In the words of Wichita State redshirt freshman Landry Shamet, the Shockers “were just locked in” on Tuesday night.

Gregg Marshall’s team reigned victorious in their return home, edging out Saint Louis University by a 30-point margin, 75-45.  

“There wasn’t really anything that made me or Rashard (Kelly) or Zach (Brown) want to defend hard, we just had that mindset,” Shamet said. “We were on the same page.”

Wichita State started the game on a 13-0 run, ignited by a two-point basket by Darral Willis. Landry Shamet captured the assist.

A three-pointer by junior Daishon Smith made the lead jump to five. Willis added another two-point shot before Saint Louis called their first timeout, trailing 7-0.

Junior Rashard Kelly closed out the first half with a last-minute shot making the score 36-9 at halftime.

“Holding a team to nine points is hard to do, I don’t care who you’re playing,” Marshall said. “We were able to do that, but that team kept fighting. [SLU head coach Travis Ford] is gonna have to coach them to some wins, they’re young and inexperienced.”

The second half began again with Willis scoring on an assist from sophomore forward Markis McDuffie. Saint Louis cut down the margin with back-to-back three-pointers about seven minutes into the second half.

But a 36-point second half effort was not enough to weather the storm that WSU created in the opening half.

A few players noted the lack of energy in the crowd. Junior Zach Brown said the lack of a close contested opponent could be the reasoning.

“I feel like the crowd is getting tired of us winning by 30,” Brown said.

Kelly led scorers with 15 points, a career-high, on 6-of-8 shooting. Willis added 12 points.

“My mentality is to just go out there and win,” Kelly said. “We just try to win every night and every possession. We’re a young team so the more wins we get the better it’ll be for us going in.”

WSU returns to action on neutral court against Oklahoma. The Shockers and Sooners tip at 3 p.m. in Oklahoma City.