Monthly Archives: January 2009

Drake at Wichita State

Jan. 31, 20093:25 p.m.

Final: WSU 63, DU 47. Four in a row at home. Old-timers would say this is how the Drake-WSU relationship is supposed to look. Since WSU has no old-timers on the roster, the Shockers will enjoy it as a win over the defending MVC champs. Gregg Marshall gets his biggest margin of victory in a Valley game.

1:21 remaining: WSU 59, DU 45. Lot at stake here. Marshall’s biggest margin of victory in an MVC game is 14 points. Drake’s lowest points total of the season is 44.

3:43 remaining: WSU 51, DU 36. WSU is in good shape if it can break Drake’s press and handle the ball enough to run clock. Drake has nine team fouls. WSU is 6 of 14 from the line, so you be the judge of how much of an edge that will be.

5:07 remaining: WSU 51, DU 34. Drake is 4 of 22 from three. Its season low in points is 44 against Missouri State.

6:45 remaining: WSU 46, DU 32.

7:10 remaining: WSU 46, DU 30. Two turnovers in three possessions for WSU. In between a quick shot that missed by Chamberlain. Drake, however, can do nothing with it. Its offense is in a terrible funk. Parker has 11 points. Cox has six. Nobody else more than four. The swings in the MVC are amazing this season. Drake won at Creighton a week ago and scored 74 points.

11:16 remaining: WSU 42, DU 27. Two things can ruin this for WSU – turnovers and fouls. Drake is going to drive and try to draw fouls because that’s the best way it can get back in the game. WSU has six fouls. Drake has four. Too many silly fouls will hurt.

15:16 remaining: WSU 41, DU 23. Durley with a rebound and dunk. Drake is 8 of 28 from the field. The Bulldogs have no inside threat and can’t get outside shots to fall. Nice defensive effort by WSU. Murry is hounding Young, who is 2 of 11 and 0 for 5 from three. Cox is 1 of 5 and 1 of 3. If those two don’t score, Drake has no chance.

17:00 remaining: WSU 39, DU 23. Murry with five straight points and the Shockers are off to a good start. Foul trouble could be an issue. Ellis, Hannah, Hawkins, Stutz and Durley all have two.

Halftime: WSU 32, DU 21. A 13-3 run sends WSU in the locker room with a lot of momentum. The first half was pretty boring until WSU started hitting threes. Drake seemed to panic a bit and took some quick shots, which only helped the Shockers get on the break and get open shots. WSU got good minutes from Reggie Chamberlain in place of Hannah at point guard. He has six points and looked comfortable handling the ball – he has one turnover and handled some tough spots late in the shot clock. Murry has eight points. Hawkins has four assists. He has made some good decisions to get the ball inside against Drake’s zone. Garrett Stutz tipped in a miss in the final seconds. Drake’s Josh Young is 2 of 10.

3:33 remaining: WSU 21, DU 18. WSU is 0 for 4 from the line. Drake is 3 of 8. Let’s hope the youngsters at home are not taking notes.

7:43 remaining: WSU 17, DU 17. Two turnovers for WSU, which is a much better pace than at Drake. The Shockers are up 11-8 on the boards. Josh Parker has six for Drake. Durley has four for WSU.

11:44 remaining: DU 13, WSU 12. Hannah has two fouls, which could turn into a problem. DU super-sub John Michael Hall is in. He scored 10 points in the game at Drake.

15:35 remaining: WSU 8, DU 5. Hannah is 7 of 8 on threes against Drake this season. Watch WSU’s inbound plays. The Shockers had a devil of a time inbounding at Des Moines. They put in two new plays Friday to get past that problem.

DU starters - Stanley, Young, Parker, Cox, Templeton. WSU – Hannah, Clemente, Durley, Hawkins, Murry.

Coaches are wearing sneakers for Coaches vs. Cancer Weekend. The refs are blowing pink whistles.

Welcome to spring in Wichita. Bob Lutz is wearing shorts and flip-flops to cover the game. Baseball practice starts tomorrow. It’s probably 25 degrees in Des Moines and 15 in Cedar Falls.

Is it too dramatic to say this three-game stretch (Drake, at Indiana State, at Evansville) decides the direction of WSU’s season? I don’t think so. If the Shockers want to crawl out of seventh place, they need to pull other teams down. Drake and Evansville are prime candidates. If they want to avoid finishing last, they need to keep Indiana State there. If they want to avoid finishing seventh or lower, they need to win some road games. Indiana State and Evansville are places WSU can win.

A 2-1 or 3-0 stretch keeps WSU afloat to escape the play-in round at 6-7 or 5-8 with five MVC games remaining. Anything less than that makes it difficult. A good stretch also keeps WSU in the realm of finishing .500 or better overall.

Bryce Mayes, a senior guard from Oxford, is watching today’s game. He scored 50 points against Elk Valley earlier this season.

Speaking of baseball, here is a story about WSU signee Preston Springer, a first baseman at Odessa (Texas).

