After a week to reflect and learn from their mistakes against Texas Southern, Wichita State’s offense rebounded in a big way against Tennessee-Martin, grounding the Skyhawks 103-62 on Saturday.

The Shockers were dominant in the first half, sinking nine of their first 10 shots. WSU jumped out to a quick 24-4 lead, and at the half, they held a 57-30 advantage.

WSU continued their potent shooting throughout the game, shooting 56.3% from the field and tying a school record with 15 made three-pointers.

“That was a little more fun anyways — better than the last game, which was like a visit to the dentist for a root canal,” Wichita State Head Coach Gregg Marshall said.

WSU had five players reach double figures for the game. The WSU bench was also dominant throughout the game, outscoring the Skyhawks 56-8. 

Freshman Tyson Etienne provided 21 points, a game-high, to go along with five threes.

“We saw it today, the way that we shot the ball,” Etienne said. “Everybody’s knocking down shots. Everybody’s making the next pass. If we play like that and everybody’s doing their job, then there’s going to be a lot of open games like this.”  

After not playing in WSU’s last game, Jamarius Burton made his return to the lineup, adding 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists off the bench. 

One area of Burton’s game that showed some improvement was his jump shot. Last season, Burton shot 26% from beyond the arc. After an offseason working on his shot, Burton has shot 66% through two games this season.

“I’m not trying to get complacent after one game,” Burton said. “Just trying to put in the work and get better.”

Another positive from WSU’s convincing win was the play of center Morris Udeze. Udeze was commanding his first career start, tallying a career-high 14 points.

Even though the sophomore has struggled with foul trouble through the first three games, Marshall has trusted Udeze and said he’s been impressed with his play.

“I thought Udeze was tremendous with his energy and toughness,” Marshall said.

One of the main concerns following the tight win against TSU was the lack of assists and sharing the basketball. 

The Shockers seemed to resolve that issue against the Skyhawks, as they dished 29 total assists on 40 made shots. 

This mentality of sharing the basketball also results in more open looks from beyond the arc. With these better looks, the Shockers were much more effective. Sophomore Erik Stevenson called it a “return to Shocker basketball.”

“We shot the ball well and assisted well,” Stevenson said. “That’s Shocker basketball, and that was the emphasis this week in practice — sharing the ball and getting better looks.”

Marshall said he was happy with the way his team executed, responding to a week of practice.

“We were nowhere close to selfish tonight,” Marshall said. “We were sharing the ball. A couple of times, it was to the detriment of us scoring. We had really good looks and we passed it up and ended up with nothing. There’s a fine line, but we were very close to it tonight. We did a great job.”

Next up, the Shockers will host Gardner-Webb on Tuesday. The game is scheduled to tip-off at 7 p.m.