WSU vs SIU. Jan 28, 2004

[WuShock16]

Someone remind me to share an OTD memory on Sunday. Doc knows what it’ll be.

I owe you all this story. Here is a 20 year memory of one of the more highly thought of regular season losses I can remember.

To give some backstory, the Shockers were starting a “Second Season” after a post-Christmas tailspin threatened the promise of a MVC preseason favorite prediction. A solid home win against our friends from Omaha turned it around, and then the Shockers went in the road to beat Evansville on a Saturday night.

For whatever reason, the team flew commercial on that trip rather than charter. The flight home was canceled on Sunday due to heavy snow in Evansville. The team practiced on Monday morning at UE and then went to the airport. There were still no flights going out, so the team bussed to Nashville, flying to Dallas and then on home to Wichita where we must have arrived home around 11pm that night. The big game against league-leading Southern Illinois was two nights away. That is significant because Mark always preached to the guys about two nights before a game being the most important of sleep. It was something his high school coach always talked about.

Wednesday night arrived. January 28. The Shockers came out incredibly flat. SIU led 11-0 after the first 6 minutes. That lead would balloon to 45-22 with two minutes before halftime.

At some point, perhaps the under 4 media timeout, Mark went off on the team in the huddle. He screamed, flailed his arms, and slammed his board on the floor. This is one time I kinda wished I could have been in huddle, though I wasn’t. Mark’s yelling kept getting louder and louder, actually causing the crowd to feed off that, cheering louder and louder itself during the timeout to implore the team to ramp up their effort. And it worked, as the Shockers closed the half on a 12-2 run, capped by a corner 3 from Matt Clark at the halftime buzzer.

It was still a 13-point deficit, but the Shocks had momentum and felt it. At halftime, the coaches always talked to the team about the first 5 minutes after halftime being important for setting the tone. Mark even actually told the team that they’d take lead before the first media timeout…and as crazy as it sounds, it absolutely seemed possible to everyone in that room…

…AND IT ABSOLUTELY HAPPENED! The Shocks scored the first 15 points of the second half, and the crowd of 10,000 was going effing bonkers.

Unfortunately, the Egyptian Dogs were tough enough to stem the tide. They calmed themselves after enduring that collective 27-2 run and found a way to pull out an 84-79 victory. There were 320+ teams in the country who would have melted that night, but that Saluki squad was just so damn gritty that they found a way to win.

It was odd. The team wasn’t too upset after that loss. They knew that the travel issues earlier in the week probably played a part in some of the early struggles…and not in a way of making excuses but just acknowledging reality. They knew that their effort in coming back to make it a game was nothing to be ashamed of. They knew that they could play with anyone. So, the loss was a bit annoying but not at all deflating…not even a tiny little bit.

This game probably cemented my mom’s fandom for Shocker Basketball. When I started going to WSU that year and got involved with team, Mom initially planned to come to a couple games here and there. “Maybe that’s something that your dad will want to do. I suppose I might go a few times.” But once she started going and experienced the roar of Shocker Nation in The Roundhouse, she became hooked.

The Shockers would win next 5 and finish the regular season winning 8 of 10 to earn a tie for second place in MVC. The Shockers actually had a chance to win Arch Madness without having to beat either SIU or Creighton, who both lost to SMS in earlier rounds, but a bad second half in the semifinal against UNI ended those hopes.

WSU made the NIT and hosted Florida State in an all-time classic. Even after a double overtime loss, a new generation of crazy Shocker fans was born.

Thanks for taking this walk with me down Memory Lane.

[Ta Town Shocker]

I was a high school senior at the time and this was my first time attending a game at the Roundhouse. It was quite the first experience, the arena was rocking during the run in the 2nd half.

[Shocktoberfest]

I remember both the SIU game and the FSU game like they were yesterday. My now 20 year old son likely has hearing loss to this day due to the FSU game. I did my best to cover his ears. Holy cow that game was bonkers.

[Shocktoberfest]

Oh. I ran into Jamar a couple years ago at an event and immediately wanted to talk to him about that FSU game. What an all time classic he was a part of. Jamar was a stud!

[WuShock16]

Oh. I ran into Jamar a couple years ago at an event and immediately wanted to talk to him about that FSU game. What an all time classic he was a part of. Jamar was a stud!

Jamar was/is a good dude. Certainly ornery as hell…and probably was a guy who you hated to play against. But he was always so cool to me. Funny guy too.

[shock]

I always thought that core was a good group of guys. A very prominent WBB player student taught under my mom after basketball, so maybe 2003ish, and for Christmas she got Randy to sign an official autograph ball for me. Those guys also held basketball camps around the area, which looking back was probably a huge pain in the butt.

