Wichita State Basketball: 2019-20 season overview of the Shockers

The Lows of the season

Both Games Against Houston

I could have separated these games into two separate lows, but I think they should be lumped together so we don’t have to spend too much time reliving how awful Wichita State was against Houston this season.

The first loss to Houston came right after their first AAC loss of the season and was the moment that it really looked like the Shockers might not be worthy of the top 25 spot they had claimed earlier in the season. They were completely outplayed on their home court and never looked like they even had a chance to win. The offense was lost until they put together a late surge to make the score look more respectable.

The second loss was even more miserable. The Shockers went down to Houston and got absolutely obliterated. They trailed by 20 at the half after only scoring 18 points in the first 20 minutes. It didn’t get any better in the second half as the Shockers ended up losing by 33, which was the largest margin of defeat under Gregg Marshall.

These two games were two of the lowest points in recent memory for the Shockers.

Loss To Temple

This is where Wichita State’s problems began to catch up with them. They had some issues closing out their wins over Memphis and UCONN, but they had yet to lose a game in their conference. That changed against Temple and this game brought a lot of issues to the surface.

The biggest issue we saw in this game was Erik Stevenson’s offensive struggle. He didn’t score against the Owls, which started a long stretch where he was no longer the stable offensive presence the Shockers could rely on.

Wichita State’s poor shot selection also became a much clearer problem in this game and remained one against any opponent with a strong defense for the rest of the season.

The Shockers looked prepared to dominate the AAC before this game, but a lot of question marks popped up starting with this one.

Back-To-Back Buzzer Beater Losses

Neither of these games was a particularly bad performance from the Shockers, but suffering back to back buzzer-beating losses at a time when they needed some strong performances to bolster their resume was a tough pill to swallow.

The first loss was a defensive struggle against Tulsa that became one of the feel-good stories of the year for them. Elijah Joyner’s dad was seeing him play for the first time in college and Joyner ended up being the player who knocked down the 3 at the buzzer to sink the Shockers.

The second was a bit more disappointing because it occurred at home and the Shockers actually had a 2-point lead when Cincy got their last possession. The game was the polar opposite of the Tulsa loss with both teams scoring at will. Unfortunately, with the game on the line, Dexter Dennis fouled Jarron Cumberland, who finished his layup and knocked down the free throw to give Cincy the 1-point win.

Those two losses were part of a stretch where the Shockers dropped 5 of 7 and saw themselves tumble down the AAC standings.