Inside look at how Wichita State men’s basketball pulls off these ‘crazy comeback’ wins
The Wichita State men’s basketball team probably felt right at home this weekend playing on the Las Vegas strip.
The Shockers have been one of the biggest thrill rides in college basketball this season and they saved their two most daring shows for Sin City.
No need for WSU fans to buy tickets to watch David Copperfield or Criss Angel pull off remarkable escapes when they could watch the Shockers climb out of a 16-point hole in the second half to force overtime with Arizona and rally from 11 down in the second half to beat UNLV.
Why pay to see Gwen Stefani play her biggest hits at Planet Hollywood when they could have their attention captured by the spectacle of Tyson Etienne and his breathtaking accuracy from long range?
What’s the point of marveling at the gravity-defying acrobatics of Cirque du Soleil when they can watch WSU play from behind for 73 of 85 possible minutes and somehow manage to flip and twist its way to logic-defying endings?
“I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s just the new Wichita State way,” point guard Craig Porter said after WSU’s latest comeback from 11 down to defeat UNLV 74-73 in the early hours of Monday morning. “Hopefully we’re going to start picking it up and get better at those starts, so we don’t have to have these crazy comebacks.”
The Shockers have spent nearly twice the amount of time playing from behind (116 minutes) than with the lead (65 minutes) during their 4-1 start. They have yet to take a lead into halftime and have trailed in the final five minutes in three of their four wins so far.
The lone loss came in overtime to undefeated Arizona in a game WSU had a chance to win in regulation and was given just a 3% win probability trailing by 16 points in the second half.
“We just have a different kind of chemistry and fight on this team,” WSU sophomore Monzy Jackson said. “It’s a true brotherhood with our team. We come together and we know we’re never out of it. As long as we have each other’s backs, we’re always in the game.”
Even when WSU’s offense has been at its worst and the teams appears to have absolutely no momentum, the bond described by Jackson is what the WSU players lean on to withstand the adversity.
It’s a grit and determination that cannot be developed — it’s either there or it isn’t in a group.
“It’s the character in our locker room,” WSU coach Isaac Brown said. “I got this job because of these guys. We lost two games to Oklahoma State and Missouri and these guys never pointed fingers. They always had my back. They just kept battling and they never give up. I give it up to my veteran guys because they keep this team under control. They don’t point fingers, don’t make excuses and they always tell the young guys, ‘Stay together, keep battling.’”
Following the 1-2 start to last season, Etienne delivered a passionate speech at the podium about how he believed WSU was destined for greatness. Following the Arizona loss, Etienne’s message was eerily similar — almost like he was trying to speak it into existence once again.
“The Shockers, we’re not going to fold,” Etienne said. “We’re going to be one of the greatest teams in college basketball, I firmly believe that. I know the heart that my guys got in that locker room. I know my coaching staff. We’re going to learn from this and we’re going to be great.
“We never folded and at the end of the day, you can’t teach that. We have that in abundance in our locker room. I’m proud of my team.”
When WSU fell behind by 16 points midway through the second half against Arizona, the Shockers rallied with a 17-2 run in less than four minutes. When the Wildcats pushed back to restore their lead to eight, the Shockers rallied once again with a 10-1 run to take a one-point lead with less than two minutes remaining.
Two nights later, WSU again came back with two surges. The Shockers whittled an 11-point deficit down to two by outscoring UNLV 19-10 in a five-minute span, then used a 12-2 spurt featuring three straight Etienne deep bombs to take a 66-63 lead with 4:41 remaining.
If Etienne continues to torch nets like he did after halftime in Vegas, then the Shockers very well could fulfill that prophecy. The preseason American Athletic Conference Player of the Year scored 47 of his 55 points during the weekend after halftime, as he hit 11 three-pointers in total.
“I think it was less physical, more mental,” Etienne said of WSU’s strong second-half play. “It was, ‘Slow down, be patient.’ We went in down eight, nobody held their head. Basketball is a game of runs. You’re not always going to be up, so we had to stay focused and stay present in the moment and know we have to drive in the gaps and create shots for other. That creates a flow, that creates a synergy. We all thrive off that. The ball starts to move more and we’re able to get more high-percentage looks.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2021 at 10:40 AM.
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