After two straight brutal losses, here’s Gregg Marshall’s message to the Shockers

For the first time in eight years, Wichita State is having to pick itself up off the ground after losing back-to-back games in the closing seconds.

It’s tough to imagine a more excruciating finish for the Shockers their last two times out, losing on a buzzer-beating three-pointer at Tulsa and then on a three-point play in the closing seconds to Cincinnati at home.

And it’s tough to imagine a more challenging bounce back game than Wichita State’s 2 p.m. Sunday road trip to conference-leading and 25th-ranked Houston (18-5, 8-2 AAC), a place where it has lost by an average of 11.5 points the last two seasons.

But that’s the reality for WSU (17-5, 5-4 AAC), which is looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak of the season and its fifth loss in seven games.

“Losing two games in a row like that is really tough,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “But I’ll have to do what I can to get the guys up for the next one. The season keeps coming at you and it comes at you fast.

“There’s no nights off, man. We’ve got to figure it out.”

After looking uninspired on offense for nearly three weeks, WSU shed those problems Thursday in a high-level game against Cincinnati at Koch Arena. The Shockers made 54.3% of their two-point shots and drilled eight three-pointers to score 1.16 points per possession, their highest output on offense since November.

The problem was WSU’s top-10 defense struggled to slow down Cincinnati, which made 68.6% of its two-point shots and 14 of 18 free throws.

To knock off Houston, the Shockers know they will have to repeat their performance on offense and lock down better on defense.

“You’re playing hard, you’re defending well, but you’re going to have to do more,” Marshall said on his radio show earlier this week. “You’re going to have to be even better, be even more gnarly, be even more gritty. Not foul quite as much and do even more until the ball starts going through the basket.”

WSU will certainly have to find a way to do a little bit more than its performance against Houston at Koch Arena, which resulted in a 65-54 loss less than three weeks ago. In that game, WSU made just 30.4% of its shots and committed 14 turnovers against Houston’s pressure defense.

Houston opened up as large as a 22-point lead on the Shockers in the second half, as Marshall will have plenty of teaching moments for his team when showing them the game film.

“We got it handed to us,” Marshall said. “Houston came out and was tougher, more physical, more aggressive. We didn’t shoot it well and we had nothing to fall back on. We definitely need to do much better.”

One thing in particular Houston has done better than any other American opponent so far is to limit WSU’s best offensive weapon in Jaime Echenique. The 6-foot-11 senior center is averaging 14.9 points and 8.6 rebounds in his last seven games, but Houston held him to eight points on five shots and six rebounds in the Jan. 18 game.

Houston’s defense is known for aggressively trapping when opponents enter the ball into the post. Sometimes Echenique was quick enough with a move to beat the oncoming double team, but more times than not he was forced to have to make difficult passes over the top of two defenders.

After the Cincinnati loss, where Echenique had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Marshall said he hopes the rest of the Shockers can match their lone senior’s level going forward against more veteran teams like Houston.

“He played his heart out and he’s playing like a senior,” Marshall said. “The difference is (Cincinnati) has a lot of seniors. We have one. The experience factor certainly played a part in that win. Hopefully our guys that are playing, I hope they can get better and more experienced with the time they are getting on the court.”

Wichita State at No. 25 Houston

Records: WSU 17-5, 5-4 AAC; Houston 18-5, 8-2 AAC

When: 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Fertitta Center (7,035), Houston

TV: ESPN

Streaming: WatchESPN

Radio: KEYN, 103.7 FM

Series: WSU leads 17-12 (Houston leads 9-3 in Houston)

Projected starters

Coach: Kelvin Sampson, sixth season, 134-57

Coach: Gregg Marshall, 13th season, 325-118

This story was originally published February 8, 2020 at 7:57 AM.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6270

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