No. 10 Wichita State rolls past Charleston Southern 88-63 (+video)

Fans booed. Coaches complained. Players fouled.

It all happened as foretold. That didn’t make it any easier to watch. The referees called the game closely. Very closely.

“You can’t bang,” Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. “We danced with Charleston Southern. It’s going to be an interesting progression. Lot of fouls, lot of free throws. So we’ve got to adjust.”

No. 10 Wichita State defeated Charleston Southern 88-63 on Friday night at Koch Arena in the opener for both teams. Both coaches will return to practice with a clearer idea of how this transition to a more free-flowing game is supposed to work.

“We’re just going to have to get used to it,” Charleston Southern coach Barclay Radebaugh said. “They say, for sure, they’re not going to change.”

WSU guard Fred VanVleet, who missed Saturday’s exhibition game with a strained left hamstring, started. A sprained ankle ended his night after three minutes of play.

“Minor ankle sprain,” Marshall said. “He tweaked his ankle.”

Referees are mandated to help offensive players move freely. Defensive players who used their hands or bodies to grab and bump drew whistles again and again. The teams combined for 66 fouls and 71 foul shots. Four Charleston Southern players fouled out. Five Shockers finished with three or more fouls.

In the first half, Marshall walked to the end of the bench and joked with sophomore Rauno Nurger, who plans to redshirt, that he needed to put on his uniform.

“We expected it,” WSU guard Ron Baker said. “We knew there was going to be a lot of whistles. I know the fans don’t like it. They probably got nice concession revenue tonight.”

While the fouls made for ugly, choppy basketball, the Shockers are built to thrive under those conditions. They are deep, big and good shooters. WSU made 31 of 41 foul shots, outscoring Charleston Southern by 12 at the line. It out-rebounded the smaller Buccaneers 48-29 and scored 21 second-chance points on 16 offensive rebounds.

Charleston Southern center Wesley Johnson fouled out. So did forward Javis Howard, robbing Radebaugh of his two biggest players. His small-ball lineup couldn’t stand up to WSU’s waves of athletes.

“They really hurt us on the glass,” Radebaugh said. “It really favors a team with more size, which tonight was certainly a factor. Getting the ball up on the rim and then they have the ability to get it.”

Charleston Southern’s Ugo Mmonu fouled out with 12:27 to play in the game. Both teams shot bonus free throws with 10:15 to play. Johnson fouled out with 7:16 to play.

Get used to it. Referees are supposed to call it that way until players adjust, part of the NCAA’s push to reverse a decline in scoring and pace of play.

Adjusting, coaches and players said, will likely mean more zone defenses. Coaches will back off their usual menu of presses to avoid fouls. Players must keep their hands off opponents and move their feet. Coaches are going to have to live with allowing a few drives to the basket.

“We’ll just adjust and keep playing and get used to it,” Baker said.

Baker led the Shockers with 15 points. Freshmen Landry Shamet and Eric Hamilton both added 13. Hamilton, who made all six of his free throws, grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.

WSU, after making 2 of 12 three-pointers in the first half, made 5 of 13 in the second half.

Demetrius Pollard led Charleston Southern with 20 points.

The Shockers led 42-30 at halftime. After the Buccaneers cut the lead to 49-38, WSU’s Zach Brown dunked to start an 11-4 run, capped by Hamilton’s three-pointers. WSU extended its lead to 75-55 on Hamilton’s free throw with 4:56 to play.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 9:35 PM with the headline "No. 10 Wichita State rolls past Charleston Southern 88-63 (+video)."