What surprised Montana State basketball coach about Wichita State in Shockers’ win

It’s not often Montana State men’s basketball coach Matt Logie is surprised by his initial impression on the court after scouting an opponent on tape.

One of those exceptions occurred on Saturday night.

The three-time defending Big Sky champions were rattled almost immediately at Koch Arena, as Wichita State swarmed to a 9-0 start and Logie was forced to burn a timeout less than three minutes into the game.

That was all the cushion the Shockers needed to cruise to an 89-69 victory over the three-time defending Big Sky champions to improve to 2-0 this season.

“You’ve got to give credit to Wichita State,” Logie said. “The speed in person vs. the speed on tape is just very, very different. They punched us right in the mouth in the first four minutes, and that was really the difference in the game.”

It took a Wisconsin team receiving votes in the top-25 poll nearly 22 minutes to build a double-digit lead against the Bobcats. Less than 48 hours later, WSU led 15-2 at the first media timeout.

The opening stanza from WSU was about as dominant as it gets. The defense blanked Montana State on its first seven trips up the floor, while the Shockers exerted their will so easily on offense that the first four minutes of the game was a glorified layup line.

“We brought the intensity from the start,” WSU senior Ronnie DeGray III said. “We were making them play a game they really didn’t want to play.”

WSU head coach Paul Mills empowered his guards to attack their 1-on-1 matchups on the perimeter and instructed them to relentlessly attack the basket against a MSU defense without a true rim protector.

Consider it a job well done after the Shockers racked up 52 paint points and shot 59% on 2-point baskets.

“That was something we talked a great deal about coming in that there would be opportunities there,” Mills said, “so I really appreciated the aggressiveness.”

Despite a 13-point lead right out of the gate, WSU couldn’t relax against a Montana State team that ended up hoisting 43 shots beyond the arc — the second-most 3-pointers attempted by an opponent in program history.

If Western Kentucky tested WSU’s physical toughness, Montana State tested WSU’s toughness in regards to its will to defend. The Shockers had to defend all 50 feet of width on the court because the Bobcats almost always had five shooters on the floor at the same time.

Not only did WSU have to exert maximum effort to fly around the perimeter for its defensive rotations, when one of the 43 triples were flung into the air, WSU had to concern itself with tracking down 31 misses that typically result in long rebounds. Throw in WSU’s seven blocked shots and Mills was satisfied with securing 72% of possible defensive rebounds.

“You can’t have any mental lapses,” Harlond Beverly said of the Montana State test. “It doesn’t matter if you’re on the ball, off the ball, there’s a screen coming. A back screen, a flare screen. And everybody on the court can shoot, so you have to stay locked in for all 30 seconds.”

True to its NCAA Tournament pedigree, Montana State attempted to push its way back in the game. Led by one of the oldest rosters in college basketball, the Bobcats reeled off a 12-point flurry in their opening five possessions after halftime to trim the deficit to six points early in the second half.

But WSU never wavered from its game plan, declining to take the easy way out and hoist 3-pointers of its own to instead search for valuable paint touches. That allowed the Shockers to avoid any opening-night drama in the Roundhouse, as they protected a double-digit lead for essentially the final 13 minutes.

“Wichita State’s athleticism and speed was really, really impressive,” Logie said. “These are the types of games that help us prepare not only for our conference, but we hope we can get back to the NCAA Tournament and make some noise one day. You’ve got to play teams that are of that caliber, and from what I saw tonight, Wichita State is right on track.”

After plummeting to as low as No. 167 in the KenPom efficiency rankings last season, the Shockers have already climbed to No. 82 after two straight games of exceeding their projections.

WSU has committed just seven turnovers in its last 100 possessions, scored a healthy 1.19 points per possession and made 77% of free throws this season. It also helps when the scoring is as balanced as it was Saturday with five scorers in double-digits: Justin Hill (17), Corey Washington (14), Beverly (14), Quincy Ballard (13) and DeGray (11).

“That will win you a lot of basketball games,” Mills said.

“This team is heading in the right direction,” DeGray said. “We still have things to work on, but it’s a good start to what we’re doing.”

When asked for his overall assessment of WSU’s 2-0 start, Mills didn’t hesitate to label his team’s play “not very good.”

That’s not surprising coming from a coach who savored Saturday’s win as long as it took him to walk back to the locker room before turning his attention to next Thursday’s challenge against Northern Iowa.

But the one area where Mills did give his squad credit is perhaps the best way to encapsulate why the team’s 2-0 start feels like a precursor to something much better than last season.

“The good thing right now is we have veteran guys,” Mills said. “Staying together and doing the right thing isn’t just a mindset that you have to have on the road. You have to have it at home too. I do think that our guys have a little bit of an edge to them. They’re older guys who are trying to prove themselves collectively. So I do feel that, but honestly, we have a long way to go after watching these two games.”