Suffocating defense leads Wichita State basketball to Kansas City championship game
A shape-shifting zone defense may have given a new identity to the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
For the second straight game away from Koch Arena, the Shockers bamboozled an opponent with their constantly changing defense to pull off a victory, this one in a 55-43 win over Grand Canyon on Monday afternoon in the first game of the Hall of Fame Classic at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Wichita State (3-1) will play San Francisco (5-0) in the championship game at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, a chance for the Shockers to win their first in-season tournament title since 2013 — the last time they were in the Kansas City event, which at the time was called the CBE Classic while the arena was dubbed Sprint Center.
“Our emphasis coming into the game was defending,” WSU senior guard Craig Porter said. “Holding them under 45 points is astronomical. That’s what we’ve been preaching since everybody got here. We may not have played our best offensive game, but defense definitely won this game for us.”
It was far from a crisp performance on offense. The improved ball and player movement from the Richmond game gave way in the second half to a disjointed effort. The Shockers left a lot on the table with their 38.3% shooting from the field, 26.1% shooting on three-pointers and 12 turnovers, not to mention allowing Grand Canyon to grab 16 offensive rebounds.
Despite the laundry list of things that WSU felt like it could do better, the Shockers were firmly in control of the preseason WAC favorites for essentially the entire game.
It was an impressive defensive performance, even if Grand Canyon isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut. The Shockers held their opponents to a season-low mark in shooting percentage (27.1%) and efficiency (0.69 points per possession).
“Overall, it was our defensive effort,” WSU head coach Isaac Brown said. “We were moving around, contesting shots. Any time you can hold a team under 45 points, you’re going to win a lot of basketball games.”
WSU has had a different leading scorer in all four games this season, as Monday it was Wichita native Xavier Bell snapping out of his early-season funk to score a season-high 14 points off the bench. Porter delivered his first double-double of the season, with 14 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and four blocks, while Jaykwon Walton added 10 points and five rebounds.
Bell stepped up during the 12-0 run WSU used to put the game away during the second half, as the 6-foot-3 guard drilled his first three-pointer of the season in the corner to rescue WSU at the end of the shot clock and capped the run with a strong finish inside, plus the foul, to give WSU a 48-32 lead with 7:20 remaining.
After Grand Canyon closed to within four points, 36-32, the Shockers held the Antelopes scoreless for more than nine straight minutes. GCU missed 14 straight shots during the drought.
Any hopes of a comeback for GCU were dashed by Porter, who drilled a heavily guarded triple in the corner to extend WSU’s lead to 53-36 with 3:33 remaining.
Wichita State 55, Grand Canyon 43 basketball box score
San Francisco 75, Northern Iowa 69
San Francisco erased a 15-point, second-half deficit to win the opening game of the Hall of Fame Classic.
The Dons trailed by 11 points entering the final eight minutes, but closed the game out by outscoring UNI 21-4 behind a game-high 24 points from Khalil Shabazz.
San Francisco improved to 5-0 on the season, while UNI (1-2) lost its second straight game.
This story was originally published November 21, 2022 at 3:37 PM.
.jpg)