Wichita State @ Drake - Game & Pre-Game Thread

[kochHead]

Actually, IMO this loss tonight by the Shocks was not as bad as Creigthton only beating Bradley 73-59 at home. Obviously that will have no impact on the RPI or how the committee looks at things. Unfortunately a loss is a loss regardless of how tough it is. We had our chances to win this game and simply failed to cash in when we had the opportunities. Lost opportunities are not an uncommon trait of Shocker teams in recent years.

If joe gets fouled at the end of regulation, game over. We win. I thought d will hurt us tonight on offense, but was effective on simon.

[GarH]

I know that putting a freshmen with little playing time this year like Jake White in a pressure game, on the road is usually not a smart move, but with Kyles not hitting the broad side of a barn and TM and GS on the bench, why not take a gamble and roll the dice?

[shockerofandover0943]

Well, this loss really sucks. However, it is going to be a loss to a Top 100 RPI team after tonight, so it isn't that bad of a loss. Really need to come back and get a win on Wednesday.

[kochHead]

The meat of the schedule has arrived, and we fail our first test. I am afraid things could get ugly fast. If we do not make the tournament this year it will be crushing.

[shockar25]

I know that putting a freshmen with little playing time this year like Jake White in a pressure game, on the road is usually not a smart move, but with Kyles not hitting the broad side of a barn and TM and GS on the bench, why not take a gamble and roll the dice?

I like Jake a lot, but you still have to go with your senior--especially with Toure and Garrett out. Sadly David is not a play maker, but I keep hoping he'll do more than hit 3 pointers, and throw down alley-oop dunks, which is just not going to happen. He did have a great clutch rebound in the 2nd OT.

Jake will get his chances in the years ahead.

[shox1989]

I like Jake a lot, but you still have to go with your senior--especially with Toure and Garrett out. Sadly David is not a play maker, but I keep hoping he'll do more than hit 3 pointers, and throw down alley-oop dunks, which is just not going to happen. He did have a great clutch rebound in the 2nd OT.

Jake will get his chances in the years ahead.

Seniors should have that sense of urgency needed to win a game like this one. Stutz, Rags and even TM had it tonight. Maybe Kyles did too, but was just off his shot.

[shockar25]

Seniors should have that sense of urgency needed to win a game like this one. Stutz, Rags and even TM had it tonight. Maybe Kyles did too, but was just off his shot.

I just have become a bit jaded about DK's ability to make anything happen in the clutch. He's totally a rhythm guy--if he catches a ball in rhythm and is open he's lights out, but he's never been one to drive the lane and make plays happen. Again, he's helped us a bunch over the years and I'm grateful, but situations like tonight are just not his forte.

[ShockTalk]

I'm not as concerned about Jake not playing at the end as much as I am about the use of our so called deep bench.

Our first 7 played 270 minutes of the possible 275. What good is a deep bench if it's not utilized? Are we too scared against a good, but definitely not great, Drake team that we feel we cannot even rest our main players a little more throughout the game? Surely EO, Tekele, and Jake are not that big of a liability.

Garrett had a great offensive night, but in what amounted to more than a normal game and a half worth of minutes (50), he also had only 5 rebounds, 7 TOs, and 5 fouls. Could EO have played just a few more minutes or Jake come in and move Carl to the post for 2 minutes here, 2 minutes there? Would our guards have had fresher legs in OT if Cotton had played 5-8 minutes in regulation?

[shocker3]

I like the way the Shocks played hard in OT. They never gave up. I just wish they wouldn't have jacked up so many 3s. But if they had made a couple of them, we would be happy.

I thought the seniors in particular did play hard. I also thought once again Stutz (and Hall for that matter) were fouled a lot tonight (most of which went uncalled) but Stutz got called for very ticky tacky fouls.

Now onto to Springfield. It would be nice to get revenge for what they did to us last year.

[Snapshot9]

Can noone else score at the end of a game when we need it other than Murry, and sometimes Ragland??? Before you become a basket maker, you have to be a decision maker! (and you can quote me on that).

[WSUwatcher]

I'm not as concerned about Jake not playing at the end as much as I am about the use of our so called deep bench.

Our first 7 played 270 minutes of the possible 275. What good is a deep bench if it's not utilized? Are we too scared against a good, but definitely not great, Drake team that we feel we cannot even rest our main players a little more throughout the game? Surely EO, Tekele, and Jake are not that big of a liability.

Garrett had a great offensive night, but in what amounted to more than a normal game and a half worth of minutes (50), he also had only 5 rebounds, 7 TOs, and 5 fouls. Could EO have played just a few more minutes or Jake come in and move Carl to the post for 2 minutes here, 2 minutes there? Would our guards have had fresher legs in OT if Cotton had played 5-8 minutes in regulation?

Fair question about the use (or lack thereof) of the bench and its impact on players' legs and freshness at the end.

Obviously no one anticipates going three overtimes, so expecting Marshall to have used his reserves more to help keep guys fresh for OT is hindsight and thus unreasonable. On the other hand, even late in regulation you aren't going to be as accurate a jump shooter, especially from three land, if your legs aren't fresh (unless, of course, you launch what are basically Larry Bird NBA set shots, which the Shocks don't). So fewer minutes would probably help WSU's long range bombers late in any game -- not just tonight -- and when a team shoots lots of threes as WSU often does, that's a good thing.

[1979Shocker]

Have two teams from the same state ever rushed the court in the same day?

[shox1989]

Have two teams from the same state ever rushed the court in the same day?

What did Grinnell College rush the floor today too?

[WSUwatcher]

The 1-12 (and 0-8 from three by a 39% three-point shooter coming in) line that Kyles turned in was bad enough, and the clutch missed FT (plus fumble) late in regulation by a guy shooting well over 80% was equally as deadly -- but what may have been most distressing of all was getting outrebounded by Drake. That is not something you want to see, and it continues a recent run of weak Shocker efforts on the boards. Not good at all, and something that needs to get fixed sooner than soon.

[shox1989]

A nice recap of our game on the espn "what we learned from Saturday evening's games".

Here is an excerpt from the WSU-Drake article:

Wichita State and Drake took a combined 149 shots in their triple-overtime thriller Saturday night.....
....The Shockers suffered their first loss since New Year’s Eve, but this is still a quality team. Wichita State is now one game behind Creighton in the MVC. Let's all count down to that Feb. 11 rematch in Omaha.

The complete WSU-Drake article can be found at the bottom of the Saturday evening musings:

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/tag/_/name/what-we-learned-120128