Shock to the System: The Utah-Wichita State game thread

[SoCalPat]

Saturday at 1:30 p.m., ESPN2.

Wichita State, ranked very high in the preseason, has taken perhaps the biggest tumble of any team thus far. Only 3-4, with losses to Tulsa, USC, Alabama and Iowa. That's all irrelevant -- all of those games came without PG Fred Van Vliet, who was invisible for 35 minutes against us last year before nearly single-handedly beating us in the final 5 minutes. His hammy is better, and WSU blew out St. Louis on the road for just their second D-1 win of the year. VV had 11 points, 7 assists, 3 steals and just one turnover in just 18 minutes.

WSU has no proven size to go up against Poeltl -- 6-11 senior Wamukota and 6-10 sophomore Nurger average about 20 minutes combined. What WSU will have is a wave of 6-6 to 6-8 guys crashing the boards for second chance points (they are outrebounding teams on the offensive glass by a nearly 2-1 margin, which is insane; Utah is at a 1-1 ratio in this category). We know a Greg Marshall team rebounds well, and despite their W-L, they're still outrebounding teams by about 3.5 RPG per game (Utah outrebounds teams by 5.5 RPG).

Ron Baker is still doing his thing, but WSU badly misses Tekele Cotton and his defense on the perimeter. WSU is getting outshot from the field and outtripped at the line. And Anton Grady, a 6-8 bruiser who came over as a graduate transfer from Cleveland State, has not contributed as hoped. He's averaging 9 and 6, after averaging about 13 and 7 at CSU over three years.

My take: If we can minimize WSU's damage on the offensive glass and Taylor can shut down Van Vliet (we'll have an even better idea of how healthy he is after Wednesday's game in Wichita against UNLV), we can win this game. I think it's a bonus that this game is at Intrust Bank Arena (downtown) instead of Koch Arena (on campus). Even then, this will likely be the most hostile environment we face all year. Also, a huge wild-card for this game is Conner Frankamp, a KU transfer who becomes eligible in time for Saturday's game. Having seen Frankamp in person while he was in HS, he's got one of the five greatest strokes I've ever seen -- at any level. He has to be on our staff's radar.

[SoCalPat]

Another interesting note on WSU. They're the highest rated team in Pomeroy with a losing record, and just three spots behind Utah (40 vs. 37).

The next highest team with a losing record is Temple at 84, and they gave us a good game.

[SoCalPat]

Frankamp played last night, albeit sparingly, which is expected, in a 56-50 win against UNLV.

VV was his usual self, although WSU still had issues from the line and from 3. (3-18 from 3, 11-22 from the line)

Anton Grady is out (and has actually missed the last few games) with a spinal concussion. Even without him, WSU had a 14-9 edge on the offensive glass. Watch out for Evan Wessel, who should remind any Ute fan worth his salt of Drew Hansen. WSU also won the turnover battle, 19-9.

At least one WSU fan on shocketnet.net said UNLV's Stephen Zimmerman was better than Poeltl. He was quickly put in his place.

[LA Ute]

Phil Cullen email this morning:

*****

Todays game versus Wichita State tips off at 1:30 Mountain Time on ESPN2. The Shockers have a 35 game win streak in place and have chosen to host our game downtown Wichita in Intrust Arena. Intrust Arena is a larger venue and this game has been marketed as the game of the year for them. The last time a top 25 team came into Wichita was in 2011 so needless to say the game environment today will be as tough as it gets.

Wichita State is coached very well and are led by their two seniors in the backcourt, #23 Fred Van Vleet and #31 Ron Baker. Baker is averaging 17 ppg and is one of the best players in college basketball. He does so many things well with and plays as hard as anyone. Van Vleet is coming back from an injury and is a huge shot in the arm to this team. Their losses have all come when he has not been in the lineup or when he was not 100%. Together this backcourt is considered the best in the country.

There are a handful of other players who are capable of making big plays. The theme with this team is that they Play Angry which is on their shooting shirts during warm ups. The try and outwork their opponents and will send their entire team to rebound.

To win the game we must take care of the basketball and stay poised. We can not let the environment and their defensive pressure get to us. We like our size against them and are looking to play to our strengths. This past week we have emphasized our defense which we feel needed improvement. We will have to have some guys step up today and hit some big shots.

This game is big for us and represents what college basketball is all about.

Thanks for your support and Go Utes!

Wichita Stats:

https://az388273.vo.msecnd.net/mailsystem/assets/793/attachments/8cc08256-e5a4-430a-878a-c441f47b160e/Wichita.png


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[Old Standing ute]

Ogbe on Ron Baker--might be good for Utes----don't need points from Ogbe if he can slow Baker. Means Taylor on Van Vleet--need at least a draw there; which means no TOs for Taylor & lots of passing to Poeltl in the post.
If he tries to outscore VV--we are in trouble.

Utes win battle in the post. Loveridge will be an advantage.

Might come down to Kuzma & Chapman; if they play well Utes could/should win??

[Mormon Red Death]

Ogbe out today

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[Diehard Ute]

Per Riley Ogbe has reaggravated his previous injury.


