Shockers stumble with pair of losses
By Aaron Beard RALEIGH, N.C. » Wichita State has hit its first bump in its new American Athletic Conference home. Coach Gregg Marshall now gets a chance to see how his seventh-ranked Shockers handle it.
The Shockers were one of five AP Top 25 teams to lose twice this week, joining No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 8 Texas Tech as top-10 teams in that group. First came an 83-78 home loss to SMU on Wednesday — snapping a 27-game home winning streak and giving Wichita its first lost in AAC play — followed by Saturday’s 73-59 loss at Houston.
This is part of the Shockers’ first go-around through the American after moving from their 72-year home in the Missouri Valley Conference, where they won four straight regular-season titles with a 68-4 record from 2013-17.
Wichita State (15-4, 5-2) had not lost consecutive conference games since the 2012-13 season before this week.
The problems hit both sides of the court. SMU shot nearly 64 percent in its win. Against Houston, though, Wichita State’s most glaring troubles came in a 33-percent, 18-turnover offensive showing.
Wichita State had won its first four AAC games by double-figure margins, but things have been tougher starting with a 72-69 win at Tulsa on Jan. 13.
“We have to work on everything,” Marshall said after the Houston loss, adding: “I have to coach better. We have to play better.” sixth-ranked West Virginia 71-66 on the road.