Shocker report

Always an answer

Wichita State spent most of the game running uphill. When it did get momentum from one or two good possessions, the Trojans responded, helped by a lapse on defense or poor rebounding.

“We made some nice runs during the game and we let up defensively,” WSU guard Ron Baker said. “When Coach (Gregg Marshall) talks about the little things, he’s talking about being in the right position on defense. Getting those defensive rebounds. Don’t allow the offense to get second-chance points.”

The Shockers led 49-43 in the second half when a series of mistakes allowed the Trojans to rally. Offensive rebounds led to scores by Nikola Jovanovic and Bennie Boatwright. A turnover by WSU’s Anton Grady handed the Trojans a layup for a 50-49 lead. Another offensive rebound gave Jovanovic two foul shots.

USC made 9 of 15 threes in the second half, sometimes getting open on breaks and sometimes when the Shockers missed an assignment. WSU cut the lead to 64-62 when USC’s Bennie Boatwright got open for a three and a 67-62 lead. After a WSU turnover, Katin Reinhardt’s three made it 70-62 with 1:19 to play.

“We’re going to have to do the little things,” Marshall said. “We missed a couple of game-plan adjustments we were trying to do. When a guy is shooting it as well as Bennie Boatwright, you’ve got to stand on his toes and make him do something different.”

Flip that script

Wichita State thrives on using experience to its advantage. It fills its rosters with redshirts and seniors and uses them to beat younger players from higher-profile programs.

That hasn’t been the case in WSU’s losses to Tulsa and USC. Tulsa is the nation’s most experienced team, as calculated by Ken Pomeroy, with a roster average of 2.76 years of experience. USC isn’t nearly as experienced, but it returns its top nine scorers from 2014-15 and combined 209 starts.

With senior Fred VanVleet and freshman Landry Shamet injured, WSU is reaching deeper into its bench than planned. That is the reality of the situation.

“Tyrone Taylor made a few rushed shots,” Marshall said. “He should be playing a little bit, he shouldn’t be playing 18 minutes. Probably should by playing 6 to 8 minutes. But he’s going to play 18 minutes until we figure this thing out and get some reinforcements.”

Worth noting

WSU is back at .500, its deepest foray into a season at that level since the 2011-12 team started 2-2 before winning eight in a row … The Shockers lost in the first game of a holiday tournament for the first time since 2010 to Connecticut in the Maui Invitational … WSU will play Alabama for the fifth time in six seasons. The Shockers defeated the Tide in the 2011 NIT and in regular-season meetings in 2013 and 2014. Alabama won in the 2011 Puerto Rico Tip-Off … Baker scored 25 points, one off his career high, and reached 20-plus for the 12th time in his career. He has 1,231 career points and passed Steve Grayer (1985-89) for No. 23 on WSU’s list … The Trojans are 5-0, their best start since the 2000-01 team went 8-0 … USC defeated No. 8 WSU 60-56 in 2006 in the Las Vegas Classic.

▪  Xavier 64, Alabama 45 — The Musketeers (5-0) made 5 of 11 three-pointers in the second half and outscored Alabama 37-21.

Trevon Bluiett led Xavier with 15 points and Jalen Reynolds added 10 and nine rebounds. Shannon Hale and Justin Coleman both scored 10 points for Alabama (2-2), which committed 18 turnovers and missed 23 of 28 threes.

▪  Monmouth 70, Notre Dame 68 — Monmouth’s Justin Robinson made two free throws with three seconds to play.

Monmouth (3-1) scored 19 points off 14 Irish turnovers and its bench outscored Notre Dame’s 19-0. Robinson made 14 of 15 foul shots and scored 22 points.

Demetrius Jackson led Notre Dame (3-1) with 20 points.

▪  Dayton 82, Iowa 77 — Charles Cook scored 22 points for the Flyers, who held Iowa without a field goal in the final 2:35.

Dayton (4-0) made 21 of 27 foul shots and enjoyed a 10-point edge at the line. Jarrod Uthoff led Iowa (3-1) with 18 points.

Paul Suellentrop

This story was originally published November 26, 2015 at 8:00 PM with the headline "Shocker report."