An astonishing 27-0 run sandwiching halftime was too much for Wichita State men’s basketball to overcome in a blowout loss against the #18 University of Florida.
Wichita State fell to the Gators, 88-51, in the championship game of the ESPN Events Invitational. The 38-point loss is the fifth-worst margin of defeat in program history and the largest loss for the Shockers since the 1993-94 season against Drake.
With the loss, Wichita State dropped to 6-1 overall, while the Gators remained undefeated at 8-0.
The Shockers were never able to find their footing. The team led for only 38 seconds and shot just 30% from the field and 23% from 3-point range. WSU also turned the ball over 10 times, leading to 10 of the Gators’ points.
The 30% mark from the field is the worst WSU has shot in a game since a 2022 loss to the University of Memphis.
Senior guard Harlond Beverly started the scoring with a 3-pointer. After the bucket, Florida went on a 9-0 run as WSU did not score for more than three minutes. Senior guard Xavier Bell ended the drought with a 3-pointer, making the score 9-6, Florida.
The Shockers kept the game close until seven minutes left in the half, when they went on a six-minute scoring drought. In that span, the Gators pushed their lead to double-digits, 37-18, going on a 16-0 run to close the half.
Florida asserted its will throughout the first half, scoring 20 points in the paint compared to Wichita State’s four and out-rebounding Wichita State, 30-18.
Coming out of halftime, Florida continued its scorching hot run by scoring 11 more unanswered points, pushing the lead to 30. Paul Mills called his second timeout of the game with the team trailing, 48-18, and senior center Matej Bošnjak ended Wichita State’s long scoring drought with a jumper at 16 minutes left.
However, the game was out of reach by then, and 28 points was the closest the game would be the rest of the way.
The margin could have been even worse, but the Shockers bench rallied for an 11-0 run to close the game.
Bošnjak and senior guard Xavier Bell were the only Shockers to score double-digit points, while freshman guard Zion Pipkin scored a career-high eight points in garbage time.
Guards Justin Hill, Harlond Beverly and Bijan Cortes combined to shoot 4-22 from the field, a paltry 18%.
The Shockers will try to get back in the win column against Alcorn State University on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tipoff against the Braves is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena.
