Shockwaves

Final: MSU 65, WSU 57. Shockers complete a solid 1-2 showing in the Old Spice Classic. The WSU fans gave them an ovation after the game, which was deserved. In case you weren wondering, WSU last defeated a top-5 team during the 1966-67 season – an 84-78 win over No. 2 Louisville.

1:28 remaining: MSU 62, WSU 56. As soon as MSU’s defensive intensity dropped a bit, the Shockers got some good looks, Murry swished a three from the top of the key to make it six points.

3:14 remaining: MSU 58, WSU 51. The Shockers are 11 of 11 from the line. MSU is 13 of 25.

3:58 remaining: MSU 58, WSU 49. Marshall is unhappy with the officiating after Ellis fouls out. I did not get a good look at the play. Suffice to say, it’s a physical game. WSU is a good rebounding team. MSU rebounds just as hard and is bigger and stronger. Sparty is out-rebounding Shocky 37-24 and it’s not because the Shockers aren’t working. Hannah hit two threes to get WSU to within 50-45. WSU, however, has yet to find much that works.

7:23 remaining: MSU 47, WSU 39. Eight points looks like a mountain to climb as tightly as MSU is playing defense. The Spartans are double-teaming the dribbler at the top of the key and the Shockers aren’t big enough or quick enough to pass over it or dribble through it. WSU’s entire offense is being run at the top of the key and it is getting nothing off its initial attempts to run something.

11:56 remaining: MSU 39, WSU 35. Durley, Ellis and Clemente have three fouls. WSU is 3 for 8 from the field this half with four turnovers. MSU is keeping WSU’s guards far away from the basket and disrupting the offense from the start. Soon, it turns into desperation time and WSU doesn’t have a one-on-one player good enough to score against the Spartans.

12:29 remaining: MSU 39, WSU 35. Spartans are shooting 40.5 percent, 2 of 8 from three and 7 of 14 from the line.

15:42 remaining: WSU 31, MSU 31. Offense continues to be the problem for WSU. The Spartans are not giving up many open shots with their man-to-man defense. Ellis picked up his third foul. Stutz, who has five points this half, has two. Durley, who has yet to play this half, is the only Shocker big man who seems able to score.

19:20 remaining second half: WSU 26, MSU 25. Gray’s three-point play starts the half. WSU had to call timeout when Murry could not get the ball in against pressure. If I were Garrett Stutz, I would watch Gonzaga’s Josh Heytvelt tonight. Heytvelt uses a nice faceup jumper off the glass that I think would work well for Stutz. He is not yet strong or agile enough to score over some defenders in the post.

Halftime: WSU 26, MSU 22. You would like to say a great half for WSU because it leads the No. 5-ranked Spartans. Marshall will no doubt look at nine turnovers and figure it should be more. Foul trouble could be a bigger issue in the second half in a very physical game. MSU is outrebounding WSU 22-15. The Spartans are 1-6 from three, one big reason why WSU is in the lead.

3:40 remaining: WSU 20, MSU 16. WSU needs to keep making the Spartans play half-court offense. Michigan State is good on the break. Not so good running against a set defense. Chamberlain is in for Hannah. This is a key period for WSU to survive with Hannah out. Marshall is rotating his big men with two fouls and so far is fortunate. This would be a good game for A.J. Hawkins to get rolling. So far, he is one step forward (dunk), one step back (turnover). A lot is expected of A.J. It’s not always easy for transfers to step right in.

7:30 remaining: WSU 17, MSU 14.

7:59 remaining: WSU 15, MSU 14. Ellis and Durley now have two fouls. Hannah has played the whole way. He is playing very well. How long can he go without a break? Reggie Chamberlain played five minutes against Siena and Hannah played 34, so that may be an indication.

11:58 remaining: MSU 9, WSU 9. Much like the Georgetown game, WSU seems to survive an early blowout warning. The Spartans are helping with six turnovers. Foul trouble looms as an issue for WSU. Clemente has two, which means WSU will likely play the rest of the half without him. Ellis and Durley each have one.

Game on. 12:47 to play. MSU 9, WSU 7.

Update from Disney: The teams are on their way back to the court. They will warm up for eight minutes.

Update from Disney: No leak. The water is blowing through the ventilation system because of the rainy, windy weather. Micky and Goofy are up top checking things out. We will know more in about 10 minutes.

The officials are checking out the situation. The towels are off the lane. I can no longer see water dripping.

Both teams are going to their locker rooms as the cast members try to fix a leak. Water is splashing right on the basket support at Michigan State’s basket. The teams can’t play with that much water coming down and soaking the lane.

