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Its stars have graduated, but Wichita State isn't going anywhere
Wichita State took a massive step toward proving it will remain nationally relevant without graduated stars Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet.
The Shockers notched their most impressive victory of the season on Saturday, a 76-73 win over Oklahoma in pro-Sooners Oklahoma City.
Strong defense carried Wichita State against Oklahoma just like it has in so many previous big games. The Shockers limited the Sooners to 30.8 percent shooting by packing in its defense, walling off driving lanes and trying to force Lon Kruger’s team into taking mostly contested jump shots.
The strategy proved most effective during a nine-minute stretch midway through the second half during which Oklahoma scored only four points and got nothing easy at the rim or in transition. That enabled Wichita State to methodically string together a 14-4 run, giving the Shockers the nine-point cushion they needed to close out what had previously been a taut one- or two-possession game.
Beating Oklahoma was the strongest sign yet that Wichita State can absorb the loss of Baker and VanVleet without too much slippage. The Shockers miss Baker’s multifaceted scoring and VanVleet’s pick-and-roll mastery, yet they’re 9-2 with victories over the Sooners and LSU and a pair of near misses against Michigan State and Louisville.
The Oklahoma win is likely to carry more weight than the LSU one if other consistent scorers emerge in support of point guard Jordan Woodard. The Sooners (6-3) own a solid win over Clemson in year one without Buddy Hield, but they’ve lost to Wisconsin, Northern Iowa and now Wichita State, the other three credible opponents on their schedule.
Woodard matched his career high with 28 points against Wichita State, but none of the other Sooners made a similar impact on offense. Second-leading scorer Christian James sank only 3 of 17 shots, top interior threat Khadeem Lattin missed his only three field goal attempts and forward Dante Buford was held to a quiet four points.
There was no single Wichita State player that gave Oklahoma fits during Saturday’s game. The Shockers instead relied on balanced scoring and superior depth, as has been their custom so far this season.
Forward Zach Brown came off the bench to score 17 points on just six shots to lead Wichita State. Promising guard Daishon Smith did the most damage during the Shockers’ decisive run, throwing down a monster one-handed dunk and adding a pair of steals, a layup and two free throws.
While Wichita State still has one more crack at a power-conference opponent next Saturday against Oklahoma State, this game against Oklahoma was the one the Shockers really needed to get.
This one was the one against a team that played in the Final Four last spring. This one was the one against a team that figures to finish in the upper half of the Big 12.
This one was the one that served notice VanVleet and Baker may be gone but the Wichita State program they helped elevate is still here.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
