Wichita State Basketball: Shockers survive a hard-fought game at Tulsa
Wichita State basketball was pushed hard on the road by Tulsa but extended their winning streak. How did the Shockers walk away with the victory?
This one was never easy for Wichita State basketball. Playing in their second road game in three days, the Shockers came out a bit flat against the Golden Hurricane and got into an early 10-point hole. By the end of the first half, though, Gregg Marshall’s team came back and had the lead heading into the break.
In the second half, Wichita State stayed in front but was never able to pull away. Their largest lead for the entire game was 11 points early in the second half. A lot of credit should go to Tulsa for their ability to hang around in front of their home crowd. Yet, in the end, the better team came out on top.
If nothing else, this game should be evidence that Wichita State cannot take any games off in the AAC. Unlike some games in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Shockers will face a team that can beat them on any given night if things bounce the right way. Tulsa played a very good game in this one and limited the potent Wichita State offense. The contest came down to the absolute last possession and Tulsa had a chance at the buzzer from three to tie but couldn’t get it to fall.
Still, a win is a win and that is exactly what the Shockers came away with. For the season, they are now 15-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in conference play.
Fans might not see it as such but this was a very solid win for Wichita State. Tulsa might not be the greatest opponent in the country, but the Shockers just went on the road and won two road games in the span of three days. That is an impressive feat no matter who the competition is. Sure, it would have been nice if the team came out and dominated like they had in the past three games but sometimes a little crunch-time practice can go a long way.
Wichita State Shockers Basketball
For the game, the leading scorers for the Shockers were Landry Shamet and Conner Frankamp. This might not have been the most efficient night for Shamet (5-for-12 FG, three turnovers) but he still dropped in 16 points thanks to his four makes from 3-point land. Speaking of made threes, Frankamp also buried four from deep en route to 16 points of his own.
Once again, the game-by-game improvement of Markis McDuffie, who is slowly returning from injury, was huge. The forward played 23 minutes in the win and was the only other Shocker in double figures with 10 points.
Overall, this was a poor shooting performance from the Shockers (41.0% FG, 34.5% 3P) but they were gritty enough to take the win.
On the other hand, Tulsa relied on the 3-point shot and it often kept them in the game. The team shot a scorching 12-26 (46.2%) from beyond the arc, but had two big misses in the final minute. It seemed that whenever Wichita State got a bit of momentum, somebody banged home a three. And while playing in front of their home crowd, the fans got louder and louder with each made trifecta.
The leading scorer on the night for the Golden Hurricane was Sterling Taplin. In 30 minutes of play, Taplin scored a game-high 26 points. He shot 10-for-17 in total from the field while canning six of his 10 3-point attempts. It was a huge night for the youngster but not enough to overcome the No. 5 ranked team in the country.
Possibly the biggest box score difference in this one was the free throw attempts. While Tulsa settled for 3-pointers (and made a lot of them), Wichita State attacked the basket and got to the free throw line. The Shockers attempted 15 free throws to the Golden Hurricane’s five.
Next: Where are the Shockers in our projected bracket?
This win might not be a resume-builder for the Shockers but is still a big one moving forward. It is always difficult to snag road wins and this one gave the team some late-game experience in a hostile environment. Watch out for the team to build on this performance in the future and snag even more wins.
The next three Wichita State games come against potential NCAA Tournament teams in SMU (home), Houston (away), and UCF (home). This stretch will be a great time to see just how good the Shockers are.