12:47 remaining: MSU 9, WSU 7. Break to wipe up water. Hannah has five for WSU.

15:47 remaining first half: MSU 6, WSU 3. Shockers miss their first five shots before Hannah makes a long three. WSU isn’t getting many open shots or much movement to get those shots. Durley will check in after the timeout.

WSU starters – Ellis, Hannah, Clemente, Murry, Stutz. MSU - Lucas, Morgan, Walton, Summers, Gray.

Final: WSU 72, Siena 70. Big win over a good team that most expect to see back in the NCAA Tournament. Is there a better win – neutral court over a team returning five starters – by an MVC team? One does not readily come to mind.

WSU plays either Michigan State or Oklahoma State at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday for fifth place. WSU coach Gregg Marshall describes it as a no-lose scenario. WSU’s weekend – with a win and a good performance against Georgetown – is a success barring injury or a total disaster in the final.

If it is Oklahoma State, Marshall requested Shocker baseball player Clinton McKeever fly down and suit up. McKeever, for those with short memories, hit the game-winning grand slam against the Cowboys in last spring’s regional game. That’s an impressive awareness of other sports by Marshall. Many coaches rarely know or care what goes on outside of their world.

5.0 seconds remaining: WSU 71, Siena 69. Hasbrouck is at the line after making one. WSU with a timeout to get set up after the shot.

11.6 seconds remaining: WSU 69, Siena 68. Hannah made one of two free throws to keep Siena in the game. WSU will need to make some here – and handle the ball.

31.6 seconds remaining: WSU 68, Siena 66. Durley scores for the lead and blocks a shot to preserve it. WSU has the ball out of bounds after a timeout. Murry has 18 points, 14 in the second half.

3:12 remaining: Siena 64, WSU 62. Murry is at the line with a one-and-one when play resumes. Clevin Hannah’s three brought WSU to within two. WSU’s press is shaking up the Saints. WSU is up to 48.1 percent from the field.

6:06 remaining: Siena 60, WSU 55. WSU catches Siena with a press and causes a turnover. Baskets by Clemente and Murry get the Shockers to within five. Defense?

7:10 remaining: Siena 60, WSU 51. Twenty turnovers for WSU, which continues to be befuddled by the Siena pressure. Clevin Hannah is giving WSU a good second half.He has 13 points, 11 in the second half. He seems a little better against the press, although his turnover count is rising.

10:57 remaining: Siena 50, WSU 42. Defense has become WSU’s biggest problem. The Saints are getting way too many layups and easy shots. Siena is shooting 52.4 percent. Siena’s press continues to take WSU out of its comfort zone – 18 turnovers, four this half.

15:47 remaining second half: Siena 39, WSU 36. WSU is showing life on offense. Siena, however, is picking up the pace and getting its break going. Three fouls each on Ellis and Stutz. WSU has yet to shoot a free throw. The refs are letting both teams play.

Halftime: Siena 33, WSU 26. Aaron Ellis rescued the Shockers with seven straight points. Hey, another buzzer-beater by the opposition. WSU is shooting 38.7 percent, raised by a late stretch of good shooting. Fourteen turnovers is a big problem. Siena’s Edwin Ubiles has 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Franklin has nine. Hasbrouck has not been a huge problem so far, but the Shockers can’t find a way to stop Ubiles or Franklin. Ubiles is tall enough to shoot over Shockers on the perimeter. Franklin is driving to the basket and drawing fouls.

3:21 remaining: Siena 27, WSU 17. The shooting problems persist. WSU has nobody it can go to get a bucket – 8 of 25 with 12 turnovers.

7:03 remaining: Siena 20, WSU 15. WSU has no clue how to attack the press. The Shockers go to fast when they should be patient and too slow when they should attack. Of course, you don’t look good against any defense with 10 turnovers and 7-of-20 shooting.

11:53 remaining: Siena 11, WSU 9. WSU went up 9-6, then gave up five straight. Siena’s presses and traps took WSU out of its offense. The Shockers need to figure out how to break it and score.

15:05 remaining: Siena 6, WSU 4. Ugh. Eight turnovers between the two teams. WSU is 2 for 7, including a missed layup by Hawkins.

Siena staters - Rossiter, Ubiles, Moore, Hasbrouck, Franklin. WSU – Hannah, Clemente, Murry, Hawkins, Stutz.

