Box scores can be misleading.

Anyone who just looked at the box score in Wichita State’s 69-50 win over the Howard Bison would think that the Shockers played well.

But Gregg Marshall’s frustrated demeanor at the podium told a much different narrative. 

“I’m not crazy with how we played, but well enough to move to 4-0 so we’ll continue to get back in the practice facility and figure out ways to get better tomorrow,” Marshall said.

Howard played a 2-3 zone defense and it took the Shockers out of their rhythm for much of the game. Instead of trying to work the ball inside the post, they passed the ball around the perimeter looking for an open three-pointer.

“When you attack a zone you have to get the ball inside and I simply have not done a good job, undoubtedly, of getting our guys to understand that,” Marshall said. “They have to move, cut screen and probe the defense by getting inside off the dribble or off the pass and we were not very good at doing that.”

The Shockers held Howard scoreless during the final seven minutes of the first half, going on a 21-0 run to bust the game open 37-14, thanks to their bench.

Howard never threatened from that point on, but Marshall took exception to his team’s lackadaisical approach to the second half and let them know about it after the game.

“Don’t get a false sense of security about how good you are. There are a lot of teams coming in here and on the road that we are going to face on that level,” Marshall said.

“Generally if it hasn’t been VCU we haven’t played to the level that we’re going to be very successful.”

Not much was going right for Howard coming into Charles Koch Arena—five of its players did not dress for the game, including its best player. They suffered a loss against Lincoln University, a Division II school, and a 30-point loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

After a 53-51 win at VCU on Nov. 13 and a 79-63 win over Western Carolina on Nov. 15, the Shockers felt like they didn’t have the right attitude against a struggling Howard team and they need to work on not playing down to the competition.

“(Marshall) just wanted us to be more humble, letting us know that we haven’t played anybody tremendously good,” guard Demetric Williams said. “So he wanted us to be more humble and be hungry everyday and let us know we still have a lot more teams that are a lot better than the ones we just played.”

The Shockers will be in Mexico to play the final two games of the Cancun Challenge. Starting guard Evan Wessel said the trip can give the chance for the team to find some cohesiveness.

“It’s still a business trip and it gives us a chance to get our minds focused back to where they should be and the way we should be playing. And go into the tournament with a great outlook and hopefully get two wins,” he said.