Wichita State Basketball: 2019-20 keys to win on the road vs Cincinnati

Keep Cincy out the Lane

The first time these two teams met, the Shockers put in their worst defensive performance of the season. It wasn’t just the fact that the 80 points they allowed in the game were the most they’ve allowed all year, but it was how easily Cincinnati was able to get the shots they wanted and to score for long stretches of the game. There were plenty of times that it seemed like Cincy could score whenever they wanted and there wasn’t much the Shockers could do to stop them. This time around, the defense needs to be much better and I know how they can do that.

Cincy was especially successful from inside the 3 point line in that game, making 68.5% of their shots from inside the arc. The answer isn’t for them to defend more effectively once Cincy gets inside. It seemed like once the Bearcats got the ball in the paint the first time around, they had essentially already scored. Instead, the Shockers need to do all that they can to keep Cincinnati from ever getting into the lane.

The Shockers need to go under ball screens and let Cincy shoot the 3 if they so desire. They need to front in the post and make it difficult to make entry passes. They need to play off of Cincinnati’s guards and give them room to shoot rather than put themselves in position to be beaten to the basket.

The Shockers are a much better team than what they showed the first time they played Cincinnati, but they’ll need to prove it in this game. They can’t allow the Bearcats to score inside so easily or they are going to have a really tough time on this road trip.