Wichita State basketball brought competitive fire against Memphis, but not clean play
If the goal for a college basketball team is to be at its competitive best in March, then the Wichita State men’s basketball team played a final 40 minutes Friday that it could take pride in.
The Shockers played far from a perfect game in an 83-80 loss to Memphis in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament, but their resolve allowed them to take a nationally-ranked opponent down to the last second at Dickies Arena.
“Super thankful to be able to share that court with the group of guys that I did,” WSU senior Xavier Bell said. “It just shows you how much fight we really have. I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to share the court with these guys and to be able to go out there and just compete playing a game that we love.”
A controversial basket interference call late in the game sparked outrage among the Shockers, but in a moment of truth, they would admit they had plenty of factors in their control that could have changed the outcome of Friday’s game.
Namely the 17 turnovers that Memphis turned into 29 points — more than a third of its points. If it felt like WSU paid for every mistake, that feeling wasn’t far off — the Tigers converted 14 of their 17 forced turnovers into points, including scoring off all eight of WSU’s second-half turnovers.
To beat Memphis a second time in less than a month, WSU needed to make Memphis work for everything. Instead, the Shockers’ array of live-ball turnovers, usually due to over-dribbling, served as an assembly line for grade-A offense for the Tigers.
Also not helping matters was WSU losing the battle on the glass, as Memphis grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and scored 19 second-chance points.
“When you’re dealing with one-possession games, this stuff matters,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “Every free throw matters, every shot matters. And it’s not just at the end of the game. I mean, something could happen at the 18-minute mark of the first half. So these are valuable lessons.
“The margin is thin this time of year. You have to be on point about a lot of things.”
There were times this season when that combination would have crushed the Shockers. But on Friday, they were near their best in terms of competitive spirit.
Trailing 72-61 with less than seven minutes left, WSU’s best competitors emerged. Quincy Ballard scored two straight put-backs and blocked two more shots on defense. Bijan Cortes drilled his fifth 3-pointer, a career best. Bell twisted his way to the rim and scored with his left hand.
But in the end, WSU’s self-inflicted wounds were too much to overcome. In a way, it was a microcosm of WSU’s season.
“We were 1-7 through our first eight games and I’ve been around enough players to know when people will tap out,” Mills said. “That wasn’t this group.
“I’m just so thankful for the guys in our locker room. I’m obviously disappointed, but it’s really just a heart of gratitude for who they are and the things that they have done.”
Efforts like the one on Friday showed the Shockers had the ceiling to compete with any team in the AAC. The problem was WSU didn’t reach that level nearly often enough.
“We knew we could compete with anybody that we face up against on the court,” Bell said. “It’s just about executing the game plan and staying on top of what we need to stay on top of and just trying to find solutions in that moment. We just had to find one or two ways to pull this one out, but it shows the resiliency of this team.”
There were strides made in Mills’ second season at the helm. WSU improved to 19-14 this season, a 4-win improvement, and 8-10 in AAC play, a 3-win improvement.
But improvement felt like the bare minimum after WSU finished tied for last place in the conference last season. The Shockers were armed with one of the most veteran rosters in the country and believed their experience could help push for postseason play, but the team never found enough consistency in its play and intensity to make the leap.
“You never win as much as you want. That’s reality,” Mills said. “What you’re always trying to do is you’re paying attention to the direction and not getting caught up in the destination. You’re always evaluating it. The next month will be spent a lot on doing that. But again, I do like the direction that we’re headed and we’ll continue to get better. This is really on account of what these guys have laid in regarding a foundation and the work that’s required in order to be good.”
Following Friday’s loss, WSU silently walked back to the locker room. Corey Washington slung his arm around Bell in support. Other seniors were consoled.
With an 18-14 record against Division I competition and a No. 134 ranking in the latest NET, the Shockers are unlikely candidates for the NIT. And judging by the way Mills and Bell spoke at the podium, they have come to terms that the 2024-25 season is over.
“Just the support system that I have from the group of guys in the locker room, the coaching staff, top to bottom, I can’t do anything but just say thank you for it all,” Bell said. “I know there will be other emotions that come with it, especially with this being my last college game and everything like that, but right now all I can say is thank you for everything, the ups, the downs, thank you.”
This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 12:36 PM.
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