Wichita State vs. LaSalle- Sweet Sixteen Showdown Discussion and Predictions

[Guest]

Looks like we got the 9:17 CST time slot on TBS.

I love the way our guys are coming together right now. Let's go with:

WSU 79
LaSalle 66

[Dave Stalwart]

Is this an officially licensed FSF thread?

[GoShockers89]

Is this an officially licensed FSF thread?

Was too eager to discuss and reveal the game time. Awaiting his stamp of approval.

[Dave Stalwart]

Haha I'm kidding. I will need to know "what the deal is" before I can comfortably make a prediction

[martymoose]

So EO probably won't log a minute in this one, right?

[shoxlax]

Here's the deal....I miss FSF

[GoShockers89]

LaSalle can score the ball well- they put up 72.4 ppg (60th in the NCAA). However, they are not a remarkable defensive team (66.2 ppg) and are an atrocious rebounding team (31.7 rpg- 292nd in the NCAA).

The rebounding struggles make sense when you look at their roster. The Explorers go with a 7 man rotation:

Ramon Galloway 6'3" (Sr)- 17.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Tyreek Duren 6'0" (Jr)- 14.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Tyrone Garland 6'1" (Jr)- 12.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Jerrell Wright 6'8" (So)- 10.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Sam Mills 6'2" (Jr)- 8.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Steve Zack 6'11" (So)- 6.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg
DJ Peterson 6'5" (So)- 4.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg


Wright is probably more like 6'6" in real life and both he and Zack are prone to foul trouble. If we can go at them early and often, we should be able to get them on the bench and slaughter the boards. I think that advantage will be more pronounced than usual after getting embarrassed on the glass by the Zags- our guys take pride in being Windex men. No way that happens to us two games in a row.

As you would expect with a smaller team, LaSalle can shoot the rock from the perimeter (37.6% 3FG). We will have to be very, very good about fighting through our screens as they run a lot of off-ball sets to get Galloway, Duren, Mills and Peterson open. Especially Galloway though- he has been the key to their success in the tournament so far. Also, LaSalle is very good at the line (73.9%) so we will need to keep the dumb fouls to a minimum.

If we come out with tenacity and #PlayAngry like I know we will, this is a game we should win. I think MVC contests against a lot of smaller, guard-oriented squads has prepared us beautifully for this kind of matchup. This also might be the only time in the tournament where Carl, Cle and EO have a big advantage down low- I hope we pound it inside relentlessly in the first half to open up looks for Baker and Mal on the perimeter.

[shoxlax]

Tekele meet Ramon

[The Mad Hatter]

With La Salle running a 4 guard lineup this game comes down to several key areas:

1. Get the ball in the paint. On the year, La Salle allowed opponents to shoot 51% from 2-point range (and that was with now injured big man Steve Zack in the lineup).

2. Rebound. On the year, La Salle is out-rebounded by 3 per game and the aforementioned Zack was their second leading rebounder. So far in 3 NCAA games, they have been out-rebounded by 7 per game.

3. Defend the perimeter. As a team La Salle shoots 38% from 3, and Galloway shoots 42% with range well beyond the 3-point line. In addition, La Salle penetrates well, so we must take away the 3 without conceding the dribble drive.

4. Protect the basketball. In spite of the rebounding disparity, La Salle has taken more shots and more free throws than their opponents on the year. How you ask? By having 3 fewer turnovers per game than their opponents. They average forcing 14.5 turnovers per game.

5. Hit freethrows. With our size advantage, we should go to the line plenty. The reason that KSU lost to them was a disastrous performance at the freethrow line (9-17) in a 2 point loss and a failure to attack the inside until the 2nd half. Ole Miss was even worse (10-21) in another 2 point loss and suffered from Marshall Henderson jacking up 21 shots instead of working the ball to the post.

[The Mad Hatter]

LaSalle can score the ball well- they put up 72.4 ppg (60th in the NCAA). However, they are not a remarkable defensive team (66.2 ppg) and are an atrocious rebounding team (31.7 rpg- 292nd in the NCAA).

The rebounding struggles make sense when you look at their roster. The Explorers go with a 7 man rotation:

Ramon Galloway 6'3" (Sr)- 17.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Tyreek Duren 6'0" (Jr)- 14.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
Tyrone Garland 6'1" (Jr)- 12.8 ppg, 1.9 rpg
Jerrell Wright 6'8" (So)- 10.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg
Sam Mills 6'2" (Jr)- 8.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Steve Zack 6'11" (So)- 6.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg
DJ Peterson 6'5" (So)- 4.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg


Wright is probably more like 6'6" in real life and both he and Zack are prone to foul trouble. If we can go at them early and often, we should be able to get them on the bench and slaughter the boards. I think that advantage will be more pronounced than usual after getting embarrassed on the glass by the Zags- our guys take pride in being Windex men. No way that happens to us two games in a row.

As you would expect with a smaller team, LaSalle can shoot the rock from the perimeter (37.6% 3FG). We will have to be very, very good about fighting through our screens as they run a lot of off-ball sets to get Galloway, Duren, Mills and Peterson open. Especially Galloway though- he has been the key to their success in the tournament so far.

If we come out with tenacity and #PlayAngry like I know we will, this is a game we should win. I think MVC contests against a lot of smaller, guard-oriented squads has prepared us beautifully for this kind of matchup.

Steve Zach is out with injury, so they are down to one true post player (Wright).

EDIT: Sidenote, @GoShockers89: beat me to posting a lot of the stat analysis - Good run down!

[The Mad Hatter]

As others have noted elsewhere, the concern with La Salle is our losses to SIU and Evansville, who present some of the same problems as La Salle. They give you funky matchups, they shoot well, and they play smart. They will run good offensive possession, they will hit shots, they will make their freethrows. Hopefully we've learned from those losses. If we play like we did in either of our two previous games in this tourney, we should win, but if we have a let down because we are now the high seed favorite, we could be in trouble. Focus and attention to the details will be key in this one.

[GoShockers89]

As @The Mad Hatter: noted, Zack is out with injury and that has forced 6'6" Rohan Brown (Fr) into duty as the 7th man in the rotation. He has played just 32 total minutes in 3 tournament games and averaged just 1.8 ppg, 1.6 rpg this season. This is a THIN roster, folks.

[Dave Stalwart]

How do they keep getting it done? Is it just hot shooting?

Is it kstate and ole miss going to sleep or what?

I'm a little nervous because we still have to play really well from here on out, but la salle has me baffled

[shoxlax]

As others have noted elsewhere, the concern with La Salle is our losses to SIU and Evansville, who present some of the same problems as La Salle. They give you funky matchups, they shoot well, and they play smart. They will run good offensive possession, they will hit shots, they will make their freethrows. Hopefully we've learned from those losses. If we play like we did in either of our two previous games in this tourney, we should win, but if we have a let down because we are now the high seed favorite, we could be in trouble. Focus and attention to the details will be key in this one.

.....and we do have one significant addition that didn't play in those games.

[Dave Stalwart]

.....and we do have one significant addition that didn't play in those games.

Haha great point. Baker in those games and we probably don't lose them.

Dang it baker how are you so good!