It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It’s Super Bowl weekend for fans across the country.
But all possible distractions aren’t letting Wichita State forget about the task at hand.
“We’re trying to stay away from all that chaos,” coach Paul Mills said Friday. “No disrespect to Mardi Gras. No disrespect to the Super Bowl. But we have a job at one o’clock that we need to make sure we show up for.”
The Shockers (14-9, 6-4 American) travel to the Big Easy Sunday for a matchup with Tulane (13-9, 4-5) at 1 p.m. on ESPN+. And with eight games left in the regular season, Wichita State can move into second place in the conference standings with a win.
The loss to DePaul was a turning point. A rather poor night at the foul line, plus some not-so-great things said on social media, taught them all about what it means to block out noise. Words from an NBA player and former Shocker were a reminder.
“I go back to what Craig Porter (Jr.) told me,” Mills said. “Do not engage in social media. Encourage your players, encourage your staff not to do it. You realize that these people that are saying these things, they’re not your fanbase. They’re the fringe.”
Certainly, the Shockers can use that lesson against the Green Wave.
They can’t get distracted by Tulane’s five-out approach on offense that stretches defenses and allows players like Rowan Brumbaugh, the American Conference Preseason Player of the Year, or Asher Woods to get downhill and coerce trips to the foul line or kick it to spot-up 3-point shooters. Not to mention when center Tyler Ringgold steps out on the perimeter and creates gaps for cutters.
It’s an offensive style Wichita State hasn’t seen yet in the conference, and one that can’t be overlooked.
The Shockers, however, are coming off one of their best defensive performances in league play. They held Charlotte to 64 points, a season-low for the 49ers against conference foes, and forced them into 20 misses on 30 shot attempts in the second half.
But that kind of pressure hasn’t always translated away from Koch Arena. Wichita State has allowed 87.4 points in road conference matchups, but nobody has scored more than 70 when the Shockers are at home.
“We’ve been good at home. We haven’t been very good on the road,” Mills said. “It’s the old cliché — defense travels. Defense needs to travel. … We need to do a better job defensively, and it starts with Tulane.”
Still, Wichita State can use its performance against the 49ers moving forward.
“We have to use these wins as momentum as much as we can,” senior guard Kenyon Giles said after last Wednesday’s game. “We can’t really believe in momentum, because we have a really good Tulane game coming up. We just really have to get back to work.”
Game info
What: Tulane (13-9, 4-5) vs. Wichita State (14-9, 6-4)
When: Sunday, Feb. 8 at 1 p.m. CT
Where: Avron B. Fogelman Arena (4,100), New Orleans
How to watch: ESPN+, Jack Benjamin (pbp) & Nobal Days (analyst)
How to listen: KEYN (103.7 FM), Mike Kennedy (pbp) & Bob Hull (analyst)
Probable starters
WSU
- Karon Boyd, forward (11.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.2 apg)
- Kenyon Giles, guard (18.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 1.7 apg)
- Dillon Battie, forward (5.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 0.3 apg)
- Mike Gray Jr., guard (9.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.9 apg)
- Emmanuel Okorafor, center (6.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 0.5 apg)
Tulane
- Rowan Brumbaugh, guard (19.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 3.3 apg)
- Asher Woods, guard (12.5 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.0 apg)
- Curtis Williams Jr., guard (13.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.2 apg)
- Luke Rasmussen, forward (3.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.5 apg)
- Tyler Ringgold, center (9.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.3 apg)
*Probable starters information comes from the most recent lineup in the teams’ notes provided before the game.
American Conference standings
- Tulsa: 8-2 (20-3)
- South Florida: 7-3 (15-8)
- Charlotte: 7-3 (13-10)
- Temple: 6-3 (14-8)
- Wichita State: 6-4 (14-9)
- Memphis: 6-4 (11-11)
- Florida Atlantic: 6-5 (14-10)
- UAB: 5-5 (14-9)
- Tulane: 4-5 (13-9)
- Rice: 4-6 (10-13)
- North Texas: 3-7 (12-11)
- East Carolina: 2-7 (7-15)
- UTSA: 0-10 (4-18)