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[Mormon Red Death]

How many turnovers today? 40?

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[LA Ute]

I think our ranking is gone after this game. Maybe just as well. Guys need some hardening.

[Mormon Red Death]

How do they miss when a player gets hitin the face?

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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Really sloppy first half offensively. 12 turnovers. Hard time getting it inside. Lots of open looks from three for the Shockers where they're 7/16. 12 turnovers. Did I mention that?


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[LA Ute]

Really sloppy first half offensively. 12 turnovers. Hard time getting it inside. Lots of open looks from three for the Shockers where they're 7/16. 12 turnovers. Did I mention that?


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I think I heard that the Shockers had twice as many shots as we did in the first half. A direct result of the turnovers.


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[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Looking better half way through the second half.


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[LA Ute]

This 3-4 minute dry spell is on me. I started listening again.

[Dwight Schr-Ute]

Looking better half way through the second half.


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Probably should have kept my mouth shut.


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[LA Ute]

From what Riley said on the radio that missed goal tending was awful.


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[SeattleUte]

So we have two ugly losses. Did we have any last pre-season?

[mUUser]

Sigh..... That was brutal to watch. Must be a glutton for punishment.

[SeattleUte]

WS only had three turnovers. That's incredible. What does that say about us?

[Mormon Red Death]

Combination of no ogbe, horrible refs, turnovers and bad shot selections

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[concerned]

WS only had three turnovers. That's incredible. What does that say about us?

it says we miss Delon a lot more than I thought we would.

[LA Ute]

I was not watching on television. Were we just not quick enough, and that led to turnovers? Or were we just making bad decisions with the ball?


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[Old Standing ute]

Brandon Taylor is really tough & the heart of the team--But he is not a point guard. Bonam is but he is still not a good defender. Ogbe is a good defender, but can not stay healthy. Tucker can not dribble with his left hand. Leaves a mess in the back court.
With Delon we could use Taylor as 2 guard & he could guard point guard.

Chapman & Kuzma need to figure it out & get tougher down low.

hate to waste Jakob's talent--but he can't do it alone.

This team must drive Larry K crazy.

Only good point is no one wins in Wichita----

[U-Ute]

I was not watching on television. Were we just not quick enough, and that led to turnovers? Or were we just making bad decisions with the ball?


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A tough Wichita State defense and bad decisions. The refereeing was terrible but we lost at the 3 point line (on both ends of the floor).

The regression of Taylor, Tucker, and Wright is troubling. They can't hit the broad side of a barn right now. I am wondering if the seniors are pressing too much.

[LA Ute]

Brandon Taylor is really tough & the heart of the team--But he is not a point guard. Bonam is but he is still not a good defender. Ogbe is a good defender, but can not stay healthy. Tucker can not dribble with his left hand. Leaves a mess in the back court.
With Delon we could use Taylor as 2 guard & he could guard point guard.

Chapman & Kuzma need to figure it out & get tougher down low.

hate to waste Jakob's talent--but he can't do it alone.

This team must drive Larry K crazy.

Only good point is no one wins in Wichita----

Looks like we are learning that DeLon masked the weaknesses of the others in the backcourt. It will be interesting to see what Larry does. I'm along for the ride. It will be fun, I think.


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[#1 Utefan]

From what Riley said on the radio that missed goal tending was awful.


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It was awful. I could tell live it hit the backboard before the block. Ironically, the idiots calling the game on ESPN said it was a good call after watching replays. Where do they find some of these guys that don't even know the basic rules of the sports they are broadcasting?

The Utes were a no show for this game. The effort was poor and the game plan was poor IMHO. This team is the softest I've seen since Larry's first year. They did not match WSU's intensity or physical play (they got away with a lot) throughout the game.

The game was poorly officiated but it doesn't excuse Utah's lack of intensity, defense, or coaching staff adjustments. Unless this team comes together and toughen up fast, I can't see anything more then a mid-PAC-12 finish and NCAA tourney bubble.

[LA Ute]

Ouch:


Bill Riley @espn700bill

Wichita State 28-12 pts in the paint, 25-0 pts off turnovers, 10-2 2nd chance pts


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[DrumNFeather]

Ouch:




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My immediate observation watching this game was how soft we were. I get that those guys are hard to beat at or near home, but these guys don't seem to mirror K's intensity at all.

Jakob continues to get pushed around by smaller stronger guys.

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[U-Ute]

It was awful. I could tell live it hit the backboard before the block. Ironically, the idiots calling the game on ESPN said it was a good call after watching replays. Where do they find some of these guys that don't even know the basic rules of the sports they are broadcasting?

The Utes were a no show for this game. The effort was poor and the game plan was poor IMHO. This team is the softest I've seen since Larry's first year. They did not match WSU's intensity or physical play (they got away with a lot) throughout the game.

The game was poorly officiated but it doesn't excuse Utah's lack of intensity, defense, or coaching staff adjustments. Unless this team comes together and toughen up fast, I can't see anything more then a mid-PAC-12 finish and NCAA tourney bubble.


Part of the problem with the broadcasting is that they were not in the stadium. They were back in Bristol doing commentary based on a TV feed.