Official #8 Wichita State vs UCONN Game Thread

[rjl]

UCONN was 6-0 at home (yes I know, not good competition). They have 4 National Championships SINCE 1999! We have zero, ever. Their current fans expect NC type play. That's why they think they're bad. They aren't bad. They are young. Talented. Athletic. And we beat them by 10 on their floor. I'm over the moon.

Zero worry about FTs. Marshall's team routinely rank in the top 10 in program history in FT%. Just an anomaly.

Kelly is a stud. Shamet and Frankamp shot the 3, which is precisely what we want them doing. No complaints at all from this guy. I figured we could count on 3 fairly easy road games. ECU, Tulsa and Memphis should be games we expect to win. I'll take any of the other 6 wins I can get, and we just got one. Well done guys!

I agree.

We would have taken a 10-point road victory at Indiana State, Northern Iowa, Illinois State, Missouri State, or maybe one or two other Valley teams in a heartbeat.

This is conference play, It's a grind, and a win is a win.

[1972Shocker]

......................and Mike lost his radio feed............

Which Mike pretty much predicted would happen.

[ShockAzs]

Lots of negativity early in the thread. We know we've been a second half team... geez, maybe it's cause we're playing all these new teams?

And our talent and coaching improve the second half. Definitely will be better the second game around, too. We need to relax.

Things are coming together... And we keep WINNING.

Double digit ROAD victory at UCONN. Let that simple sentence sink in for a bit.

[SHOCKvalue]

Haven’t read the thread. Traveling for the holidays, and had to listen to most of the game via the TuneIn app.

Anyways, that said, got to see the start of the game, and I loved Marshall’s ****-eating grin sitting on the bench before tip-off. Like a kid in a candy store.

It goes without saying, but our chances of keeping 3G until retirement went up drastically with the move to the AAC. His look this morning said as much.

[1972Shocker]

Very nice overall games from Rashard and Austin. Maybe the two toughest dudes on this Shocker team. Rashard looks the part; Austin not so much until you see him play.

I doubt we will see 4-12 from the line again this season.

Shocks with 17 offensive rebounds to 8 for UConn. Rashard had 6 by himself.

Markis is going to take a while. Perhaps a month.

Rauno's disappearing act is a bit of a concern.

One thing for certain the Shocks clearly are not peaking early (or at least I don't think that is the case). Nevertheless, they are 11-2 while dealing with a number of challenges.

[wsushox1]

I've been known as a negative nancy, but this is was another great step for the program. Winning on the road, first game in the AAC, on CBS, and we WON that game - UCONN didn't give it away. That's money right there. Yes I know we've been to final four, undefeated season, but there are still a lot of doubters out there. MONEY.

One observation.....you gain a lot more confidence in your self when you score buckets in crunch time. Don't discount the 4 straight points by Shaq and McDuffie down the stretch. at respective times. I have a feeling both of those stretches will do wonders for them. McDuffie will slow down and Shaq will hopefully be back.

I like the way things are trending. I'll need to watch the game again, but the coaching staff deserves some credit.

[bowl37]

With the talk about Rauno, that was not a good matchup for him today. He hasn't played well lately for sure, but he made one hell of a pass for an open 3 at time when we needed it early on.

[proshox]

Exactly. He wasn’t great but that was critical path and seemed to show others how to get it done.

[Singeril]

I’m guilty of negativity at times as well—but I recognize the good things that happen as well. The negativity comes from a month or so of us not putting together too many long stretches of solid basketball, from too many mental errors and some seemingly lackadaisical play. It shouldn’t be happening at this point of the season. As far as it being the first time we’ve played these teams, well, it’s also the first time they have played us. Again, I’m very happy with today’s win on the road vs. UCONN. However, I’m not going to be a Pollyanna. They aren’t the team they have been. I’m glad we weren’t playing Cincy today. For that, we are going to need a lot more quality minutes. Go Shocks!

[Slykryck]

Not sure if this has been talked about on the thread or not (sorry if it has). It was brought a few days ago adjusting to officiating. They let the bigs battle in the American. Some very physical play in the paint with very few calls.

[ShockerFever]

Not sure if this has been talked about on the thread or not (sorry if it has). It was brought a few days ago adjusting to officiating. They let the bigs battle in the American. Some very physical play in the paint with very few calls.

That was a very pleasant and beautiful sight to see. Couldn't have been more opposite from the Valley. Loved it!

[WstateU]

We haven’t bitched and moaned about today’s CBS announcers; thought they were pro-UCONN, however I like it that way... something we better get used to in the American.

Thought the reffing was solid; at least I didn’t notice them and we didn’t get homered.

[1972Shocker]

With the talk about Rauno, that was not a good matchup for him today. He hasn't played well lately for sure, but he made one hell of a pass for an open 3 at time when we needed it early on.

I think the matchup today could have been a factor today. But still 2 minutes in a game where the only front court player doing much was Rashard. Shaq, Darral and Markis weren't exactly lighting the Huskies up. If this young UConn team was a matchup problem for Rauno then there how many more of those are we going to see in AAC play this year?

[WstateU]

Maybe the team stayed at a Motel 6 last night and someone left the light on in Rauno’s room? He’ll be fine, it’s a long grind.

[asiseeit]

Hard to find any fault with RN when he only played two minutes. I thought he would have lit them
up inside had he played 15-18 minutes. Had a big assist when we really needed a lift. He was
helping out when one of their drivers was attacking the basket so either the driver was going to
score or the one that dunked. I think he would have been more effective down low than DW today.
Regardless I think GM coached a good game. Probably played SJ when he shouldn't have and
MM a little too much as he was 0-6 until the final two bunnies made his stats look a little better. I
thought the team played the final six minutes really well on both ends of the court.

[pinstripers]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/boxscore?gameId=400988040