The tiny details that led to a big win over Memphis for Wichita State basketball
In the days leading up to Sunday’s showdown against Memphis, Wichita State men’s basketball coach Paul Mills had a special video on loop at Koch Arena.
It was a highlight — or lowlight in this case — of every mistake the Shockers made during a 12-0 run to end the game that resulted in Memphis winning last month’s first meeting. Of those 10 crucial possessions on offense, WSU missed six shots and turned the ball over five times.
And Mills made sure his players remembered it.
“How many times do you get a second opportunity to course correct something you know you fell flat on your face on?” Mills said. “To end the game on a 12-0 run, c’mon man, that can’t happen. They’ve been shown that. They’ve been told that. They’ve been admonished for that. We knew we would have to bounce back because we did not bounce back there.”
When winning time rolled around in the rematch three weeks later, WSU was prepared for a different outcome and delivered in an eventual 84-79 overtime victory over the 14th-ranked Tigers.
After coming up empty 10 straight times down the stretch in Memphis, the Shockers made six field goals and all four of their free throws to score 16 points down the stretch in Wichita to force overtime. And it wasn’t from one or two players; it was from all five players on the court:
- Harlond Beverly scored two floaters in the paint and dished two assists for WSU dunks.
- Quincy Ballard converted back-to-back lob plays for critical baskets and made a pair of free throws.
- Corey Washington timed a backcut to perfection and delivered a ferocious slam.
- Bijan Cortes made Memphis pay for its full-court pressure with a floater in the lane.
- Ronnie DeGray III earned a foul call while rebounding in the final seconds and made both free throws to force overtime.
“It wasn’t just one play,” said Beverly, who finished with 11 points and six assists. “I think it was really an accumulation of toughness plays.”
No tougher play was made than the one by DeGray in the final 20 seconds of regulation with the Shockers trailing 71-69. He knew the upcoming WSU out-of-bounds play was designed to produce a 3-pointer for Cortes on the opposite side of the floor, so as soon as he saw the point guard break free, DeGray was already crashing the weak side before the ball had even left Cortes’ hands.
Because of that early break, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound DeGray established inside position against Tyrese Hunter, a 6-foot, 180-pound guard for Memphis. When the miss bounced in his direction, DeGray jumped, felt a slight push from behind and went flailing.
A common phrase from Mills this season has been “we won’t know unless you go,” which means WSU won’t know what offense it could be missing if its designated rebounders don’t crash the glass every single time. And as a college basketball veteran, DeGray has picked up a trick over the years to help in that particular situation when a rebound is out of range.
“As soon as I felt his hands on my back, I jumped and yelled,” DeGray said. “You’ve got to yell to sell the call.”
DeGray got the call, but still needed to make two straight free throws with 16.1 seconds left to tie the game.
His mind immediately traveled back to last year’s game at Memphis when DeGray was in a similar situation and could have put WSU up late, but missed and watched as the Tigers won at the buzzer.
“I knew I had to make both of them this time,” DeGray said. “You just have to believe in your work. We shoot a ton of free throws every day after practice. So just trusting what I do every day just paid off.”
Mills often likes to say “winning is in the details” and that seems to be the difference for the Shockers during their 4-game turnaround: They are now executing and making plays late in close games.
A gritty play made by DeGray that won’t end up in a box score came on the final possession of the game when Memphis held the ball for the last shot.
It was clear Memphis was trying to funnel the ball to star P.J. Haggerty for the final shot, but DeGray stayed attached to him and denied the pass to blow up the play. Left without its first option, Memphis had to settle for a heavily contested jumper by Colby Rogers that missed.
In the final minute of overtime, with WSU clinging to a 1-point lead, Washington executed a detail that may have gone overlooked on his critical late-game basket.
After a pick and roll out front, Ballard rolled hard to the basket and attracted Memphis’ weak-side defender like a magnet. That triggered Washington to angle a cut from the weak-side corner so he could catch a pass from Beverly on the run, which gave him the forward momentum he needed to finish a crucial bucket.
It is tiny details like that — denying a pass, the angle of a cut — that can lead to big wins.
“I told the guys during a timeout (during the second half),” Mills said, “that we’re here to hit singles, we’re not here to hit home runs.”
During the team’s 1-7 start in conference play, WSU was plagued by turnovers, poor shot selection and missed free throws.
After scoring 16 points in its final 10 possessions to close out the second half, WSU scored 13 points — and on each of its final six possessions — of overtime, including a perfect 4-for-4 showing at the foul line in the final 20 seconds to close out the win.
It was only fitting that it was Washington, who missed four straight free throws earlier in the game, to make two straight free throws late in overtime to help the Shockers secure the win. Washington, who registered a double-double of 18 points and 15 rebounds, was honored as the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
“Just knowing who Corey is, I’d bet a lot of money that he was going to make those two free throws,” Mills said. “He’s just wired that way. He likes the competition. He’s a guy who is going to bet on himself and I know I was betting on him.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 3:09 PM.
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