Wichita St. @ Central Florida preview
Addition Financial Arena
Last Meeting ( Jan 30, 2021 ) Central Florida 88, Wichita St. 93
The motto Wichita State used to position its basketball program on the national stage -- and even reach the 2013 Final Four -- is not heard as often with Gregg Marshall no longer coaching.
"Play Angry" isn't a concept lost on the Shockers (11-4, 7-2 American Athletic Conference), however, as they are discovering that if they "Win Ugly," it's not a bad thing.
Up next for Wichita State is a game Wednesday night against host Central Florida (5-9, 3-8).
"We've been battling a lot of adversity," Wichita State's Dexter Dennis said when elaborating on why a 70-67 victory Sunday over Temple could be termed ugly. "The message in the locker room is always stay in the moment, stay in the present, control what we can control. I think in those moments, there's not really a sense of panic anymore."
The proof is reflected in the AAC standings: Wichita State has the same number of league defeats as No. 8-ranked Houston. The Shockers aren't drawing votes for the Top 25 but are building their credentials for an NCAA Tournament bid.
Their fortitude has been especially impressive down the stretch in three straight victories and five wins in their past six games.
"Sometimes you can win games that are not pretty," interim coach Isaac Brown said, "but the bottom line, they pulled it out."
Experience in the backcourt, including the intensity Dennis provides as a shut-down defender capable of knocking down a clutch 3-pointer, strengthens Wichita State's resolve.
The Shockers can rely on Alterique Gilbert to protect the basketball while looking for Tyson Etienne, who ranks among the AAC's top scoring threats with averages of 18.1 points and 3.1 makes from behind the arc.
UCF won Saturday at Tulsa, 65-58, as Brandon Mahan scored all 15 of his points on 3-pointers, including a late basket to seal the outcome. Mahan leads the Knights with a 14.1-point average, while Darius Perry is coming off an 18-point performance at Tulsa.
UCF coach Johnny Dawkins found his team's execution on defense most encouraging. The victory marked the first time since the season opener against Auburn that the Knights held an opponent to less than 60 points.
"We finally got back to playing UCF defense," Dawkins said. "We held them to 58 points, and that's always our goal, to defend really well. We challenged our guys that we had got to get back to defending, and I think our guys really stepped up."
--Field Level Media