This game should be a good look into how WSU might do against the top of MVC (whatever that turns out to be). Siena is experienced and, from what I saw Thursday, has two very good guards (Kenny Hasbrouck and Ronald Moore) and two very good small forwards (Alex Franklin and Edwin Ubiles. Center Ryan Rossiter, who didn’t appear to do much against Tennessee, only had a double-double. Franklin, in particular, really sparked the Saints in the second half when they made a run. He is very good at scoring inside. WSU will focus a lot of defense on Hasbrouck. I would guess Toure Murry will start on him and that is a big test for a freshman. David Kyles will also get a shot.

The Saints will not overmatch WSU with height or athletic ability, so it is a fair test from that point. WSU’s shooting problem need to get fixed soon. I would expect WSU to try to get Garrett Stutz going immediately. He will have a size advantage. WSU is shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from three (not to mention 66.7 percent from the line). Those numbers need to come up soon. Guard Clevin Hannah must navigate Siena’s pressure defense and keep WSU under control.

FInal: Georgetown 58, WSU 50.

9.0 remaining: G’town 58, WSU 49.

6:10 remaining: G’town 43, WSU 42. If nothing else comes of this effort, the Shockers can take hear in not backing down at all to a bigger, stronger team. Their wllingness to throw their bodies around and rebound is helping keep it close. Murry, with three fouls, is back in. He could be the guy to give WSU a few points it desperately needs. Monroe is scoreless this half, which must change for the Hoyas to win.

7:15 remaining: G’town 43, WSU 40. The Shockers blew two possessions with a chance to tie or take the lead down 40-38. Two turnovers gave the Hoyas a chance to go up five.

11:45 remaining: G’town 38, WSU 30. WSU is out-rebounding the bigger Hoyas 30-26. If the Shockers could get a couple putbacks they would be better off.

15:43 remaining: G’town 34, WSU 24. The Shockers don’t have an offensive option that works. The Hoyas are too big to score against inside. There are not many open looks on the perimeter. WSU is 1 for 8 in the half.

Halftime: G’town 26, WSU 22. WSU’s David Kyles scores his team’s final six points of the half – a three-point play and a deep three in the final seconds. WSU has to be thrilled. It shot 25.8 percent and committed eight turnovers. Yet, it is right there at halftime. G’town missed 8 of 9 threes and committed eight turnovers. It is very difficult for WSU to score. Marshall keeps yelling “move, move” but it doesn’t seem like there is anywhere to go. The Hoyas are big and physical and they seem to take up a bunch of space. Not many easy shots out there. Kyles leads WSU with 6 points. Ellis, Hannah, Durley and Chamberlain all have three. Monroe leads the Hoyas with 11 points. Freeman has 10.

3:59 remaining: G’town 21, WSU 15. Monroe is as good as advertised. He just picked up his second foul, which is a plus for WSU. This has got to be great experience for the Shocker big men to play against him. WSU obviously needs a score or two here to keep it close at the half. They have played hard to get to this point. 

7:45 remaining: G’town 14, WSU 10. Aaron Ellis makes his first basket of the season – a three – to get WSU within four. G’town is 0 for 6 from three (it was 11 of 44 entering the game). WSU’s press and changing defenses seem to have thrown the Hoyas off a bit.

8:20 remaining: G’town 12, WSU 7. Neither team is shooting well. WSU would like the Hoyas to keep firing away from outside. WSU’s shots are bouncing around the rim and falling off.

11:29 remaining: G’town 10, WSU 5. Shockers survive and got some good minutes from the bench. They missed some shots in the lane – I won’t call them easy because of G’town’s height – that could have made it closer. The reserves hustled and took care of the ball, which is a good sign. Starters are back in for WSU, which is 2 of 13 from the field with five turnovers. Austin Freeman has eight of G’town’s points.

15:16 remaining first half: G’town 9, WSU 3. Rotten start for WSU. Turnovers. Bad shots. WSU coach Gregg Marshall pulled his five starters with 16:24 to play. Reggie Chamberlain hit a three to get the Shockers on the scoreboard. G’town is shooting layups and dunks after turnovers.

WSU starters – Stutz, Murry, Hannah, Hawksin, Clemente. G’town - Sapp, Summers, Wright, Monroe, Freeman.

Tennessee hammered Siena 78-64 in the first game, one the Vols controlled most of the way. The Vols are a lot better than they were in 2006, when WSU defeated them in the NCAA Tournament. They are deep, long and athletic. They made Siena look bad at times, but I would not expect the Saints to play that way twice in a row.

Shocker practice update:

WSU practiced for about an hour Wednesday morning. It looked uneventful, other than some slipperiness in the lane at one end of the Milk House court. WSU practiced halfcourt most of the session. Workers tried to fix the area by sanding it. We will see if the problem pops up Thursday.

