Wichita State men’s basketball made history in Charles Koch Arena on Monday night — but for the wrong reasons.

The University of South Florida (USF) beat the Shockers in front of the WSU crowd for the first time ever, 91-72. Wichita State never led during the game. The Shockers had previously defeated the Bulls all five times they’d played in the Roundhouse.

Throughout the game, the Bulls couldn’t miss from 3-point range, while WSU couldn’t buy a bucket. USF shot 12-26 (46%) from beyond the arc while the Shockers went a miserable 3-20 (15%), their second-lowest 3-point percentage of the season. Wichita State’s season-long 30% mark is a three-point decline from last year and ranks among the bottom 50 teams in the NCAA.

Head coach Paul Mills said throughout the game, Wichita State failed to make the right shot at the right time.

“It comes down to, I mean, 3 for 20 from three,” Mills said. “(And) us getting baited into those kind of shots.”

With the loss, the Shockers dropped to 10-5 on the season and an 0-2 start in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). This is the fourth straight season Wichita State has dropped its first two games in the AAC. Last year, the Shockers lost six consecutive AAC games before finding a win.

Wichita State looked flat from the opening tipoff, starting 3-10 from the floor. The Shockers took shots deep into the shot clock and finished the half on 32% shooting from the field and 14% from deep. 

The Bulls, on the other hand, could not be stopped. They played a much cleaner game as the team made 52% of their shots and 40% of their 3-pointers during the first half while turning the ball over four times compared to the Shockers’ six. USF’s 57% from the floor for the game is a season-high for a WSU opponent.

Two quick fouls from senior guard Xavier Bell sent him to the bench early while USF’s sophomore guard Jayden Reid showed why he’s the team’s top scorer, racking up nine points in the opening four minutes as the away team led, 16-7. 

It took seven minutes of game time and a 13-point deficit for the Shockers to make shots on back-to-back possessions, but USF stopped any momentum with its third triple of the half immediately after. USF drained six shots from deep during the opening period.

In the blink of an eye, the Bulls’ cushion was upped to 15 points. The half was epitomized by a missed dunk from junior forward Corey Washington followed by a USF transition 3-pointer with seven minutes left. 

Wichita State went into the locker room trailing by 18 points, 48-30. The most cheering from the home crowd was during the halftime baby races — when the teams weren’t even on the floor.

“Dig yourself a hole like that, and it’s really hard to overcome, especially in the conference,” Mills said.

Despite every Wichita State player who entered the game ending the half with a negative plus/minus, senior center Quincy Ballard alone was the only saving grace. He led the team with eight points and eight boards, five of which came on the offensive end, converting three of them for second-chance putbacks.

A 7-0 Wichita State run opening the second half cut its deficit to 11 points, its lowest since the first five minutes of the game, and senior guard Harlond Beverly later lowered it to 10, 59-49. 

Then, Washington missed two free throws, and the Bulls paraded on a 9-0 run, upping their lead to 19-points, 68-49. The Shockers spent the remainder of the game attempting to avoid leaving their home court utterly embarrassed by the bullies.

Another 7-0 run by Wichita State cut the Bulls’ lead back to 10, 76-66. USF answered with an 8-0 run of its own, 84-66, putting the nail in the coffin as the away team walked away winning by 19.

Bell said the Bulls pulled away after the second-half runs because of simple mistakes — ones that cost the Shockers their momentum.

“Turnovers, you know, mental lapses,” Bell said. “Taking plays off or not necessarily making checkouts … or not necessarily getting the best shot we can on offense.”

Despite Washington’s late missed free throws and Ballard’s quiet second half performance, Mills said the two were “bright spots” in a smudgy mess of a game.

“You can just look at the box score,” Mills said. “I mean, in the 28 minutes that Q (Ballard) played, we ended up losing by three. In the 34 minutes that Corey played, we only ended up losing by three.”

Bell scored a team-high 19 points on 5-9 shooting, including 1-2 and 8-8 marks from the 3-point and free-throw line, respectively.

Ballard, who led the team in first-half scoring, only put up two shots in the second, ending the game with 13 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. He narrowly missed extending his double-double streak to four games.

Fifth-year guards AJ McGinnis and Justin Hill were the primary culprits of WSU’s shooting woes. McGinnis took all six of his shots from beyond the arc, making just one. He has gone 1-10 from the field thus far in conference play. Hill went 1-7 from 3-point range, his fifth game of the year making only one from deep on five or more attempts.

Despite the sluggish start to conference play, Bell said the team will need to “figure out what we can and rally together.”

“There’s still a lot of season left,” Bell said. “It’s early … this was the first home game of the conference (schedule). But I believe in the crew, I believe in every single person in that locker room.”

Wichita State will look to put its first two conference games in the past on Saturday, Jan. 11, against the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. in Texas.