Wichita State vs UCF Game Thread

[rjl]

Officiating was dogshit and we still won. In a year when I've expected next to nothing, this may be one of my favorite victories in the last 10 years.

[Maizerunner08]

Agree, those young men played their hearts out. I'm so proud of the team and fans tonight.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

As expected, I'm just a little buzzed. But anyone who thinks we ought to bench the seniors is freakin' drunk.

[1972Shocker]

Markis had a terrific offensive 2nd half but the two plays that stand out to me as "winning" plays was the charge he drew on Dawkins late and the big offensive rebound late where he drew a foul and knocked down 2 free throw.

Shocks 17-18 for the line. Jaime needs to work on that.

Tacko Fall is a big human being. But UCF had plenty of other muscle as well. The Shocks were not intimidated.

Great post-game interview by Asbjorn.

[Singeril]

Proud to say that I had the Shocks picked to win this one---but I thought we'd only win by 4. We doubled that margin!!!!

[Singeril]

AM is GREAT in the post game interview...he deserved player of the game. What he did in the first half made a HUGE difference in this game.

[Shoxfan11]

Seeing the team hanging their heads when walking off the court after the Temple game was heartbreaking. So happy for them and how hard they fought for this win

[Singeril]

Markis had a terrific offensive 2nd half but the two plays that stand out to me as "winning" plays was the charge he drew on Dawkins late and the big offensive rebound late where he drew a foul and knocked down 2 free throw.

Shocks 17-18 for the line. Jaime needs to work on that.

Tacko Fall is a big human being. But UCF had plenty of other muscle as well. The Shocks were not intimidated.

Great post-game interview by Asbjorn.

Agree with all this...almost hate to say that the charge MM drew on Dawkins was probably one of the few calls that went our way (and probably shouldn't have).

[1972Shocker]

I think the reason that call went our way was because of the forearm shiver that Dawkins gave to the middle of Markis' chest with some extension. Looked like a good call to me especially on the replays.

[asiseeit]

1. who has defended and pushed for more AM than myself ?? only one game but he is a KEEPER
2. we dominated the boards
3. we executed so well and took care of the ball - great game by JB and ES
4. free throw shooting !
5. seniors stepped up
6. don't forget to give GM some love - he has this team playing hard and getting better
7. very scrappy tonight and quick to loose balls
8. love the over all effort and offensive execution

[proshox]

Dude, on point one i have been with you.

[im4wsu]

Beat them on the boards by 13 and went 17/18 from the stripe. More results like that and the wins will keep coming

Most of the rebounding advantage came in the second half. We flat got after it

[shockrah]

[TheShocktocles]

I think we just woke up a beast, his name is Asbjorn Midtgaard!!!!

I have been down on Asbjorn because he always seems to play slow. But not tonight. I saw some growth in him tonight. He played with more urgency. And I really have seen growth in all the freshmen. We should not forget that Roderick Brown is a freshmen too. I really ike some of the things he did. This was more like shocker basketball. If Asbjorn can keep improving our front line with JE, MU, ISPBC, with Teddy Allen will really look good for the future. Proud of these guys. Not just for winning but for playing hard and smart.

[60Shock]

Tremendous team win with a number of our younger players contributing their best nights all year. And that goes for our two seniors,

SHJ and Markis, who each made play after play. all evening long.

SHJ may have made a couple of questionable moves, but overall, he played a whale of a game tonight, as did Markis.

[TheShocktocles]

Hope to hear from those there...but that crowd was really, really loud - at least through my flat screen speakers. Damn loud!

MM hit some big time shots. Major league big time...the 4 point play was crucial.

SHJ with a clutch - sit down, shut up - shot to seal it.

Do not forget DD with a major league offensive rebound off SHJ's miss in crunch time. He just flat went up and snared it. Then hits two pressure FT's at the end too.

I thought JB looked very in control at the point. After tonight, RT will get some minutes, but the torch has been passed.

Could not be happier for AM. Amazing what persistence and a positive attitude can accomplish. Hope MK has him on for star of the game.

That is all.

MM and SHJ played a helluva game. Glad to see that for them. I also notice our team did not make the same mistake we did at Houston with SHJ running down the clock for a shot by bringing a screener. I know SHJ sometimes takes some questionable shots sometime, but I really don't think he can be guarded one on one if the floor has been spread. He seems to be able to get his shot. We should use this weapon more when the situation presents itself. Go shocks.

[proshox]

Exactly!!!!! We started to bring a screener and i yelled “no” loud enough to wake up my wife at home. Thank god the coaches realized SHJ had the perfect scenario there.

[wusphlash]

Well done young men, well done.

[forevershockerfan]

Here's the deal. What??? Start to finish bay bay and the Shocks wanted it, fought hard to get it, overcame some unbelievable calls, and answered the many surges of UCF and the Dawkins show. What hustle and execution by these Shocks and what solid play on both sides of the hardwood!!!!!!!!!!! I have no stats before me but the Shocks outrebounded them around 13, kept turnovers to a mild roar, did not have the 2nd half blues, and I only remember us missing 1 free throw. What does that mean? No 8 wins in a row for a very good UCF team.

So what about Burton and AM? Su-weet. We can dig on their contribution tonight. Our beloved Shocks have a tough road ahead but this needed win can upgrade our mental toughness and confidence. Did you see SHJ dribble between the legs of Tacko? The finish was a turnoff to 3G, but his last basket was su-weet!!!. Duff had some nice finishes and played some tough D. Well, double sloop D loop your seat belts because we are in for some more thrills and chills.

So happy for the Shocks and Coaches with this win. We needed it and a loss was what Vegas predicted for us, but our Squad would not be denied and played as close to a picture perfect game we can even begin to expect at this juncture. The crowd went wild, as SN breaths a temporary sigh of relief, so sleep well tonight Shocker fans. We have only begun to fight, improve, and progress forward as the roller coaster ride may level out some with more good news. This was a jubilant win and the Shocks can smile, embellish it tonight, and get back to work tomorrow, because there are a lot of hoops left to go.