• Clevin Hannah will return to his spot as starting point guard against Georgetown. Coach Gregg Marshall liked what he saw during the second half of Monday’s win over Centenary. Graham Hatch will come off the bench. Toure Murry returns to shooting guard.

“He kind of ignited us with his defense and transition,” Marshall said. “That was some of the best basketball we’ve played.”

• The Milk House is a nice arena on the campus of Disney’s Wide World of Sports. All chairbacks. It probably seats around 5,000. It reminds me of the convention center that WSU played in when it played in Las Vegas in 2006-07. Michigan State fans are expected to dominate the crowd. Organizers expect the evening sessions to attract close to capacity crowds. The morning sessions, when WSU plays, are expected to draw around 2,000 or so.

WSU center Garrett Stutz made himself the story of Monday’s win over Centenary with 22 points in what has to be one of the best first-start performances in WSU history. Here is a look at some Shockers in their first starts:

• Dave Stallworth – 18 points, 12 rebounds vs. Marquette on Feb. 2, 1962. It is hard to beat that one. Coach Ralph Miller used Stallworth for the second semester of the 1961-62 season (when he became eligible). That decision, of course, came back to haunt WSU in 1964-65, when Stallworth ran out of eligibility after the first semester. WSU played in the Final Four, without its star.
• Cliff Levingston – 9 points vs. Northern Michigan on Nov. 30, 1979. Cliff and AC started the opener as freshmen.
• Antoine Carr – 19 points vs. Northern Michigan on Nov. 30, 1979.
• Xavier McDaniel – 17 points vs. West Texas State on Jan. 21, 1982. McDaniel did not make his first start until well into his freshman season.
• Aubrey Sherrod – 14 points vs. Abilene Christian on Nov. 27, 1981. Sherrod started WSU’s opener as a freshman.
• Cheese Johnson – 15 points vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 1, 1975. Cheese also started from the gun as a freshman.
• Randy Burns – 15 points vs. Radford on Nov. 17, 2001. Burns did not start the opener. He started the second game and almost every one after that.
• Paul Miller - 16 points vs. Lamar on Dec. 18, 2002. Miller, who redshirted the previous season, came off the bench for the first six games of the 2002-003 season.
• I’m not sure when Cleo Littleton started his first game. WSU does not have boxes or scorebooks from the 1951-52 season (they are probably in Ed Lomax’s basement). Since Littleton averaged 18.5 points as a freshman, it is probably safe to guess he started the opener against Colorado (or shortly after) and scored a lot of points. Maurice Evans scored just three points in his first start.

Some teams practice today here in Orlando. Some do not. Most of them are closed, so I don’t think today is going to be especially interesting.

If you read the Washington Post’s coverage of Georgetown, you will find coach John Thompson III talking about shot selection and patience, much like WSU coach Gregg Marshall. Both coaches are working with inexperienced backcourts, which no doubt contributes to the problems. No. 21 Georgetown is 2-0 with wins over Drexel and Jacksonville. Hoyas center freshman Greg Monroe is off to a great start. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla describes him as a good passer who is a perfect fit for Georgetown’s “equal opportunity” Princeton offense.

Around the MVC:

• Illinois State is 4-0 on the road. More impressive is its outside shooting.
• An injury to Nick Evans means SIU’s Anthony Booker needs to step up. Booker was the MVC’s highest-ranked recruit.
• Creighton played soft in its loss at Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans outrebounded the Jays 25-9 in the second half. UALR is better than its name. The Trojans won 20 last season and return most of that bunch. Regardless, Creighton is expected to lead the MVC this season and losing this one doesn’t look good. It is too early to descend into “one bid” desperation. A lot of things can happen in the MVC and in other conferences. Losses like this one, however, may cost the MVC in March.
• Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna is unhappy with his team’s defense.

WSU practiced late Sunday afternoon before Monday’s game against Centenary. The Gents, who bused to Wichita from Louisiana after Friday’s game in Baton Rouge, practiced after WSU. The Gents sound similar to UMKC, which could be good news if the Shockers can correct mistakes from Wednesday and make a few free throws.

• The only change in the starting lineup contemplated is Garrett Stutz for J.T. Durley. WSU coach Gregg Marshall won’t decide until Monday afternoon. Centenary could be another defensive challenge for WSU’s big men. It looks as if they will again be forced to guard smaller players. The Gents start four guards and their only player taller than 6-foot-8 rarely plays. Guards Nick Stallings and Chase Adams are the leading scorers. They both shoot the three well and get to the line – much like UMKC’s Dane Brumagin and Reggie Hamilton.
• Mantas Griskenas returned to full practice duty this weekend. He could play Monday, although he is not 100 percent.