Florida hands Wichita State basketball one of worst losses in Shockers history
The Wichita State men’s basketball team suffered one of its worst losses in program history on Friday.
An undefeated start to the season was not only halted by No. 18-ranked Florida (8-0), but the Gators did so in thoroughly dominant fashion in an 88-51 win in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational at State Farm Field House.
The 37-point loss was the fifth-worst in WSU history since 1945, behind only a 49-point loss at Kansas in 1993, a 47-point loss at Utah in 1990, a 42-point loss at Drake in 1994 and a 38-point loss at Oklahoma State in 1948.
1. Florida overwhelms Shockers for embarrassing loss
A loss to what could end up being a top-10 team is nothing to be ashamed of, but the Shockers won’t be proud of much of what they displayed for 40 minutes on Friday.
While WSU entered with a perfect 6-0 record, the Shockers looked like a freshman team scrimmaging against the varsity team playing the Gators.
For the game’s first 14 minutes, WSU didn’t play exactly play well, but at least it was competitive and only trailed Florida 21-18. From there on out, the Shockers were embarrassed with a Florida team that did just about whatever it wanted on the court.
The Gators ended the first half on a 16-0 run, holding WSU to just one field goal for the final 10 minutes, then opened up the second half on a 25-6 run to open up a 62-24 lead with 12:36 to play. The deficit grew to as many as 47 points in the second half.
Of the many things that went wrong for the Shockers, a few topped the list:
Two WSU players collided in mid-air fighting over the same rebound, knocking the ball loose and giving Florida a fast-break basket.
The pro-Florida crowd reigning down “Airball!” chants directed at WSU senior point guard Justin Hill, who entered the game as WSU’s leading scorer at 16.3 points but exited with his worst performance of the season: four points on 2-of-12 shooting.
WSU being dominated on the glass and giving up one of its 20 offensive rebounds on what was an uncontested rebound until WSU tipped it out, instead of grabbing it, only for the Gators to pounce on it for another score.
WSU coming out of a timeout and proceeding to commit a shot clock violation.
The Shockers failing to pick up Florida star Walter Clayton Jr., who had already hit four 3-pointers at that point, and allowing him to walk into his fifth 3 of the game at the top of the key in transition.
While the Shockers were throwing up misses from beyond the arc, even Florida’s non-shooters were draining 3s at the other end. The best example was Alex Condon, who was a career 28% 3-point shooter and 2-for-9 on the season but was 3-for-3 on triples against WSU.
Turning the ball over after a defensive rebound 80 feet away from the basket against Florida’s reserves, which again turned immediately into a Florida basket.
2. Wichita State’s offense grinded down in loss
Florida was always going to present a monumental challenge for WSU, which relies heavily on scoring at the rim and was up against one of the best rim-protecting frontcourts in the country.
The Shockers needed to play physical to finish through contact and draw fouls to try to earn points from the free throw line. Instead, WSU was overwhelmed by Florida’s physicality and the scoreboard reflected that disparity.
In the first half alone, WSU shot 19% from the field, missed 18 of 20 shots inside the arc — six of them were blocked — and turned the ball over seven times. Add it all up and the Shockers produced an astonishing 0.51 points per possession and found themselves in a 37-18 halftime deficit.
WSU finished the game shooting 29.8% from the field, including a 5-for-22 mark beyond the arc, and scored just 0.74 points per possession.
3. Shockers come up short again in a championship game
Wichita State hasn’t had much luck in multi-team events since winning the 2013 CBE Classic.
The holiday tournament title drought will last another year, as the Shockers added yet another runner-up finish Friday.
WSU has lost in the championship game of four other mid-season tournaments since its last title: 2014 Diamond Head Classic, 2017 Maui Invitational, 2019 Cancun Challenge and the 2022 Hall of Fame Classic.
Up next: Shockers vs. Alcorn State, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 4 on ESPN+
WSU will have a four-day break following its holiday tournament before returning to the Roundhouse to face an Alcorn State (0-8) team that’s still winless and ranked No. 354 in the country by KenPom’s efficiency metrics. The Braves most notably upset WSU at Koch Arena two season ago, 66-57.
Other info on Wichita State-Florida basketball game
This is WSU’s third appearance in the ESPN Events Invitational, formerly known as the Advocare Invitational and Old Spice Classic. The Shockers were 1-5 in their past two appearances.
Florida entered Friday’s game ranked No. 18 in the AP Top-25 and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll. The Gators had won all seven of their games by double digits, including a 75-58 win over Wake Forest to open the tournament.
Wake Forest defeated Minnesota, 57-51, in the third place game of the ESPN Events Invitational on Friday.
WSU senior Harlond Beverly ranks second in the American Athletic Conference and No. 33 nationally in steals per game (2.60).
WSU senior forward Ronnie DeGray III did not travel with the team for the holiday tournament, as he remained in Wichita and underwent surgery to help repair his fractured wrist. He is expected to miss at least a month of action with the earliest projected return coming in late December.
Friday marked the third meeting all-time between the two programs, as Florida improved to 3-0 against the Shockers. The Gators also won 61-50 in Wichita in 1991 and 83-58 in Gainesville in 1993.
The Shockers have a 9-game losing streak against ranked opponents. The team’s last win on a neutral court against a ranked opponent came back in 2016 against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament. WSU is now 0-5 under head coach Paul Mills against ranked foes.
Thursday’s overtime win over Minnesota was the first overtime win by the Shockers under Mills. WSU also improved to 2-0 this season when trailing with five minutes left in regulation this season after posting a 1-16 mark in those situations last season.
