‘We’re putting the pieces together’: Wichita State basketball opens AAC title defense
Since returning from Christmas break, the Wichita State men’s basketball team has focused on wiping the slate clean and embracing “a new season” in American Athletic Conference play.
WSU’s 9-3 record to date is not disappointing per se, rather the two home losses to Kansas State and North Texas that negated road wins at Missouri and Oklahoma State.
The Shockers begin their title defense on the road where they will try to become the first team this season to beat East Carolina (9-3) at home in the AAC opener for both teams in a 6 p.m. Central time game Wednesday at Minges Coliseum in Greenville, North Carolina. WSU fans can watch the game streaming online through ESPN+.
“You’ve got to throw the records out the window now,” WSU coach Isaac Brown said. “ECU is (8-0) at home, so they’re going to be playing with a lot of confidence.
“Last year we were able to win a conference championship and it was because we defended, we rebounded and we played at a high level, especially on defense. On offense, we did a great job of not turning the basketball over. If you want to have a chance to win another championship, you’ve got to do those things.”
WSU has maintained its championship-level defense this season, but its offense has been the source of most of the team’s problems. The Shockers suffered through long scoring droughts in their last two losses and for the fourth straight season the team is shooting well below the national average from the field.
The team hopes that last week’s 102-point explosion in a rout of Prairie View A&M helped instill confidence seeing the ball go through the basket that many times. The players certainly sense untapped potential in the team’s offense entering conference play.
“We’ve got a team full of dogs,” WSU point guard Qua Grant said. “We’re putting the pieces together. We’re still meshing together.”
“Once the pieces finally come together, this team is going to be unbelievable,” WSU forward Monzy Jackson added.
Because of the AAC’s unbalanced scheduling and COVID-19 issues in the ECU program last season, Wichita State hasn’t played at ECU since a 65-49 win on February 6, 2019. The Shockers have won all five meetings against the Pirates since joining the American five seasons ago.
In order for WSU to win its sixth straight game in the series, it will have to slow down ECU’s best offense yet under coach Joe Dooley. The Pirates are averaging 72.6 points and currently have their most efficient offense (No. 161 on KenPom) in nine seasons, as they are making 36.5% of their three-pointers and shooting 19.3 free throws per game and cashing in on 73.7% of them.
While ECU has yet to score a notable win, it has been competitive in all three of its losses to Oklahoma (79-74), Davidson (76-67) and Liberty (74-64). The Pirates also have one of the top players in the AAC in Tristen Newton, a 6-foot-5 lead guard who averages 17.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals and does so on great efficiency. The arrival of 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward Vance Jackson, a former top-100 recruit, has also strengthened ECU, which has one of the biggest starting lineups in the country.
“He’s a really good player,” Brown said. “We’ve got to do a good job of going at him and not giving him any wide-open looks. In order to win games on the road, you’ve got to defend, you’ve got to rebound and you’ve got to play with toughness and that’s something we’ve talked about all week long.”
With COVID-19 issues ramping up across the college basketball world, Brown reported on Monday that WSU “didn’t have any problems” with testing the players upon their return from the holiday break.
It will also likely be a game-time decision on Wednesday if WSU will have point guard Craig Porter (ankle) and/or Joe Pleasant (hamstring) available. After both players missed last Wednesday’s game, Brown said Porter and Pleasant were limited practice participants on Sunday and were considered day-to-day.
Wichita State at East Carolina basketball preview
When: 6:02 p.m. Central time Wednesday
Where: Minges Coliseum, Greenville, North Carolina (8,000)
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: 103.7 FM (Mike Kennedy and Bob Hull)
Series: WSU leads 5-0 (2-0 at ECU)
Last meeting: WSU won 75-69 at Koch Arena on Jan. 1, 2020
KenPom says: WSU 70, ECU 65
Projected starting lineups
East Carolina (9-3)
| Pos. | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Year | Pts | Reb. | Ast. |
| G | 2 | Tristen Newton | 6-5 | 200 | So. | 17.9 | 3.8 | 5.0 |
| G | 11 | J.J. Miles | 6-7 | 220 | Sr. | 9.1 | 2.8 | 1.3 |
| G | 4 | Brandon Suggs | 6-6 | 205 | Jr. | 10.5 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| F | 13 | Vance Jackson | 6-9 | 240 | Sr. | 10.8 | 5.8 | 1.4 |
| C | 21 | Ludgy Debaut | 7-0 | 245 | Sr. | 2.5 | 3.9 | 0.8 |
Coach: Joe Dooley, fourth season, 38-55
Wichita State Shockers (9-3)
| Pos. | No. | Player | Ht. | Wt. | Year | Pts | Reb. | Ast. |
| G | 22 | Qua Grant | 6-1 | 200 | Jr. | 5.4 | 2.8 | 2.2 |
| G | 1 | Tyson Etienne | 6-2 | 200 | So. | 14.7 | 2.5 | 2.3 |
| G | 0 | Dexter Dennis | 6-5 | 210 | Jr. | 7.7 | 5.4 | 1.6 |
| F | 5 | Monzy Jackson | 6-7 | 210 | So. | 4.9 | 3.5 | 0.8 |
| C | 24 | Morris Udeze | 6-8 | 235 | Jr. | 12.2 | 5.6 | 0.3 |
Coach: Isaac Brown, second season, 25-9
This story was originally published December 28, 2021 at 10:12 AM.
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