Normal inconsistencies don’t apply to Wichita State

The last time Wichita State walked off the court disappointed in its effort and execution after a loss was in 2013. Two current Shockers played in that game.

No. 9 Wichita State avoids the normals ups and downs most teams experience. Since that loss, it dropped four games, none at home, and all to top-quality competition — Creighton twice, Louisville and Kentucky. WSU (3-0) plays Tulsa (3-2) on Saturday at Koch Arena with winning streaks of 18 games in its on-campus arena, 27 in home non-conference games (including games at Intrust Bank Arena) and 34 regular-season games, no matter the site.

It is getting increasingly hard to remember what a struggling Shocker team looks like. WSU is 44-4 since that 59-56 loss to Evansville at Koch Arena on Feb. 27, 2013.

“Last year, we learned by winning, instead of having to learn the hard way,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “My freshman year, we had a couple of losses where we didn’t play our best. You’ve got to learn from those things.”

This season’s schedule was supposed to present more challenges. New Mexico State and Memphis State are both NCAA Tournament regulars and predicted to finish at or near the top of their conferences. WSU swept both aside by double digits.

It starts with practices and coaches who make them more stressful and challenging than some games. The consistent leadership of WSU’s veterans make the practices productive and the effort and preparation for games steady. An overtime victory against Missouri State last season, after trailing by 19 in the second half, is the closest WSU’s come to serious regret.

“When you have coaches that demand so much out of you, you have to perform, or you’re going to sit,” senior Tekele Cotton said. “They coach us, all the way from Fred to the last person on the bench.”

WSU coach Gregg Marshall pins much of it on his leaders. VanVleet, Cotton (the two who played in that loss to Evansville) and Ron Baker are top-level practice players and stars in the weight room. That work ethic spreads to the rest of the team and the newcomers follow that flow.

“Evansville was one of those nights … I made the wrong decisions, the players made the wrong plays,” Marshall said. “You have those sometimes. We haven’t had one in awhile.”

Marshall has explained the magic of this team to previous Shockers who played on successful teams, but ones haunted by an inopportune loss or two. The 2010 Shockers dropped a mystifying game at Evansville which hurt its NCAA at-large resume. The 2011 Shockers lost at home to a struggling Southern Illinois team and a loss to Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament relegated them to the NIT. The 2012 Shockers accomplished almost every goal, only to see the MVC Tournament slip away with a loss to Illinois State.

“This team is more immune to that kind of night, and the reason is they are so focused,” Marshall said. “The group that won the NIT should have been an NCAA Tournament team, but we lost a couple games (at home) in February. It’s Tekele and Ron and Fred, and everyone else takes their lead.”

Cotton will return to the starting lineup on Saturday after sitting out Sunday’s win over Newman with a jammed finger on his right hand. He practiced Friday for the first time since WSU played Memphis on Nov. 18.

“It feels good,” he said.

Tulsa completes a busy and challenging week against the Shockers. The Hurricane defeated Auburn 53-35 on Monday and lost 73-58 to Oklahoma State on Wednesday in Las Vegas. Tulsa returns four starters from a team that won 11 straight games last season to earn Conference USA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Coach Danny Manning left for Wake Forest, but new coach Frank Haith inherited a stable roster.

Junior guard James Woodard averaged 15.5 points and earned second-team all-conference honors last season. Junior forward D’Andre Wright scored 18 points in an NCAA Tournament loss to UCLA.

“They’re really athletic,” Marshall said. “They’ve played together. They know each other. Very fast and quick and long and athletic and they play hard.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2014 at 6:53 PM with the headline "Normal inconsistencies don’t apply to Wichita State."