Three takeaways from how Wichita State basketball bounced back in win over Tulsa
In what has been a disappointing season to date, the Wichita State men’s basketball at least ensured it avoided a sweep at the hands of its rival.
After blowing a 15-point lead in Tulsa earlier this season, the Shockers were able to protect their lead in the rematch at Koch Arena on Wednesday evening to finish out a 79-63 win over the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa was aiming for its first season sweep of WSU since 1996.
In regards to avoiding a bottom-four finish and a play-in-to-the-play-in date in the American Athletic Conference tournament, it was an important win for WSU. The Shockers (11-16, 3-11 AAC) gained ground on Tulsa (13-12, 4-10 AAC) for 10th place in the 14-team league standings and face three other bottom-six teams in their final four games of the regular season.
Here are three takeaways from how WSU snapped a three-game losing streak and bounced back on its home floor:
1. More hands-on defensive approach works for Shockers
Being the best at not fouling in AAC play has its perks, but WSU head coach Paul Mills said the statistic also indicates his team could be more physical on defense.
When he watched film of WSU’s past two losses on the road, Mills saw a defense that allowed the opposition to pass when they wanted, cut when they wanted and dribble where they wanted. He challenged his players to be more physical against Tulsa.
Challenge accepted: WSU forced a season-high 22 turnovers by Tulsa, which included 15 steals, tied for sixth-most in a game in program history.
“We did a good job eliminating some of that free flow,” Mills said. “You have to be physical on some of these cuts and where people are trying to go. They don’t get to go wherever they want. This isn’t a game where contact isn’t allowed. We’re number one in the league at not fouling, but you’re willing to sacrifice some of that if that’s what it takes in order to be a little bit more hands-on defensively.”
A chunk of Tulsa’s turnovers were unforced mistakes, but there was a noticeable difference in the intensity and physicality of WSU’s defense. WSU junior Xavier Bell described the difference as the players being more “dialed in.”
WSU has a graduate assistant track “energy” points during the game, which includes points generated by offensive rebounds, steals, deflections and winning loose balls. The Shockers registered 22 energy points in the first half on Wednesday, nearly reaching its game-long goal of 30.
Despite battling through its own turnover issues, as WSU committed 16 turnovers, the team still managed to out-score Tulsa 29-18 in points off turnovers.
“We utilized our length a little bit better,” Mills said. “We’ve had too many sequences where guys can cut freely. I tell them they have their hands in their pockets. So we needed to utilize our length and we were able to do that.”
2. Wichita State sees drastic improvement on free throws
In the team’s first meeting on Jan. 31 in Tulsa, the Golden Hurricane out-shot WSU 24-3 on free throws to fuel their comeback win.
Throw in WSU’s abysmal 7-of-16 performance on free throws in its last game and it was clear free throws were going to play a pivotal role in deciding Wednesday’s winner.
Tulsa still managed to shoot 22 times at the foul line, but the difference was WSU shot 21 free throws. In fact, the Shockers out-scored Tulsa 18-15 from the foul line, a dramatic turnaround from the first meeting when Tulsa scored 18 more points at the charity stripe.
After Quincy Ballard missed WSU’s first free throw of the game, the Shockers connected on 18 straight to build their sizable lead throughout the game. WSU finished shooting 85.7% (18 of 21) from the foul line with Colby Rogers draining all nine of his foul shots and Bijan Cortes, who was shooting 58% this season, making four of five.
“If you would have come in here (Tuesday) night around seven, you would have probably seen five guys in here shooting free throws in the practice gym,” Mills said. “Shooting free throws is a matter of what you’re telling yourself mentally, but it’s also practice and putting in the time. I thought we did that and fortunately, it translated.”
3. WSU stamps third conference win in blowout fashion
There was no inkling of a dominant performance in the opening 10 minutes on Wednesday, as WSU and Tulsa battled to a draw in a rather sloppy performance from both teams.
Kenny Pohto, who was effectively benched last game at Charlotte, helped flip the game in the Shockers’ favor with his play off the bench midway through the second half.
He scored six straight points to highlight a 9-0 run that WSU used to break free from a 16-16 tie. When Tulsa punched back to close within 29-25 with 4 minutes, 55 seconds left in the first half, the Shockers answered back.
Quincy Ballard scored on an athletic move in the paint, Harlond Beverly made an acrobatic finish in transition for another bucket, Xavier Bell attacked and scored, then Colby Rogers followed with a 3-pointer. Pohto tacked on another bucket inside and Rogers drew a foul just before the final whistle and made all three free throws to cap a 14-1 blitz in the final five minutes of the first half to open up a 17-point halftime lead.
WSU played the final 22 minutes of the game with a double-digit lead, as Tulsa briefly rallied to within 13 early in the second half, but the Shockers quickly responded with a 14-2 run to turn the rivalry game into a blowout. WSU led by as many as 25 until a late rally by Tulsa against WSU’s back-up unit trimmed the final margin.
Rogers led WSU with 19 points, while Pohto added 16 points, seven rebounds and two steals off the bench. Bijan Cortes delivered a season-high 11 points with four assists, while Quincy Ballard (nine points, four rebounds), Harlond Beverly (eight points, six rebounds, three assists, three steals), Xavier Bell (eight points, two assists, four steals) rounded out a balanced attack.
This story was originally published February 21, 2024 at 10:16 PM.
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