Close-game kings: Wichita State’s ability to find ways to win is best in college hoops
Winning close games has become something of a skill for this Wichita State men’s basketball team.
In games that might feel like a coin flip coming down the stretch, the Shockers are making the right call almost every single time.
With WSU’s 68-67 win over South Florida in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals on Friday, the Shockers improved to 9-1 this season in games decided by five points or less — tied for the most such wins in the country with Oklahoma State, which has a 9-4 record. The nine “close” wins and 90% winning percentage is also the best in program history.
“Those guys just have a knack for finishing out close games,” WSU coach Isaac Brown said.
The close wins might not do the Shockers any favors in the NET rankings, which seem to emphasize margin of victory, or leave their fans with any fingernails, but they have prepared this team for similar situations in postseason play.
Brown remarked that another No. 1 seed facing WSU’s 12-point deficit in the second half of Friday’s game against USF might have tightened up in that situation. But WSU? It has been there, won that.
“You can blow teams out early in the season and then when you get in a close game you don’t know how to close it out,” Brown said. “The fact that we played 10 (close) games, that experience helps us.
While Friday’s 12-point hole was the largest second-half deficit WSU has erased this season, the Shockers have been in similar positions before.
- They trailed Oklahoma State by seven points with 5:44 remaining, then rallied to tie the game with 34 seconds left in what was ultimately their lone close loss.
- They erased a seven-point deficit at Ole Miss with 7:39 remaining to win 83-79.
- They came from eight down with 3:55 left in regulation against UCF at home to force overtime, then erased a five-point deficit in overtime to win 93-88 over the Knights.
That experience playing from behind is invaluable. When WSU fell behind by 12 in the second half to USF, it knew it didn’t have to panic because it had been in that situation before. The Shockers kept their poise and slowly whittled away at USF’s lead.
“It looked shaky for a long time in that game for us,” said WSU sophomore Tyson Etienne, who scored 20 points and hit the game-winning free throw. “But at the end of the day, you have to have the wherewithal to stay present and know eventually it’s going to shift. If you give up and start becoming frustrated, then the energy won’t come back to you. But if you keep grinding, then you have a good shot at coming out with the victory.”
On Friday, WSU’s come back began with its bench unit. Clarence Jackson hit back-to-back three-pointers to breathe life back into the Shockers, then scored another layup for a personal 8-0 run. Junior guard Craig Porter capped a 10-2 spurt for WSU with a block, then steal and layup to cut USF’s 12-point lead to 57-53 with 8:41 remaining.
USF pushed back when Xavier Castaneda made the Bulls’ 10th three-pointer, a season-high for them, to extend the lead back to 64-55. That’s when the Shockers turned to the three-ball to rescue them, as Dexter Dennis drilled a triple and then senior Alterique Gilbert swished back-to-back threes in transition.
And just like that, WSU was back to within one point, 65-64, with more than five minutes still to play. Over USF’s final eight possessions, WSU’s defense came up with seven stops with USF missing eight of nine shots and committing three turnovers.
“Our guards are really good at taking over the ball game late and we had guys step up and make free throws when we needed them,” Brown said.
This story was originally published March 12, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
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