How Wichita State’s ‘crashers’ dominated rebounding — and game — in road win over USF
There’s a certain level of physicality required in order to win on the road in the American Athletic Conference.
Wichita State managed to overcome its flaws on Sunday by being the more physical team and dominating the glass in a 75-70 victory over South Florida at the Yuengling Center.
The Shockers were plus-20 in the rebounding battle, 42-22, held a 19-3 edge in offensive rebounds and outscored USF 24-2 in second-chance points. And that’s how a team that shot 39% on the road beat a team that made 52% of its shots at home.
“We knew from last game (against USF), we could get after it on the glass and punk them on the boards,” WSU senior Ronnie DeGray III said.
In Paul Mills’ system, certain WSU players earn the label of “crashers” and are permitted to crash the glass every time a shot goes up. On Sunday, he started his three best crashers — DeGray, Corey Washington and Quincy Ballard — with the intention of setting the tone right away.
The trio delivered in a big way, as DeGray, Washington and Ballard combined for 13 offensive rebounds and 22 second-chance points.
“It takes everybody being bought in to winning and doing whatever it takes and that’s what we did,” Washington said. “It felt like if it wasn’t me, then it was Ronnie. And if it wasn’t me or Ronnie, then it was Q.”
All three players are effective rebounders in their own way. For Ballard, he uses his 6-foot-11 frame and raw athleticism to tower for rebounds. DeGray is a crafty veteran who knows when and where to be and how to use leverage to retrieve misses. Washington, on the other hand, is a fireball and an example of how far being tenacious can take you.
Three different methods to all produce the same result.
“We know how much every effort play gives us energy,” said DeGray, who converted all three of his offensive rebounds on Sunday into put-back scores. “When I see Q and Corey out there fighting, it’s like OK, I’ve got to fight too.”
Sometimes WSU’s best source of offense on Sunday came on missed shots because it gave DeGray, Washington and Ballard a chance to do what they do best — hit the glass.
On the surface, WSU guard Xavier Bell’s 6-for-19 performance from the field seemed woefully inefficient. But many of Bell’s misses turned into wins for WSU because the guard was able to draw two defenders on his forays to the rim, which opened up runways for WSU’s crashers to finish the job.
“(Bell) did such a good job of driving it, we had to help and once you help and put two people on the ball and the shot goes up, it’s hard to get back to a body,” USF coach Ben Fletcher said. “When you hold a team under 40% shooting, you’re guarding your tails off, but you can’t guard your tails off for 25 seconds and then have a weak moment where we can’t get back to a box-out.”
WSU rebounded seven of Bell’s misses and scored 11 points on those possessions, as the team retrieved 50% of its misses and used the 19 second chances to pump out a healthy 1.07 points per possession despite sub-40% shooting.
“If you talk to any analytics person, they’ll tell you the best shot comes from O-boards, given the proximity and the chance to get fouled,” Mills said. “To be able to get 19 of them, it speaks to the effort, to the willingness to stick your nose in there and make those kind of plays.”
Second-chance points lifted WSU throughout the game, but particularly down the stretch of a close game.
Bell was especially important, as he scrapped to recover two of his own misses in the final six minutes and turned them into four made free throws. Another Bell miss, on a play where he once again drew a second defender, was finished with a put-back when Washington darted in from the perimeter to clean up the miss.
But the most important offensive rebound of the game came in the final minute with WSU clinging to a 69-68 lead. Following a timeout, Mills drew up a zone-buster that gave Washington a point-blank look at the basket, but he missed; Ballard was there to bat the ball in the air to himself and come down with the rebound to give WSU a second chance at much-needed points.
And the 6-foot-11 big man, who had missed his last four attempts at the line and was shooting just 38.5% on free throws in conference play, stepped up and made both foul shots.
“I don’t even think either one nicked the rim,” Mills said.
“I wouldn’t say there were any nerves, just focus,” said Ballard, who added he makes 100 free throws after every practice. “My only thought was, ‘I got to make them both.’ Be confident.”
It was the final blow in a rebounding effort that both coaches agreed won WSU the game on Sunday.
“When you look at the stat sheet, if you take out one area, and I know you can’t do that in a game, but we played well enough to win the game,” Fletcher said.
“When you defend the 3-point line like we did and you dominate the glass like we did,” Mills said, “I think you would be really disappointed if you couldn’t walk out of here with a win.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 8:58 AM.
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