Shockers skid on ice in home basketball loss to South Florida: 3 game takeaways

For the fourth consecutive season, the Wichita State men’s basketball team is off to an 0-2 start to American Athletic Conference play.

With the Roundhouse more than half empty for Monday’s tilt against South Florida due to icy road conditions, the Shockers trailed by double digits for the majority of the game in a wire-to-wire 91-72 loss.

South Florida’s roster underwent an overhaul this offseason, but the Shockers made the Bulls look every bit like last season’s conference championship squad. It was the second straight game where WSU’s defense allowed 91 points, as the Bulls scored a season-high against Division I competition, made 56.9% of their shots and pumped out 1.34 points per possession.

Jamille Reynolds scored a game-high 22 points for USF (9-6, 2-0 AAC), while Xavier Bell led the Shockers (10-5, 0-2 AAC) with 19 points. Corey Washington notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Quincy Ballard narrowly missed his fourth straight with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Here are three takeaways from the game:

1. Broken clipboards fail to send message to Shockers

After giving up 91 points in a road loss to Temple, WSU came back home and allowed USF to score 16 points not even five minutes into the game.

WSU head coach Paul Mills didn’t hesitate to light into his players after falling in a 9-point deficit right out of the gate. In between screaming at his players during the first media timeout, Mills slammed a clipboard on the ground and pieces went flying. After a graduate assistant handed him a new clipboard, Mills wasted no time in breaking that one too to show his displeasure with his team’s play.

But Mills’ message failed to land with the Shockers, who spent practically the rest of the game trailing by double digits.

2. Difference in shot-making once again on display in AAC loss

There wasn’t a lot to like from WSU’s performance on Monday, but one thing is clear through the first two games of conference play: The difference in shot-making between the Shockers and their peers is stark.

WSU is struggling to finish as frequently in the paint as it did in nonconference play, and its lack of outside shooting is hindering the team’s offense. Because the Shockers lack a perimeter threat, defenses are able to shrink the floor against WSU and crowd the lane to prevent WSU from scoring in the same ways it did before.

That lack of shot-making stood out again in Monday’s game, as the Shockers shot 3-of-20 (15%) beyond the arc; South Florida consistently generated quality 3-point looks and shot 12-of-26 (46%) from 3.

Through two games in conference play, WSU has been outscored by 33 points beyond the arc and opponents have shot 45.6% on 3-pointers against its defense.

3. Wichita State spends most of game trailing by double digits

The tone for Monday’s game was set in the first 30 seconds when WSU fouled a 3-point shooter, turned the ball over against a press and gave up a 3-pointer to fall in a 6-0 hole.

It took the Bulls less than seven minutes to build a double-digit lead at Koch Arena, a place where they have never won, and they spent all but 49 seconds of the next 34 minutes in control with a double-digit lead.

After USF took an 18-point lead into halftime, the Shockers made a push out of halftime with a 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds. They trimmed the deficit to 48-37 and forced USF coach Ben Fletcher to burn an early timeout.

But the major run to plant WSU firmly back in the game never came.

Harlond Beverly’s follow cut USF’s lead to 59-49 with 13:55 remaining and Corey Washington was at the line shooting two free throws to potentially cut the deficit to single-digits again. But Washington misfired on both and USF immediately reeled off a 9-0 run to balloon its lead back to 19 points.

WSU answered back with a 9-0 run of its own to bring the score back to within 10 points and once again failed to strike with a chance to close within single digits. This time it was Justin Hill sailing an alley-oop pass well over the head of Beverly that would have energized the crowd. Instead, it was a WSU turnover and USF scored on its next three possessions to push the lead back to 84-66.

Up next: Shockers at UTSA at 3 p.m. Saturday on ESPN+

The quest for WSU’s first conference win continues with its first trip in program history to San Antonio, where the Shockers (10-5, 0-2 AAC) will take on a UTSA (6-7, 0-1 AAC) team that is currently ranked No. 258 in KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metrics. WSU is 3-0 all-time against UTSA with all three previous games coming in Wichita.

Other info on WSU-USF basketball game

• WSU is still playing without three players due to injury: senior forward Ronnie DeGray III (fractured wrist), senior center Zane Meeks (knee scope) and freshman wing T.J. Williams (torn meniscus). DeGray is nearing a return and could be back as soon as next Tuesday’s game against Charlotte in a best-case scenario, while the returns for Meeks and Williams remain murky.

• WSU senior center Quincy Ballard leads the American Athletic Conference in blocks per game (2.08) and ranks 22nd nationally. He moved into fourth place on WSU’s career blocks list and is on pace to shatter the program record for career blocks per game at 2.02. He also shattered the single-season school record for field-goal percentage last season.

• WSU had dominated the series with USF since joining the American Athletic Conference, but has now lost back-to-back games to the Bulls after a 72-68 setback at the Yuengling Center last season. The Bulls were 0-5 at Koch Arena before Monday’s game.

• USF has an interim head coach in Ben Fletcher after the tragic passing of Amir Abdur-Rahim in October. Abdur-Rahim led the Bulls to a surprise AAC championship in his first season after a successful run at Kennesaw State, where Fletcher spent four seasons as an assistant coach under him.