Wichita State Basketball: Shockers annihilate East Carolina on the road

Despite playing on the road, Wichita State basketball delivered a beatdown on East Carolina. The Shockers are now 4-0 in their new conference.

Wichita State basketball has not made a quiet entrance into the American Athletic Conference. Not only are the Shockers undefeated through four conferences games but they have won each game by double-digits. Even more impressive is that their average margin of victory is at 25.3 points per game. Sure, their schedule has not been incredibly rigorous but they are taking care of business in convincing ways.

Another example of their top-notch play occurred when the team went on the road to face the East Carolina Pirates on Jan. 11. Through the first 10 minutes, it looked as though the Pirates were going to be able to hang with the Shockers. At the point, the teams were knotted up with 14 points each. For the next 30 minutes, though, it was all Wichita State. The Shockers used a 31-9 run to end the first half and that high level of play just continued into the second half.

When the slaughter was all said and done, Wichita State walked out of Minges Coliseum with the 95-60 victory.

As has been the norm for Wichita State this year, they got this win because of their balanced offensive attack. 11 Shockers scored in this one and, despite putting up nearly 100 points for the game, no individual scored more than 14 points. In addition, Gregg Marshall went deep into his bench as 15 players saw minutes in the blowout.

On the night, the team was led by sophomore guard Landry Shamet. The sophomore point guard flashed his playmaking skills in this one by dishing out 11 assists to go with his 11 points. The great part about Shamet is that he was able to distribute so well while committing only one turnover. He is one of the smartest guards in the country and he has the innate ability to control a basketball game without being the leading scorer.

In fact, three Shockers scored more points than Shamet against the Pirates. Rauno Nurger, who came off the bench, was the leading scorer on the night with 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting. This was his second-highest scoring outing of the season (16 vs. Charleston). Following Nurger in the scoring column was Shaquille Morris (12 points) and Markis McDuffie (12 points).

To see McDuffie reach double-digits for the third consecutive game is certainly a good sign for Wichita State. The leading scorer from last year’s team is coming back from his injury nicely and looks to be in a better rhythm from the floor with every game.

As a team, the Shockers were impressive from the floor, shooting 38-for-64 (59.4%) in total and 9-for-22 (40.9%) from three. The offense functioned well both in halfcourt sets and in transition, finding quality shots and drawing fouls effectively. Wichita State attempted 12 free throws in the game, making 10 (83.3%). The biggest sign that the Shockers ran their offense effectively was that the team recorded assists on 32 of their 38 made field goals.

On the defensive end, the Shockers were just as good. East Carolina entered this game as one of the worst scoring teams in the nation at 65.7 points scored per game (325th in the nation). This game was not any better for the Pirates. They were held to just 60 points on 39.7% shooting from the field and 22.2% from three. Of course, going 10-for-17 (58.8%) from the free throw line didn’t help matters either.

Next: How can the Shockers contend for a title?

This was once again a dominating performance by the Wichita State Shockers. Their entrance into the American Athletic Conference has not been quiet due to the way they have played at home and on the road. How long will it continue and just good is this team? Only time will tell.

Next up for the Shockers: Wichita State at Tulsa on Jan. 13