‘A lot on the line’: Wichita State basketball views Tulane as must-win game for title

If the Wichita State men’s basketball team wants to lock up the American Athletic Conference regular-season championship, a win over Tulane on Wednesday in New Orleans is likely a must.

As the Shockers have discovered playing during a pandemic this season, few things are rarely ever 100% certain. They could clinch the program’s first conference title in the American this weekend or it could happen on Wednesday.

Instead of trying to project what could happen, WSU coach Isaac Brown is keeping it simple in his first game coaching since his interim tag was removed last Friday. The Shockers view Wednesday’s 5 p.m. game against Tulane, which will be streamed on ESPN+, as a must-win game to achieve their goals.

“There’s a lot on the line and a win would be huge for our program,” Brown said. “We’re not sure if we’re going to play a game (after that), so that would keep us in first place. I think our players know what’s on the line. We had an excellent practice (Monday) and we’ll get a better practice (Tuesday) and go down there and be ready to defend and score it for 40 minutes.”

Trying to follow along the AAC title race may induce headaches.

As it currently stands, WSU (13-4, 9-2 AAC) holds a slight lead over Houston (20-3, 13-3 AAC) for first place in the conference standings based on winning percentage — 81.8% to 81.3%.

If WSU wins at Tulane, its 10-2 record would bump its winning percentage to 83.3% — better than what Houston could do even if it wins at Memphis. But the conference announced late Tuesday afternoon that WSU’s game on Saturday at Temple had been canceled and replaced with a home game against South Florida at noon Saturday. That means WSU will need two wins this week to capture the outright championship if Houston wins its final game.

The more pressing concern for Brown is the sheer lack of opportunity a healthy WSU team has had recently. The Shockers have only played once since Feb. 11, a nearly three-week stretch of idleness that has prevented them from capitalizing on the momentum gained from their top-10 victory over Houston on Feb. 18.

Nearly two weeks will have passed since WSU’s last game when it takes the floor Wednesday against Tulane.

“It makes me a little nervous knowing these guys haven’t played in 13 days,” Brown said. “But they’ve been doing exactly what they need to do in practice. In order to play a good game, you’ve got to have a good practice. And we’ve put together some good practices. We’ve been pretty sharp and I think the guys are in tip-top shape and ready to go.”

In the first meeting between the two teams at Koch Arena, WSU was able to build a 21-point lead in the second half but allowed Tulane to rally to close the gap to 75-67 for the final score. WSU junior Dexter Dennis was superb in guarding Tulane’s leading scorer Jaylen Forbes, who was held without a field goal in an 0-for-13 shooting performance. Forbes, averaging 17.3 points per game, has scored at least 30 points twice since and is coming off a career-high 37-point performance last week at Cincinnati.

The Shockers have won all five meetings against Tulane since joining the American, including a thrilling, buzzer-beating win for the Shockers in their last trip to New Orleans when Dexter Dennis made a three as time expired in the 2019 road trip.

“I think they’re one of the most improved teams in the league,” Brown said. “They have a really good kid in Jaylen Forbes, an Alabama transfer, and they play that matchup zone that’s always tough to score against. They’re going to try to keep the game low-scoring. We’re going to have to do a good job of valuing the basketball, not turning it over and executing against a zone. It’s going to be a long and tough game. They’re a good basketball team and we’ll have to play our best game to come out with a win.”

As for trying WSU’s race to the title, Brown said he will have time to worry about that later. Right now, the Shockers are only focused on their next game.

“I’m just focused on the Tulane Green Wave,” Brown said. “That’s my only focus. I let the other people try to schedule another game. If that happens, great. I would love to play another game at home for our seniors. But if it doesn’t happen, then we’ve just got to prepare for the next team up on the schedule.”

While Brown has been happy with how the Shockers have progressed in yet another long layoff for them, he’s always a little nervous without the game repetitions that other teams are getting when WSU has been stuck at home in the practice gym.

“It hurts your team when you go this long without playing a basketball game,” Brown said. “It’s a little different when the lights go on. You can make shots in practice and you can execute in practice, but it’s just a little different when the lights are on.”

Wichita State at Tulane

Records: Tulane 9-11, 4-11 AAC; WSU 13-4, 9-2 AAC

When: 5 p.m.

Where: Fogelman Arena, New Orleans, Louisiana

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM

Series: WSU leads 5-0 (1-0 in New Orleans)

Projected starting lineup

Coach: Isaac Brown, first season, 13-4

Coach: Ron Hunter, second season, 21-29

This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 3:34 PM.

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.