Report: The Wichita State Shockers men’s basketball Key Player is Being Suspended From All Sports For Placing Bet Against….
The Wichita State men’s basketball team has made a strong argument for itself during the last month that it is getting better. And the Shockers proceeded in that direction for the opening thirty minutes of their home game against UCF on Wednesday. They were sprinting in transition and hammering the paint, and they were leading a team that had never won in Koch Arena by as much as 11 points. Then, for no apparent reason, WSU reverted to its worst characteristics:
a team that doesn’t respect the basketball, can’t finish defensive possessions with rebounds, and can’t hold leads. The team’s positive momentum, which had taken weeks to build, seemed to vanish in an instant after 10 terrible minutes to end WSU’s 72-67 defeat to UCF on Wednesday. Craig Porter, the point guard for WSU, stated, “We took a little step back.” “A few of the same unhealthy routines we had early in the season returned to haunt us. Occasionally skipping plays, not committing fully, and not maintaining the pedal depressed. WSU won 74% of its home conference games during its first five years in the American Athletic Conference. WSU’s record in the first six home AAC games of this season is a dismal 1-5.
This season, instead of playing Koch Arena to its usual standard of dominating play, the Shockers have lost to Alcorn State, the most embarrassing non-conference loss for the program in decades, and have dropped their first ever games against East Carolina and UCF. They have also blown a few large leads, none bigger than the eighteen-point deficit that Tulane overcame to win. “Losing at home has never been like this since I’ve been here,” Porter remarked. It’s not meant as a jab at the men here;
we’re still having a great time, and I’m still happy of what we’ve accomplished. However, I think we’re not portraying the school in the best light, so it’s disheartening to both the fans and us. Although WSU (12-12, 5-7 AAC) is still on track to surpass its preseason estimate of eighth place in the league, the way they lost on Wednesday demoralized the players and coaches. However, the defeat to UCF only counts as one loss. WSU head coach Isaac Brown said, “All losses hurt, but this one stings because I thought we had moved past all of the mistakes.
” He might have been alluding to any number of errors made in the last moments of Wednesday’s game, but the following are some of the more plausible possibilities: When James Rojas overdribbles in the face of full-court pressure, the ball is prodded out from behind. putting more pressure on UCF and turning the ball over six times in nine possessions. Due to WSU’s inability to box out on a crucial shot attempt, UCF is given another opportunity, which it takes to lead 61-60. Kenny Pohto’s missed free throw on the front end of a 1-and-1 attempt with one point behind WSU was the Shockers’ third consecutive missed foul shot in the closing minutes. A misunderstanding between Jaron Pierre and Jaykwon Walton on the perimeter allowed Ithiel Horton to be wide open for a three-pointer for a 64-60 advantage.
“We tell those guys every day that they have the best fans in the nation and that they will show up to support you; all they ask is that you play smart and hard,” Brown remarked. “Those incidents didn’t occur this evening.” Brown expressed particular frustration with his team’s ongoing issues with defensive rebounding, despite daily drills on the topic at WSU practices, according to the coach. For the first time this season, following WSU’s 15 offensive rebound surrender and UCF’s 16–9 second-chance point advantage,
Brown publicly questioned if he had the guys needed to do the job on the glass. The Shockers are seventh in the American in terms of miss percentage—more than 31% of their misses are being grabbed by conference opponents. “I need to go out there and find a guy who can bounce back,” Brown remarked. “You can practice 1,000 drills, but eventually you have to go find a guy who can rebound,” a coach once told me. However, these are the guys we have, and they need to improve their ability to check out and go for rebounds with both hands. It takes tenacity and skill to rebound with two hands. They were the more resilient squad tonight. In losses, WSU has been plagued by defensive lapses and late-game turnovers. Brown seems to be repeating what has to happen for the Shockers in order for the same variables that are causing losses to reach mid-February. Brown remarked,
“Our defense didn’t communicate well on ball screens.” “Every day in practice, we work on it. We discuss with them the importance of vocal intimidation and communication. To ensure that your teammate can hear you, you need to shout loud enough for those at the top of the arena to hear you. Simply put, we lacked discipline. It was also one of the last games that WSU was expected to win on Wednesday. The Shockers are only expected to win two of their remaining six games, with one of those games expected to be on Sunday at Koch Arena versus SMU, according to KenPom.com. Even if victories in the Roundhouse aren’t as uncommon as they once were, opponents still have the highest regard for WSU’s program and supporters.
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