Wichita State Basketball: “The Best Teacher, Failure Is.” – Yoda

The third ranked Wichita State Shockers were bested by Oklahoma University at Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita State Basketball’s home away from home on Saturday. Intrust Bank Arena holds over 15,000 fans and will host this year’s first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament.

Wichita State Basketball completed their three game series against Big 12 opponents. They failed to complete the sweep however, dropping the third installment of the series. The Shockers were able to take two of three from their power conference rivals. They included two big wins against  Oklahoma State and Baylor. Both on the road, and both were ranked.

Oklahoma’s Trae Young was simply sensational. Trae put up a double/double and proved worthy of his status as one of the nation’s top players. Young dropped 29 points and added 10 assists, as well as being a perfect 7/7 from the free throw line. Jamuni McNeace was a nice compliment, and dominated the paint defensively at times, picking up 4 blocks to go with his 10 rebounds.

The 6’9″ inside out shooter Brady Manek was on point as well, nailing five three-pointers and accumulated 21 points. Christian James and Kameron McGusty rounded out the scoring for the Sooners by adding 13 points a piece. The Sooners relied heavily on Young, Manek & James, each picking up 30 minutes or more in the game.

Balance is the Key for Shocker Basketball

The Shockers, on the other hand, had a much more balanced attack, getting point production out of nine different players in the first half. Unfortunately for the Shockers, the balance came at a cost.

The bulk of the scoring came down low, with Darral Willis, Rauno Nurger and Shaq Morris accounting for over half of the team’s first half scoring. In contrast, the Sooners hit ten 3-pointers in the first half alone, which accounted for the 15 point lead at the half.

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Wichita State was able to shut down the Sooner offense in the second half, holding them to just 28% shooting on 32 attempts. However, where the Sooners failed at knocking down shots from the field, they excelled at getting to the free throw line. Oklahoma was able to hit 16 of 19 from the charity stripe. The Shockers rallied to get within 6 points, but were not able to do enough. They hit only 4 three pointers in 17 attempts.

Speaking of shooters, Conner Frankamp was able to extend his school record of at least one three point basket made in consecutive games. The record currently stands at 32. Conner also remained perfect from the free throw line this year, making his 14th consecutive free throw. Conner ended the game with 14 points and 4 assists with no turnovers.

Gregg Marshall asked a lot of Landry Shamet, who recorded 17 points in 37 minutes. Landry was visibly tired, but clearly gave everything he had trying to will the Shockers to a win. As great a player as Shamet is, he was clearly outplayed by his counterpart Trae Young. Shamet was ice cold from behind the arch, going just 1-6. Shamet also struggled controlling the ball, matching turnovers with assists at five a piece.

Darral Willis was the star of the game for the Shockers. He put up another double/double with 20 points, 12 rebounds and a steal. All in just 24 minutes. Willis was also able to draw some fouls and go 7-9 from the free throw line.

Wichita State simply got out-played on Saturday. Oklahoma is a team to watch out for this year in the always tough Big 12 conference. When you are ranked in the top 5, every team that comes in is going to give you everything they’ve got.

Saturday the Shockers were not prepared to take on a team that is clearly a top 25 team with one of the premier players in the country. I would not be surprised to see the previously un-ranked Sooners take a massive jump in the rankings. Quite possibly all the way up to the top 10.

Failure is the Best Teacher

According to Yoda, Michael Jordan, and pretty much every philosopher ever, failure is the best teacher. The question is, what will Gregg Marshall’s Shockers learn from this loss? While the Shocker Faithful wanted to see a Big 12 sweep this year, it was not to be.

The Shockers will look to return to form this week as they take on Arkansas State (4-7) on Tuesday, followed by Florida Gulf Coast (7-5) on Friday. Wichita State will host both games at Charles Koch Arena in front of 10,506 Shocker Faithful.

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This is not a bold prediction, but look for Wichita State to rebound and win both games by double figures. Be sure to check back next weekend for another wrap-up of Shocker Nation right here at KCKingdom!