Shocker report: WSU 77, Detroit 68
Saturday’s box score
No. 11 Wichita St. 77, Detroit 68
WICHITA ST. | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Baker | 37 | 6-18 | 4-5 | 1-7 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
Carter | 29 | 7-11 | 3-8 | 5-11 | 0 | 1 | 18 |
Cotton | 34 | 4-11 | 0-1 | 1-3 | 3 | 2 | 11 |
VanVleet | 37 | 2-9 | 7-8 | 3-8 | 7 | 1 | 11 |
Kelly | 21 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 2-3 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
Wessel | 19 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Morris | 9 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Nurger | 7 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Holland | 6 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Henderson Jr | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 26-63 | 16-25 | 18-42 | 13 | 11 | 77 |
Percentages: FG .413, FT .640. 3-Point Goals: 9-28, .321 (Cotton 3-6, Baker 3-12, Carter 1-1, Wessel 1-2, Kelly 1-2, Nurger 0-1, Holland 0-1, VanVleet 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 0. Turnovers: 10 (Kelly 3, Cotton 2, VanVleet 2, Carter 2, Baker). Steals: 9 (Kelly 2, Baker 2, Carter, Morris, Wessel, Cotton, VanVleet). Technical Fouls: None.
DETROIT | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Howard Jr | 38 | 11-23 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 2 | 1 | 27 |
Grant | 32 | 4-8 | 3-3 | 1-7 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
Wilson | 29 | 2-6 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
Hogan | 9 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
Williams | 11 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Bass | 20 | 4-10 | 3-4 | 3-8 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
Kearney | 29 | 3-5 | 0-0 | 0-5 | 1 | 5 | 8 |
Ackerman | 11 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Kane | 5 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
Brundidge | 5 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Jenkins | 11 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Totals | 200 | 26-58 | 7-10 | 9-35 | 12 | 22 | 68 |
Percentages: FG .448, FT .700. 3-Point Goals: 9-24, .375 (Howard Jr. 5-12, Kearney 2-3, Bass 1-2, Grant 1-3, Brundidge 0-1, Wilson 0-3). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 4 (Howard Jr., Bass, Williams, Ackerman). Turnovers: 13 (Bass 4, Kearney 2, Howard Jr. 2, Wilson 2, Williams, Grant). Steals: 5 (Howard Jr. 2, Grant, Bass, Wilson). Technical Fouls: None.
Wichita St. | 35 | 42 | — | 77 |
Detroit | 31 | 37 | — | 68 |
A—4,110. Officials—Randy Heimerman, Bert Smith, Terry Davis.
Time for research
Wichita State junior Ron Baker is used to plenty of teasing from student sections on the road. On Saturday, Detroit students hit him with a new one. They chanted his girlfriend’s name when Baker touched the ball in the second half.
“How about that one,” he said. “That’s a first.”
The victory improved WSU to 38-8 on the road the past four seasons, which makes all the taunts worthwhile.
“It’s a lot of fun to shut the opponent’s crowd up,” WSU senior Darius Carter said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
The Shockers didn’t intend to trail by 10 points in the second half. Survive a situation like that and it can help build chemistry and trust, especially for newcomers who aren’t used to those situations.
“It’s very hard, because you’re in somebody else’s territory,” senior Tekele Cotton said. “It’s fun playing on the road, because it’s just us. It allows us to stick together a lot more. I love that.”
Changing roles
The scene in the locker room while Cotton described his go-ahead three-pointer in the second half:
“I just deflected a pass and I think Ron got it and I was wide open in the corner,” Cotton said.
Teammate Fred VanVleet interruped to say “Like Kobe (Bryant) do. Big-shot Tekele.”
Cotton continued “He threw it to me and I made it.”
To which VanVleet added, “I think I’m the defender and he’s the scorer now.”
Cotton finished with 11 points, making 3 of 6 three-pointers. Despite playing with a padded finger on his shooting hand, Cotton is 8 of 19 from behind the arc in his past five games.
Busted and done
Wichita State ended its obligations with the BracketBusters Series with Saturday’s win. The now-defunct matchups, intended to help schools build NCAA Tournament resumes with games in late February, ended after the 2013 season.
The Shockers went 10-0 in return games and 4-6 in the BracketBusters games. It swept the series with Detroit, winning 91-74 in 2013 at Koch Arena. It also swept Austin Peay, Davidson and Cleveland State and split with Miami (Ohio), VCU, George Mason, Northern Arizona, Appalachian State and Utah State.
Worth noting
WSU freshman Rashard Kelly scored a season-high nine points and made his first three-pointer.… Detroit previously played a nationally ranked team at home in 2011, an 80-75 loss to No. 17 Mississippi State. It last beat a ranked team at home in 2002, a 63-54 win over No. 23 Butler.… The Shockers lead the series 14-7 and have won five straight over the Titans. The teams last met in Detroit in 1981, a 79-70 Shockers win. The teams played as Missouri Valley Conference rivals from 1950-57.… Former Shocker Jamie Arnold watched the game and met WSU coaches and players after. Arnold played for the Shockers from 1993-97 and lives in the area.
Paul Suellentrop
This story was originally published December 13, 2014 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Shocker report: WSU 77, Detroit 68."