Yahoo Sports Wichita State basketball loses 4th straight AAC opener: 3 takeaways from Temple game
Another close game down the stretch turned into a close loss for the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
That was an all-too-familiar feeling for the Shockers last season in American Athletic Conference play, and Friday’s conference-opener was more of the same, as Temple pulled away late for a 91-85 win at the Liacouras Center.
The Shockers’ Justin Hill scored a game-high 25 points with five rebounds and five assists, while Xavier Bell chipped in 18 points, Corey Washington added 13 points in a foul-plagued 15 minutes and Quincy Ballard finished with a third straight double-double with 12 points, 13 rebounds and one highlight-worthy alley-oop dunk for a WSU team that fell to 10-4.
Meanwhile, Temple scored a robust 1.25 points per possession on 50% shooting and a team-high 24 points from Jamal Mashburn Jr. The Owls (9-5) have won three straight games over the Shockers in the series.
Here are three takeaways from Friday’s game:
1. Shockers lose their fourth straight conference opener
Wichita State is off to yet another winless start in conference play.
Not only have the Shockers lost their conference opener for four straight years, they have been haunted by slow starts in the previous three seasons: 0-4 in 2022, 0-3 in 2023 and 0-6 last season. All three previous seasons saw WSU finish in the middle or bottom of the conference standings.
There’s still plenty of time for the Shockers to reverse course this season and contend for the top of the conference, but losing another close game on the road felt a lot like how last season unfolded.
2. Another WSU-Temple game features wild swings
There’s not much history to support Temple as a passionate rivalry with Wichita State, but there’s no doubt the two have teamed up to play some of the most entertaining games since the Shockers joined the American Athletic Conference.
Nine of 13 games have been decided by six points or fewer and three were decided in overtime. The team leading at halftime has now lost nine of those 13 matchups, as WSU let a two-point halftime lead turn into a loss.
Last season’s series was a good example of what is possible when these two teams get together: WSU led early in Philadelphia, fell behind by 17, tied the game late and ultimately lost; then the Owls erased a 10-point halftime deficit to pull out an overtime win in Wichita.
The two sides were magnets again on Friday.
The first 10 minutes alone saw WSU scoot out to an 11-2 lead, only to fall behind 23-17. A 6-0 run at the end of the first half put the Shockers up 39-37, but they fell behind 47-43 in the first three minutes of the second half. When WSU pulled back in front, 66-62, Temple quickly answered with a 6-0 run. Justin Hill put WSU back in front with a 3-pointer, but Temple responded with two straight 3s of its own followed by a Steve Settle jumper in opening up a 76-69 cushion with less than five minutes remaining that it used to close out the win.
After falling behind by 12 points with 2 minutes, 39 seconds remaining, WSU managed to trim its deficit to 83-78 with 1:35 left. Hill scored but missed a free throw for a potential 3-point play with 44.1 seconds left to trim Temple’s lead to 85-80. WSU never came closer after that.
3. Missed free throws once again haunt WSU
The Shockers entered Friday’s game shooting 73.8% on free throws against Division-I competition, well above the national average and good for No. 125 in the country.
But shades of last season, when WSU finished 13th in the conference at 69.3%, popped up on Friday.
The Shockers left 12 points on the table against Temple, as a 16-for-28 (57.1%) performance from the foul line was a major issue in the loss. While Justin Hill, Corey Washington and Xavier Bell combined to make 13 of 16 free throws, Quincy Ballard, Matej Bosnjak and Harlond Beverly combined for a 2-of-11 showing.
A season after going 2-8 in conference games that were separated by two possessions or fewer in the final five minutes, the Shockers once again let a close game down the stretch spiral away on Friday.
Up next: Shockers vs. South Florida, 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6 on ESPN2
Wichita State will look for its first conference win in its first conference home game on Monday. The Bulls are off to an 8-6 start to the season, which included a 75-69 win over East Carolina to begin conference play.
Other info about Wichita State-Temple basketball game
WSU finished its nonconference slate with a 10-3 record, its best out-of-conference showing since the 2019-20 season when the Shockers went 12-1.
Entering Friday’s game, the Shockers were 3-4 in conference openers since joining the American Athletic Conference.
WSU senior center Quincy Ballard leads the AAC in blocks per game (2.08) and ranks 24th nationally. The 6-foot-11 native of Syracuse, N.Y. recently moved into fourth on WSU’s career blocks list (113) and is on pace to shatter the career record for blocks per game at 2.02.
WSU still has three players missing in action due to injury: senior forward Ronnie DeGray III (fractured wrist), senior center Zane Meeks (knee scope) and freshman wing T.J. Williams (torn meniscus). A best-case scenario for DeGray is returning for a Jan. 14 home game against Charlotte, while a return to action for Meeks and Williams is more murky.
In his first season coaching at Temple, Adam Fisher led the Owls to a Cinderella run to the AAC tournament championship game before ultimately falling to UAB. In a connection to the Shockers, Fisher was an assistant coach for two seasons at Miami where he coached current WSU guard Harlond Beverly.
On this date, Jan. 3, Xavier McDaniel became WSU’s all-time leading rebounder in a home win over West Texas State in 1985.
