Shocker report: WSU 71, Memphis 56
Tuesday’s box score
No. 11 WSU 71, Memphis 56
WICHITA ST. | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Wessel | 18 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Carter | 23 | 6-13 | 0-0 | 3-4 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
VanVleet | 31 | 5-14 | 4-6 | 1-4 | 3 | 1 | 15 |
Baker | 31 | 6-15 | 7-8 | 2-5 | 6 | 1 | 21 |
Cotton | 28 | 4-7 | 2-4 | 1-4 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
Kelly | 13 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Brown | 6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Henderson Jr | 7 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Holland | 12 | 1-3 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Nurger | 7 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Wamukota | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Morris | 16 | 2-2 | 2-3 | 0-3 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
Glass | 3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 25-62 | 17-23 | 16-38 | 13 | 23 | 71 |
Percentages: FG .403, FT .739. 3-Point Goals: 4-16, .250 (Baker 2-6, Holland 1-2, VanVleet 1-4, Henderson Jr. 0-1, Cotton 0-1, Brown 0-1, Wessel 0-1). Team Rebounds: 6. Blocked Shots: 3 (Morris 2, Baker). Turnovers: 13 (Baker 2, Wamukota 2, Carter, Morris, Kelly, Nurger, Wessel, Cotton, Holland). Steals: 8 (VanVleet 4, Cotton 2, Baker 2). Technical Fouls: None.
MEMPHIS | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Goodwin | 22 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 2-6 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
Nichols | 32 | 2-7 | 6-9 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
King | 29 | 6-13 | 4-7 | 1-7 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
Johnson | 12 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Woodson | 23 | 4-8 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
Burrell | 24 | 5-7 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 0 | 2 | 11 |
Crawford | 17 | 1-4 | 1-1 | 2-3 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Powell | 17 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Hawkins | 15 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Godfrey | 9 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 20-49 | 14-23 | 12-36 | 4 | 20 | 56 |
Percentages: FG .408, FT .609. 3-Point Goals: 2-9, .222 (Woodson 2-4, King 0-1, Powell 0-2, Burrell 0-2). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 9 (Nichols 6, Powell, Johnson, Goodwin). Turnovers: 24 (Johnson 5, Powell 4, Goodwin 4, Woodson 3, Crawford 2, Burrell 2, Hawkins, King, Godfrey). Steals: 0 Technical Fouls: None.
Wichita St. | 29 | 42 | — | 71 |
Memphis | 22 | 34 | — | 56 |
A—3,250. Officials—John Higgins, Tom Eades, Kipp Kissinger.
Get the lid off
Wichita State missed all 11 of its three-pointers in Friday’s opener. It missed seven more Tuesday before Ron Baker broke the 0-for-18 streak with 16:20 remaining in the game.
“We’re weren’t making shots early in the game,” Baker said. “We weren’t getting good looks. We weren’t finishing layups. Once we started making those layups and open shots, it started to smooth out the game.”
After that 0-for-7 start, WSU made 4 of its final 9 three-pointers.The Shockers made 5 for 24 shots before making 19 of their next 29 shots. Forward Darius Carter said he rushed his shots early in the game. Carter missed his first shot and then scored on a tip and a dunk before missing a jumper and a layup.
“Everybody needed to be more patient with the offense and just run it, get the shots we know we can get with the system,” he said. “You’ve got to be patient and see where your window is to score.”
Carter set his career high with 12 shots in the first half, two more than his previous high, set Friday against New Mexico State. He made 6 of 13 shots and scored 12 points in 23 minutes.
Home away from home
The Sanford Pentagon received good reviews from the Shockers, who enjoyed a victory and home-court advantage thanks to traveling fans.
“They’re very loyal,” Carter said. “I feel like we always have the home-court advantage with our fans.”
The arena seats 3,250 and sold out for Tuesday’s game, part of ESPN’s Tip-off Marathon. The intimate setting made for good atmosphere and the old-school touches such as keyhole lanes, analog clock on the scoreboard and exposed beams gave the arena a unique feel.
“More importantly, the people have been very, very hospitable,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “I love the people more than the building, but the building is great, too.”
Baker compared it to the gyms featured in the movie “Hoosiers.”
“It definitely felt like there was more than 3,200 people in there,” he said. “It’s kind of like a Cracker Jack box.”
Happy to host
In 2013, officials from the NCAA came to Wichita to debrief the Shockers on their Final Four experience. While in town, they toured Intrust Bank Arena to judge its worthiness as a facility for the NCAA Tournament.
Success never hurts. Perhaps that bit of networking helped Wichita’s bid. One of their concerns was space for media, and WSU associate athletic director Brad Pittman showed them his plan to provide space for TV, radio, print and other needs.
“It’s great for the city and it’s great for basketball in our region,” Marshall said. “It’s all good.”
Worth noting
The Sanford Pentagon’s facility manager is Brad Coleman, who was wearing a Shocker baseball golf shirt as he taped the block//charge arc on the floor. His son is former WSU baseball player Dusty Coleman, who is married to former volleyball player Sarah Waldorf.… WSU tied the series with Memphis 10-all. WSU’s previous win in the series came in 1976, an 81-70 win in Wichita.… No Shocker will redshirt this season. Junior Tevin Glass and freshman Zach Brown played in the final minutes. Neither played in Friday’s win over New Mexico State.
Paul Suellentrop
This story was originally published November 18, 2014 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Shocker report: WSU 71, Memphis 56."