” Burton added.
When his freshmen teammates were struggling with OSU’s trapping defense, Burton took control of the offense and delivered much-needed steady play. Burton rarely is going to pass people open, but he brings value to the Shockers because he usually makes the safe pass and rarely makes mistakes.
On Sunday, Burton did exactly what was required to break down OSU’s defense. He constantly managed to penetrate the arc, which forced OSU to bring a second defender his way. Burton excelled recognizing the double-team and identifying where the open player was.
“We were unselfish and we were getting into the lane and finding Tyson or finding Erik,” Marshall said. “With their defense, they deny so much and they help so well, you’ve got to attack the paint and look to make the extra pass.”
Burton’s assist rate skyrocketed to 36.9%, which ranks him 27th in the country and second in the American Athletic Conference. His 11 assists on Sunday translated to 27 points for WSU.
The Shockers executed their sets so well that Burton was able to make the assist pass on five layups. But where he did his most damage was when Burton drove to contract the defense, then look to kick to the perimeter to Etienne and Stevenson. Five of Burton’s assists went for three-pointers with four coming from Etienne and Stevenson.
“Tyson and Erik were getting in my vision,” Burton said. “When I drove to the basket, I could see them. I drew two or three guys and kicked out and I knew they were knocking them down.”
Following the game, WSU’s defense improved to No. 10 in the country, according to Ken Pomeroy’s advanced metrics.
This story was originally published December 9, 2019 at 6:02 AM.
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