Around the Valley

  • Northern Iowa defeats Indiana State today in Terre Haute. No Larry Bird. No Carl Nicks on 1979 Sycamores reunion day. Isn’t it time to update some of the commercials on MVC broadcasts. When we’re watching Evansville play in sleeves and Indiana State’s Nate Green score on WSU’s Troy Mack, it’s time to freshen up that video a little.
  • The miracles are not going Drake’s way this season.
  • Creighton’s P’Allen Stinnett may be injured and out for Sunday’s game against Missouri State. That is a game he can afford to miss.
  • Bryan Mullins. Somebody who knows his basketball said he would pick Mullins first in an MVC draft.
  • P.J. Couisnard has 13 points in Soproni’s 98-75 win on Saturday. Manny Dies had 15 points and nine rebounds.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Trivia for Drake tickets

Jan. 30, 20094:43 p.m.

We have a winner. Terry Benton, with an average of 12.7 rebounds over his career, is WSU’s leader. Robert Elmore (12.4) is second, followed by Xavier McDaniel (11.6). Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Trivia | Comments (2)

Bradley: Day after

Jan. 29, 20096:20 p.m.
  • WSU is going to struggle with offensive issues in many games, which is why it is incumbent upon defense to provide some easy baskets. In WSU’s three straight wins (all at home) the Shockers scored 17, 21 and 21 points off turnovers. At Bradley, it scored nine. It’s not just turnovers that can create easy shots. So can bad shots. WSU’s half-court offense struggles against good defensive teams, so anything the Shockers can do to avoid that matchup helps.
  • Graham Hatch hasn’t made a three since the SIU game on Jan. 7. It is a credit to him he is doing enough other things to stay in the rotation. He has only taken four, which either reveals a lack of confidence or a strong sense that he needs to pick his spots.
  • On the positive side, WSU is getting to the line more often than its opponents. That was a big problem earlier this season. Against Evansville, WSU scored six more points at the line. Against Bradley, it was two more.
  • Evansville beat Drake tonight. The Bulldogs will come to Wichita with one less day of rest than the Shockers.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Wichita State at Bradley

Jan. 28, 20096:38 p.m.

Final: BU 65, WSU 50:Not the followup effort you would have liked from WSU. I would give most of the credit to BU. When the Braves played D hard, they were very tough. Marshall not happy with Roberts’ three at the buzzer.

2:14 remaining: BU 62, WSU 46. As we saw in WSU’s three home games, the visiting bench often doesn’t play as well on the road. WSU’s depth was a plus in those three wins. Tonight, WSU reserves are 0 for 6 from the field with two points on free throws by Hatch.

3:52 remaining: BU 58, WSU 44. Wilson’s tip dunk is a show-stopper.

7:20 remaining: BU 51, WSU 40. WSU can’t get enough shots to fall to get any energy going. BU’s defense gets a lot of the credit. David Collins is much more of a defensive force tonight than he was in Wichita.

11:26 remaining: BU 45, WSU 36. When Braves turn up their defense, WSU is in a bad position. Especially when freshmen are handling the ball. WSU has five turnovers this half.

12:54 remaining: BU 43, WSU 36. Durley’s been a much improved defender in recent weeks. But he just made a bad play and heard about it from Marshall. He gambled to steal a pass and missed, allowing Sam Singh a layup. Singh’s not much of a scorer, so Durley was better off to let him catch it. WSU had to call timeout with the momentum going Bradley’s way. WSU is 11 of 32 from the field, 2 of 7 from three. BU is out-rebounding the Shockers 24-17.

15:46 remaining: BU 34, WSU 33. WSU can tie with a free throw by Hawkins.

Halftime: BU 30, WSU 25. Shockers fortunate to be that close after a bad shooting half. They would feel better had Hannah made his free throws with 6.6 seconds to play. Could be worse. Could be better. WSU is 7 of 25 from the field. Murry 1-7, Ellis 0-3, Hawkins 1-4, Durley 1-4. BU is up in rebounds 19-15.

3:33 remaining: BU 26, WSU 18. WSU has missed nine straight shots. Its only points since Hannah’s three-point play are from the line. BU’s quickness is taking over on defense. The Shockers can’t get an open shot and every pass is a dangerous one.

7:41 remaining: BU 18, WSU 15. WSU is scoreless since Hannah’s three-point play with 13:35 remaining. Three turnovers in that span.

10:14 remaining: BU 17, WSU 15. BU picked up its pressure with Reggie Chamberlain at point and that’s a bad combination for WSU. Hannah will check back in.

15:53 remaining: WSU 8, BU 5. WSU shows no respect for BU’s interior defense. The Shockers are throwing the ball inside for layups. If you remember the first meeting, WSU’s Garrett Stutz scored easily against David Collins early and Collins sat most of the game.

WSU starters - Durley, Hawkins, Hannah, Murry, Clemente. BU - Norris, McCain, Dunson, Collins, Wilson.

Bradley is wearing its throwback uniforms from the 1985-86 season again tonight. The Braves went 16-0 in the MVC that season with coach Jim Les as captain.