[WuDrWu]

To this day, Matt C's 3 before half was as loud as Koch Arena gets.

It wasn't just yelling & cheering....it was passion, it was anger and maybe even a little hate, it was pent up frustration....and it was will. On a much, much, much smaller scale, the crowd yesterday was similar. Those folks were tired of losing and wanted to be a part of ending that streak. It's simply not the same when you're winning every game and celebrating championships.

There is a different layer of ownership, and with that volume and feel, that is a product of deprivation.


A unique experience, and something even close to that is unlikely to happen again in my lifetime.


There are a lot of YouTube offerings around this game, but I can never find any coverage. It's possible that recording that game was impossible due to excessive decibels.

[WuDrWu]

It's also funny how things deteriorate over time....here's the play by play:

https://goshockers.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats/2003-04/southern-illinois/boxscore/8493

I know that SIU team was iron tough, but there's zero chance Matt Painter didn't take a timeout during that 15-0 run to start the 2nd half.

The structural integrity of CKA would have never withstood the pounding from increased delirium without pause.

If Stetson Hairston doesn't hit that 3 to regain the lead at 50-49, the final score very well may have been 87-47 Shocks. Rarely has a really, really good team been so on the brink of disaster. The Salukis, as good as they were (and they were damned good) and as tough as they were (probably tougher than good and that's saying something), they were a fighter covering up in the corner hoping to survive at that point.

[Shocktoberfest]

To this day, Matt C's 3 before half was as loud as Koch Arena gets.

It wasn't just yelling & cheering....it was passion, it was anger and maybe even a little hate, it was pent up frustration....and it was will. On a much, much, much smaller scale, the crowd yesterday was similar. Those folks were tired of losing and wanted to be a part of ending that streak. It's simply not the same when you're winning every game and celebrating championships.

There is a different layer of ownership, and with that volume and feel, that is a product of deprivation.


A unique experience, and something even close to that is unlikely to happen again in my lifetime.


There are a lot of YouTube offerings around this game, but I can never find any coverage. It's possible that recording that game was impossible due to excessive decibels.

100%. Left corner at the North end. We yelled "count it!" as Matt was shooting it. The roof blew off the place. Have you ever seen a crowd going as nuts as we were for a team heading to halftime down double digits?

[ShockBand]

That game, the NIT game vs. FSU, and the one on Valentine's Day in 2006, where we finally exorcised the Creighton demon, are the three loudest games in my memory. All three had me leaving the arena with a well-loved headache from the massive noise level. And no voice either! I found a clip of the Creighton game, what a memory!

[Shocktoberfest]

That game, the NIT game vs. FSU, and the one on Valentine's Day in 2006, where we finally exorcised the Creighton demon, are the three loudest games in my memory. All three had me leaving the arena with a well-loved headache from the massive noise level. And no voice either! I found a clip of the Creighton game, what a memory!

People forget how clutch Matty B had been up to the big shot. He was unconscious!

[WuDrWu]

100%. Left corner at the North end. We yelled "count it!" as Matt was shooting it. The roof blew off the place. Have you ever seen a crowd going as nuts as we were for a team heading to halftime down double digits?

I defy any program anywhere to show that kind of response down double digits going into half.

If you didn't know, and you let someone watch that without knowing the score, there's no way they would come up with down double digits.

[WuShock16]

I defy any program anywhere to show that kind of response down double digits going into half.

If you didn't know, and you let someone watch that without knowing the score, there's no way they would come up with down double digits.

Can you give your spin on Mark’s timeout explosion? You have remembered that part better than I do and could tell that story better and more entertainingly than me.

[molly jabali]

That game, the NIT game vs. FSU, and the one on Valentine's Day in 2006, where we finally exorcised the Creighton demon, are the three loudest games in my memory. All three had me leaving the arena with a well-loved headache from the massive noise level. And no voice either! I found a clip of the Creighton game, what a memory!

I’m WAAAAY older but Iowa in 81 was THE LOUDEST IVE EVER HEARD….. anywhere….

[WuDrWu]

I’m WAAAAY older but Iowa in 81 was THE LOUDEST IVE EVER HEARD….. anywhere….

Do you remember where you sat? Somehow I had better tickets than our season tickets. Moved down to about row 12, it was a joy.

Iowa was loud, no doubt about it. For one thing, the fire marshal turned a blind eye that day. Minimum 11k in attendance. People in the aisles all over the place and packed. But it was a different loud.