Takeaways: Rare 3-point barrage powers Shockers to AAC Tournament opening win vs. USF
One game down, three to go.
That was the mindset for the Wichita State men’s basketball team following a 73-68 win over South Florida on Thursday afternoon in the second round of the American Athletic Conference tournament at Dickies Arena.
It was quite the bounce-back performance from the last time WSU took the court, a home loss to Tulsa on senior day, but there wasn’t much time for celebration from the eighth-seeded Shockers.
WSU (19-13) has less than a 24-hour turnaround before a quarterfinal showdown against top-seeded Memphis at noon Friday in a game broadcast on ESPN2.
“You do your job and you move on to the next thing,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “I may have a cup of iced tea.”
Here are three takeaways from Thursday’s game:
1. Wichita State had to hold off a furious USF rally
Wichita State’s spot in Friday’s quarterfinal seemed all but clinched when Xavier Bell completed a 3-point play to put the Shockers up 56-40 with less than 11 minutes left.
But a mixture of bad turnovers and bad shot selection allowed USF to creep back in the game with a 9-0 run in under two minutes. Instead of WSU putting its opponent away, it allowed the Bulls to come back to life.
“We had a lot of respect for South Florida and who they were and their ability,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “There were a number of games where (USF came back), so we had zero — and I mean zero — reservations about our lead.”
The 16-point lead dwindled all the way down to a single possession, 64-61, with 3:12 remaining, but WSU regained its cushion when Bijan Cortes scored a layup while being fouled and made the free throw for a three-point play.
With USF trying to cut into a 5-point deficit, WSU registered a critical defensive stop when Justin Hill came up with a steal and was fouled by C.J. Brown. Hill made both of his free throws at the other end to extend WSU’s lead to 69-62 with 1:54 left.
USF never threatened again after that.
“You have to be able to have poise down the stretch and you’ve got to be able to convert free throws,” Mills said. “That’s what’s required at this time of year. You’re going to see players elevate their ability to show up and handle difficult situations.”
2. Corey Washington spearheaded rare WSU 3-point barrage
A Shocker 3-point barrage is about as rare as they come.
After knocking down 11 triples in a season-opening win at Western Kentucky, WSU hadn’t cracked double digits since — or even come close since December. In fact, the Shockers ranked No. 355 nationally in 3-point percentage at just under 30%.
That changed on Thursday when WSU hit nine 3-pointers at a 42.9% rate — the most 3s in a game by the team since Dec. 7 against East Tennessee State.
Corey Washington led the charge with a career-high four triples to highlight a team-high 21 points. Washington hit three beyond the arc in the first half alone, including a pair back to back to stake WSU to a 34-24 lead. Washington’s fourth trey put the Shockers ahead by 15 early in the second half.
“For me, the mental part was just trusting my work,” Washington said. “The guys trusted me to make the shots, so I just put it up with confidence.”
Five different players hit a 3-pointer for WSU, including two momentum-swinging shots from A.J. McGinnis off the bench. The first came early in the game when the shot clock was winding down and the possession looked lost until the senior drilled a deep 3 for a 12-4 lead. The second came midway through the second half after WSU had produced a fast-break stop at the other end and McGinnis continued the wave of momentum with a corner 3 to put WSU up 53-38.
“You have to shoot them,” Mills said. “You can’t sit there and allow a team to disrespect you like that, that level of dare shot. You can’t overthink it, either. There were numerous times where I was yelling at those guys to shoot the ball. They know when to shoot it and that’s when we’ve had an interior opportunity. It doesn’t need to come down and shoot it.
“You have to shoot the basketball if you’re going to be a basketball player, otherwise, go find something else to do.”
Senior point guard Bijan Cortes also hit a 3-pointer as part of his career-best 20 points to go along with seven assists and no turnovers.
WSU’s 3-point shooting also countered the rare occasion it lost the rebounding battle, as USF equaled WSU’s 43 boards but beat them in second-chance points 15-8.
3. Shockers dominated the first half
If there was any concern about a hangover from the senior-day loss to Tulsa, WSU quickly dispelled it by building a 17-6 lead within the first seven minutes of the game.
Outside of an 8-0 spurt by the Bulls, which trimmed their deficit to two points, the Shockers largely dominated the first half. WSU held USF to 33% shooting, grabbed six more rebounds and held an 8-3 advantage in second-chance points.
“We knew it was elimination basketball,” Cortes said. “We just stayed together, knowing that through practices this week and knowing that it’s going to be a lot of ups and downs. We stayed together throughout this game and that’s what we were focused on, just making sure we did all we could to win.”
After USF trimmed the margin to 26-24 midway through the first half, WSU answered right back with an 8-0 run of its own — capped by back-to-back 3-pointers by Washington.
Cortes turned in one of the best shifts of his career, finishing the first half with 11 points, five assists and no turnovers. Meanwhile, center Quincy Ballard returned to his dominant ways after playing 29 minutes last game against Tulsa without a single block. In the first half alone, Ballard swatted five shots and grabbed six rebounds with WSU outscoring USF by 15 points in his time on the court.
The highlight of the half came when Ballard tracked down two straight offensive rebounds to keep the possession alive, which finished when Cortes found Washington for an alley-oop dunk to put WSU up 10 and force USF to call timeout.
“It’s one of those typical plays where it just brings energy to everyone on the court and on the bench and to our fans,” Ballard said. “We need those kind of energy plays to win the game.”
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 1:46 PM.
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