What the Shockers can continue doing to find success again in Monday’s Monmouth game

The Wichita State men’s basketball team may not win many games with crisp offense this season.

More times than not, the Shockers are going to have to grind it out, as they did Thursday in beating Northern Iowa 79-73.

Even with missing 23 shots within five feet of the rim, WSU still churned out efficient offense and improved to 3-0 this season entering Monday’s 6:30 p.m. game against Monmouth (0-4).

The game will be available on ESPN+ streaming from Koch Arena.

“You definitely don’t want it to happen,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said, “but your team does need to go through some adversity and figure things out.”

It didn’t take long to figure out junior forward Corey Washington, a transfer from Saint Peter’s, can thrive in physical, choppy games.

He scored a season-high 19 points against UNI, all coming in the second half. Washington sparked the Shockers out of halftime with three straight jumpers, then scored the rest of his points on tough baskets in the paint.

“A win like that in a grimy game, that brings us more together,” Washington said. “There were moments when calls weren’t going our way and they were creeping back in the game and we still pulled it out. That makes our connection way more stronger.”

WSU point guard Justin Hill, who led Longwood to the NCAA Tournament and played the last two seasons in the SEC, has plenty of experience manufacturing wins when his offense isn’t firing at full strength.

While frustrating in the moment, he understands the importance of winning games like that — especially early in the season.

“I take it as a positive because this is only the third game of the season,” Hill said. “Nothing is going to come easy. We kept playing through adversity, taking things play-by-play with a next-play mentality. Some of those calls didn’t go our way. You’ve got no choice but to keep playing and do the best we can.”

Another positive development from the game was the aggression displayed by reserve center Matej Bosnjak, who combined for just five points and five shots in the first two games of the season but finished with nine points and eight shots against UNI.

WSU had thrown the ball into Bosnjak in the post many times before, but the Croatian big man had primarily looked to find teammates when a double team came. On Thursday, he looked to score. It turns out, that wasn’t a coincidence.

“He had to take five shots in the first half or he wasn’t going to play in the second, that was our handshake agreement,” Mills said. “He had a couple of turnarounds, it looked like old-school Tim Duncan there off the glass. We need him to be more aggressive.”

That aggressiveness should continue in Monday’s game against a Monmouth defense that ranks No. 338 in the country, per KenPom, and has allowed opponents to make better than 60% of its 2-point shots this season.

The Hawks have been on the receiving end of four straight blowouts to begin the season and currently rank No. 293 in KenPom’s efficiency metrics, which is projected to be the lowest-ranked team WSU will play this season.

Monmouth does have a 6-foot-7 flamethrower, however, as Abdi Bashir is averaging 23.3 points and is coming off a career-high 38 (with ten 3-pointers) against Rutgers.

Monmouth at Wichita State basketball preview

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday

Where: Koch Arena (10,506), Wichita

How to watch: ESPN+ (Shane Dennis with Bob Hull)

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Dave Dahl)

Series history: Tied 1-1 (WSU leads 1-0 in Wichita)

KenPom says: WSU 88, Monmouth 71

Projected starting lineups

Monmouth Hawks (0-4)

Coach: King Rice, 14th season, 207-212

Wichita State Shockers (3-0)

Coach: Paul Mills, second season, 18-19