Peoria is my favorite trip. I like staying downtown, at an old hotel (Pere Marquette) where Oscar Robertson probably stayed when the Bearcats used to come to town and play at Robertson Field House. Now, you can walk to the game at Carver Arena. You can walk across the street to Hoop’s to get a slice of pizza. The crowd is always good. I spend more time in some cities than other. For example I don’t always spend the night in Omaha, Des Moines or Springfield So this isn’t a scientific recommendation. My advice to any WSU fan contemplating a road trip is that Bradley should be on the top of your list.

Plus, it’s Associated Bank ice-scraper night at Carver Arena.

WSU has won four of its past six games in Peoria, which is the best run the Shockers have ever had in this city. BU is 47-15 against WSU at home, including 18-8 at Carver. Can WSU win again? The most important thing would be to continue to play hard, as the Shockers have for three straight games. Winning would be nice, as well as unexpected. Bradley is in the MVC race at 6-3, but has lost three of its past five games. The race really heats up when the Braves play Illinois State on Saturday and Northern Iowa next week. Can WSU catch BU looking ahead?

Around the Valley

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Q&A with Dave Reynolds of the Peoria Journal-Star

Jan. 28, 20099:26 a.m.

Since taking over the beat in 1990-91, Dave Reynolds has covered 569 straight Bradley games, 146 of them last March and April in the College Basketball Invitational. My streak is 117.

Q: What is behind Bradley’s recent changes to the starting lineup?

A: After a poor start at Southern Illinois, Jim Les decided the Braves
needed to develop a stronger defensive mindset at the beginning of the
game. So Dodie Dunson and Darian Norris replaced Chris Roberts and Sam
Maniscalco. The results were excellent. BU opened the Northern Iowa game
with a 13-2 burst and started the Indiana State game by forcing five
turnovers in the first six minutes. And Maniscalco has been an offensive
spark off the bench, averaging 13.5 points in the two games.

Q: Out of necessity, Jim Les remade the Braves from a three-point
shooting team to a driving team. How did he do it so quickly?

A: When Bradley didn’t have Andrew Warren available from the start, it
became apparent that the strength of the team was more driving to the
basket than shooting threes. It almost helped not having him at all because
it gave a new team a chance to find its own way. Jim did a good job
recognizing that as the non-conference season wore on and began to
de-emphasize the three and promote the players’ strengths.
As with most everything, a balance is usually best and the Braves’ best
games have come when they have knocked down enough threes to keep the
defense honest. But it’s pretty clear they don’t have the knockdown
shooters of a year ago with Warren out and the graduations of Jeremy
Crouch and Daniel Ruffin.

Q: At the halfway point, pick your MVC Player of the Year. Did Drake’s
Adam Emmenecker ruin it for every good player not on the championship
team?

A: He may have although if Northern Iowa continues its pace, I’d be
hard-pressed to pick one guy off that team who is as critical as
Emmenecker was for Drake. Kwadzo Ahelegbe would be the closest and may
well become the POY although I’m sure Osiris Eldridge, Josh Young,
Theron Wilson, Bryan Mullins and Shy Ely may have something to say about
that before it’s all said and done.

Q: When Bradley wears its 1985-86 throwback jerseys, do you wear your
Miami Vice jacket or your button-down Oxford cloth shirt with penny
loafers?

A: I was never that cool in the ’80s when I was kind of young so I’m not
going to pretend to be cool when I’m pretty old. Some might say, though,
the sweater I wore that night was kind of like those worn by Nolan
Richardson in the ’80s. Without the polka dots.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball, MVC media | Comments (0)

Evansville: Day after

Jan. 26, 20094:08 p.m.
  • Since the MVC went to the 10-team tournament in 1997, only one 9-9 team (Bradley in 1998) has had to play in the play-in round. Seven 8-10 teams have, including two (Missouri State and Indiana State) last season. WSU’s goal is to finish in the top six and avoid the Thursday game. Read More »
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Evansville at Wichita State

Jan. 25, 20091:30 p.m.

Final: WSU 51, UE 50. Murry with a three with 8.3 seconds to play. That play was going nowhere. Murry rescued it, with help by Ramon Clemente’s screen. I don’t think that will be the last game-winner we see from Murry. Gregg Marshall called it a pivotal win and he is right on target. WSU has a chance to climb out of the bottom four. Crushing loss for the Aces, who played very well on defense. They were much more impressive than I expected. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (2)

Illinois State: Day after

Jan. 22, 200911:09 a.m.
  • When I watched the second half on TV, I got a better picture of how WSU’s defense worked in the second half. The Shockers did a great job of pushing Illinois State’s guards past the three-point line. Read More »
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Illinois State at Wichita State

Jan. 21, 20096:42 p.m.

FInal: WSU 64, ISU 58. Creighton was no fluke. Big win for the Shockers. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (1)

Q&A with Jim Benson of the Pantagraph

Jan. 20, 20092:45 p.m.

Jim Benson covers Illinois State for the Bloomington-Normal Pantagraph, which means he has a heated rivalry with Dave Reynolds of the Peoria Journal-Star. One is Donewald and one is Versace, although I’m not sure who is who. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball, MVC media | Comments (0)