Wichita State (#23) vs Memphis (#21) Game Thread

[1972Shocker]

I really hesitate to say it, but this team is as tough as any WSU team Gregg Marshall has coached. They are lights out tough.

Might be the primary explanation for why they won this game. It wasn't because they played flawless, pretty basketball. If you had told me before the game that Tyson, Grant, Dexter and Jaime would combine to shoot 8-36 from the field and that Jaime would only have 3 rebounds in 17 minutes of play with Mo playing 16 minutes with both finishing with 4 fouls I would not have given the Shocks much chance to pull out a win let alone a solid 76-67 win. But the Shocks clearly did a lot of tough, little things that don't necessarily shine through in a box score to make this happen. Tyson, Grant, Dexter and Jaime did hit 16-19 free throws so they didn't let their FG shooting woes follow them to the line. Also only 10 turnovers (3 in the 2nd half) against this long, athletic bunch from Memphis was a big factor as well.

And Erik T. Stephenson and Jamarius T. Burton have pretty much made it clear who the ring leaders of this team are and in case your wondering the initial T stands for Tough (physically and mentally).

[Cdizzle]

Agreed. Really liked the love he threw Cheese Johnsnon's way at the end of the interview.

That's class. Really have to like the type of guys Marshall has brought in, on the whole. Also really have to like how hard Marshall has worked to engage with WSU's history and make those folks feel a part of what is going on.

[asiseeit]

Great win. I thought we played a little harder than they did and won the loose ball battle. Thought their
guards were quicker than ours but ours were stronger/tougher. Reading through all the posts reminds me
of why I always wait until the game is over. A lot of questionable negative remarks. Kudos to ALL the
players and coaches it was a great TEAM win. Memphis has a ton of talent. Looking at the box score
it appears the difference was our three point shooting and fewer turnovers.

[WSUwatcher]

Erstwhile Shocker Lomax is a good enough player and a remarkable rebounder for his size -- but I wouldn't trade Burton, Sherfield, or Etienne for him, which is basically WSU's rotation, loosely defined, at his position. Six turnovers and five fouls to go with four assists didn't exactly help his team's cause.

[1972Shocker]

"Can I get an explanation" "Watch it." "I just want to know what I did." TECH

In watching the replay I think the T was probably based more on his somewhat aggressive move towards the ref than what was said. Bryce Drew, the ESPN color guy also thought that was the case. But who knows. Thankfully it had no impact on the outcome of the game.

[ShockAzs]

I'm raising this seasons expectation to Elite 8 (and beyond). I won't be disappointed if we don't make it that far, cause we all know it's a total crap shoot. But we seriously have the horses, we have the coaches, and we have the administration's 100% support.

Gregg Marshall now has the best recruits he's ever seen, and there's no looking back! This revitalizes the man, and any thoughts of retirement are kicked down the road. He knows he CAN and WILL win a Natty.

And Erik will lead the way, along with great contributions from all Shockers. We just kicked the crap out of a 5* and a bunch of 4* recruits.

[WeWillShockU]

Indeed he is. Really good motor to go along with his athleticism and skillz.

He is going to make some big money soon.

[ShockingButTrue]

Our guards have taken control at pivotal times, again and again throughout the season; as a group they are strong willed. Last night they were following Burton.

Memphis' D is very good. Shocks' is better...

[GreatWhiteBuffalo]

Losing Echenique will hurt, but Udeze will be very good and we get to bring in Bilau. I expect Poor Bear to make big strides as well.

I think I've about given up on Poor Bear. I would guess he's a transfer possibility.

[GreatWhiteBuffalo]

Great game. Roundhouse was as loud as I can remember!

Also, to state the obvious, that had to be one the most poorly officiated games I've seen...and that's saying something coming from the Valley. That old fart was so far out of his depth, it was amazing. He was spoiling for a fight from the opening tip, so I wasn't surprised to see the T on Wade. What a buffoon.

[Shocker1976]

This game shows why the number of stars by their name in high school doesnt mean a whole lot at the end of the day.

Still gotta coach them up.

Precious is pretty good though!

Precious is more than pretty good; he is damn good. IMO he is the best player the Shockers have faced this season. Shame Wiseman was unable to play, would have enjoyed watching him on the court.

[molly jabali]

I think I've about given up on Poor Bear. I would guess he's a transfer possibility.

i guess i don't agree...yet....these guys in the post get morsels of time, and sometimes consistency out of them is the result...

[Kel Varnsen]

Drove down and back to the game. It did not disappoint. The crowd was pretty electric and brought it at full volume for most of the game.

Loved our strategy on defense to ice ball screens and almost play a Chris Beard-style No Middle defense. It threw them off and was certainly a big factor in slowing them down offensively. They don’t have a ton of great shooting and we were able to funnel the ball to some of their lesser shooters.

Dex played a huge role defensively in this game. He wasn’t great offensively, but I was happy for him to see a couple of shots fall.

Jamarius gets a lot out of the athletic ability that he does have. And man you can tell he worked on his game, maybe even more so in his ability to drive than shoot. I also appreciate how he looks media members in the eye when talking to them. That’s rare for kids his age.

Grant was phenomenal in handling pressure. He is so smooth and alway in control. Those Fred and Ron teams were great, but they didn’t have the stable of guards to handle Memphis’ pressure like we do this year.

I didn’t think the refs were as favorable to Memphis as the rest of the crowd seemed to think. But the T on Wade was awful, and there were a lot of make-up calls. Side note: Trey has never committed a foul in his life. Just ask him. I wish he would stop complaining after every call, but the T was weak.

I’m pleasantly surprised we managed to get through the end of the first half playing Poor Bear and Midtgaard on Achiuwa. He didn’t do anything that spectacular, but still ended up with 22 points and got to the line a ton.

Their entire coaching staff thinks they should be able to stand and talk to their players and b*tch at the refs the entire game. It’s really annoying.

Listened to some of Marshall’s presser. I love the guy, but I would be so frustrated as a media member trying to get real insight on strategy or a quote deeper than “We played hard, they’re a great team, we want this type of guy in our program,” etc. from him. He never offers anything and his quotes all seem to be the same.

Speaking of Marshall, he is the perfect coach for our program. And when I listen to Erik talk, he is the perfect player for our program.

Love this team.

[molly jabali]

They can keep Lomax...I will take JB any day.

I guess I'm in the camp that 100% sees in Lomax what Gregg loved about him...if he WAS here, we'd love him as well...

[WichitaStateGuy]

A lot of great takes already...

To beat an already dead horse... I’ve never in my life seen someone so confidently miss free-throws than MU. That young man couldn’t drop the ball into a black-hole while getting sucked through it.