Wichita State coach: Self-inflicted mistakes at the root of road loss to DePaul

On the surface, giving up 17 three-pointers seemed to be what sunk the Wichita State men’s basketball team in a 91-72 loss at Wintrust Arena on Saturday.

While allowing 51 points beyond the arc didn’t help, WSU head coach Paul Mills didn’t believe that was the root of his team’s problem that turned a back-and-forth game into a runaway win for the Blue Demons.

It was self-inflicted mistakes, like a season-high 16 turnovers (10 coming after halftime) and 5-of-10 performance at the foul line, that not only sunk WSU’s offense but also put its defense in compromising situations time and time again. That’s why, Mills argued, WSU (8-2) suffered its second loss of the season.

“We needed to do a better job when we had multiple ball-handlers on the court, we need to convert those opportunities,” Mills said. “You had some (passes), you had some free throws and you had simpler plays that you needed to make in order to take advantage of (DePaul’s defense).

“The 10 turnovers had a lot to do with who they were offensively in the second half.”

The first 27 minutes of the game was a thrilling affair, as both teams traded blow for blow with their own style of efficient offense — WSU battering its way to the rim, while DePaul bombing away from deep — to play to a 60-60 tie entering the final 13 minutes.

But then Quincy Ballard missed a pair of free throws. Harlond Beverly had a fast-break layup blocked. Justin Hill turned the ball over on another quick possession, then threw a pass away.

Meanwhile, DePaul capitalized on WSU’s mistakes during a 24-7 run to put the game away on its home court. The Blue Demons finished with 17 points off WSU turnovers.

“Anytime you lose it’s tough, but that was a tough one because it felt like it was tight for the majority of the game,” WSU senior Xavier Bell said. “It’s another learning experience for us. It’s still a very long season and we’ve got two more games to close out December and get ready for conference play.”

Frustration boiled over for Mills early in the second half when he earned his first technical foul of his WSU tenure.

The WSU bench was heated after officials whistled WSU point guard Justin Hill for an offensive foul on a push off against DePaul point guard Conor Enright, who Mills said WSU warned officials beforehand was a candidate for flops.

And when Enright made a similar move against Hill at the other end on the very next play, only for the same referee to call a blocking foul on Hill this time, Mills was on the court seething at the call.

“We told them ahead of time about what was going to occur from a flopping standpoint,” Mills said. “We were pretty aware of a half-dozen times that it was going to occur and in my mind, they can’t grab us and we get called for an offensive foul, then a possession later they call us for a block. All you ask from officiating is to be consistent.”

While Mills was pleased with how his team played in building a 47-42 halftime advantage, he noted to his team that they were unlikely to continue their 63% shooting. They had to take care of the ball and defend in order to win on the road.

Neither of those things happened in the second half, as DePaul finished shooting 52% from the field with a season-high 17 triples.

“It did feel like (DePaul was making a lot of 3s), but you still try to play through it and find ways to get a stop,” Bell said. “Sometimes teams have nights like that and that’s what comes with basketball. We tried to play through it and stick together through it all.”

Mills was complimentary of the play of DePaul wing Layden Blocker, a Sunrise Christian graduate who played 25 minutes off the bench and contributed three points, five assist and three steals.

Mills thought it was Blocker’s defense that swung the game for the Blue Demons.

“I’ve known that kid since he was 15 and he can guard NBA guys,” Mills said. “He’s making strides offensively, but defensively he’s pretty solid and we needed to do a better job (against him). Unfortunately, that led to some turnovers and what I thought were mainly discipline issues.”

Mills said he will have to review the film to further dissect WSU’s problems in the second half, but the initial feeling was that the team’s own miscues led to its undoing on Saturday.

“There does have to be a greater sense of urgency in how we approach some of the adjustments that are being made,” Mills said. “72 points is enough to win a basketball game.”