Crunch-time struggles come back to bite Wichita State in North Texas loss: 3 takeaways
A spirited effort by the Wichita State men’s basketball team took the American Athletic Conference co-leaders down to the wire, but a close loss still counts the same in the standings.
The Shockers erased an early 12-point deficit to lead in the second half, but struggled to score late and lost 58-54 to North Texas in gut-wrenching fashion at Koch Arena on Wednesday night.
The final numbers (36% shooting) don’t look like much of an improvement, but WSU deserved credit for mucking up the game against the conference’s most efficient offense. North Texas was limited to 40% shooting of its own.
WSU dropped to 11-10 overall and 1-7 in conference play, while North Texas regained a half-game advantage over Memphis atop the AAC standings.
Here are three takeaways from the game:
1. Crunch-time drought costs WSU chance at win
The Shockers were in control with the ball and a 50-47 lead entering the final seven minutes, but their offense hit an inopportune drought.
Justin Hill turned the ball over, which led to a layup at the other end for North Texas. Then after a WSU miss, Atin Wright buried a corner triple to put the Mean Green in front 52-50 with 5:24 left.
WSU missed seven straight field goals from the 9-minute mark to the 2-minute mark, including a pair of free throws, to stumble down the stretch.
A pair of Corey Washington free throws trimmed the deficit to 54-52 and WSU had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Xavier Bell dribbled into trouble and his turnover led to a foul at the other end and two free throws for North Texas.
Quincy Ballard ended the drought with a slam dunk with 1:33 left to trim North Texas’ lead to 56-54, but Brenen Lorient answered at the other end and Bell air-balled a 3 on WSU’s next possession.
2. Shockers flash potential in early second-half push
Where have those Shockers been?
That’s what WSU fans must have been saying after the opening stretches of the second half when the Shockers scored on their first nine possessions and electrified the home crowd by erasing a 6-point halftime deficit to open up a 45-41 lead.
The tone was set from the very first play when Justin Hill barreled his way straight to the basket for an easy lay-in. That was followed by a Corey Washington 3, then a Quincy Ballard dunk.
Three free throws from Xavier Bell (he scored 10 during the early second-half onslaught) put WSU on top 36-35, then North Texas was forced to call a timeout after the Shockers came up with a steal and Washington converted it into fast-break points at the other end.
But even with WSU pumping out 2.33 points per possession for eight straight minutes following halftime, WSU’s lead never grew past four points.
3. No changes to the rotation for Wichita State
In the moments immediately following Sunday’s loss at Tulsa, WSU head coach Paul Mills suggested major changes could be coming to playing time for the Shockers.
Either cooler heads prevailed or the veterans earned their coach’s trust back in the two practice days leading up to Wednesday’s game because it was business as usual for the Shockers against North Texas.
Justin Hill, Xavier Bell, Harlond Beverly, Corey Washington and Quincy Ballard once again started the game, while Bijan Cortes, A.J. McGinnis, Ronnie DeGray III and Matej Bosnjak came off the bench. In other words, no changes to the starting lineup or rotations were made.
Holding steady didn’t pay early dividends on Wednesday, as WSU could only muster two field goals in the first 10 minutes and fell behind 18-6. But the Shockers slowly climbed their way out of the hole, trimming the Mean Green’s halftime advantage to 30-24 on an alley-oop special to Beverly.
Upcoming schedule for Shocker basketball
at Charlotte, 6 p.m. (ESPNU) on Tuesday, Feb. 4
at South Florida, 1 p.m. (ESPN+) on Sunday, Feb. 9
vs. UTSA, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) on Wednesday, Feb. 12
vs. Memphis, 11 a.m. (ESPN/2/U) on Sunday, Feb. 16
at Florida Atlantic, 8 p.m. (ESPN+) on Thursday, Feb. 20
American Athletic Conference basketball standings
6-1, Memphis (16-4)
6-1, North Texas (15-4)
5-2, UAB (12-8)
5-2, Tulane (11-9)
4-3, Temple (12-8)
4-4, East Carolina (12-9)
4-4, South Florida (11-10)
3-4, Florida Atlantic (10-10)
3-4, UTSA (9-10)
3-4, Tulsa (9-11)
2-6, Rice (11-10)
1-6, Wichita State (11-9)
1-6, Charlotte (8-12)
This story was originally published January 29, 2025 at 8:32 PM.
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