Bob Lutz: Shockers’ defense wraps up Wildcats in first-round NCAA win

Wichita State comes as close to making basketball defense sexy as any team in the country.

Ron Baker lets out a primal scream after forcing a turnover. Fred VanVleet makes a strip steal and goes the length of the court for a layup. Big Shaq Morris and Little Conner Frankamp tie with a team-high two blocked shots.

And all 12 players who got into Thursday night’s 65-55 win over Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament knew, for certain, that defense had to be the difference.

Arizona, one of the highest-scoring teams in the country, had 29 points in 29 minutes against a Wichita State team that doesn’t just talk the talk about playing defense.

These guys thrive on the stuff. They love it. They should be the team every high school coach in the country points to when begging to get their players to defend a ball screen or keep an offensive player in front.

“We’ve had some great performances,” said VanVleet, whose five steals had people in the crowd securing their wallets and purses. “I think tonight is just a testament to the grind we put in, the coaches’ scouting plan and our effort.”

VanVleet mentioned that the opponent matters, too, and Arizona had scored at least 61 points in all 33 of its previous games. The Wildcats cracked 70 in 28 of those games and the concern was that even a team with a coach who stresses defense the way Gregg Marshall does wouldn’t be able to defuse such dynamite.

“If you don’t play defense,” freshman forward Markis McDuffie said, “you won’t play. And everybody wants to play.”

If only it were that simple. There’s defense and then there’s the Department of Defense.

Marshall credited assistant coach Greg Heiar and consultant (and former assistant) Chris Jans for coming up with a game plan for Arizona that made sure to pressure the Wildcats’ ballhandlers and force them to make plays.

VanVleet and Baker should wear Freddy Krueger masks while they’re playing, such are the nightmares they cause opponents.

“Baker puts on a defensive clinic,” Marshall said.

And nothing lights up the Scott City senior like a defensive play gone right. Twice he let out screams of joy and satisfaction and both came after a forced Arizona turnover. The Wildcats had 19 of them to six for Wichita State.

It’s rare to get this deeply into a column about a basketball game without even mentioning offense. But for the Shockers, offense is often down the list.

They had enough, let’s just say, despite making 3 of 20 three-point shots. Two were from Frankamp, who seems to be picking the exact right time to lock in.

VanVleet and Baker combined for 29 points but made only one of 10 threes. But so what?

They do so much defensively that they could kick the ball toward the basket and still be two of the most valuable Shockers ever.

Baker had six assists and five rebounds. VanVleet had the five steals and four rebounds. They played a bunch of minutes and continue to be two of the hardest-ridden horses in Wichita State history.

“There’s just a sacrifice,” VanVleet said. “You’re talking about coaches who aren’t going to sleep at night because they’re getting everything prepared. And we have guys on this team who don’t care about anything else in the world right now, who are putting everything else on hold now for them next couple of weeks. You pour it all into one common goal and it works.”

There’s an uncommon abundance of will and drive to this team. Marshall is a master of motivation and isn’t afraid to use illusions as motivation. One of his latest is calling his team the 11-B seed in the South regional, citing the fact the Shockers were the visiting team in their First Four game Tuesday night against Vanderbilt in Dayton.

The man has a winter’s supply of chip on his shoulder and there’s nothing he or his team relish more than proving people wrong, whether those people have slighted the Shockers or not.

For nine years now, he has consistently gotten more out his Wichita State teams than anybody thinks is there. And if you’re Miami, the Shockers’ opponent Saturday, you should be very afraid. Because this team is going to be a hard out.

“These kids listen,” Marshall said. “They’re very coachable and they’re high achievers.”

But how in the world does a game plan get developed and taught in such a short amount of time. The Shockers caught a 2:30 a.m. flight out of Dayton early Wednesday morning and had a shootaround later in the day here. They have to sleep, right?

“Well,” Marshall said, “we’re not teaching them how to split an atom. We’re teaching them how to defend a ball screen and where we want them to be in a certain set. It’s not that difficult, but they do have to be able to carry out the game plan.”

They’re good, all right. Defense doesn’t get any sexier than the version the Shockers rolled out Thursday. There’s not a basketball coach in America who wasn’t lusting.

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 12:06 AM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Shockers’ defense wraps up Wildcats in first-round NCAA win."