A lot was expected of Wichita State entering the 2014-15 college basketball season. Fresh off of a season where they went undefeated throughout the regular season and ran through the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, the Shockers were projected as a top-10 team and a potential No. 2 seed for the 2015 NCAA tournament.
Despite losing their best all-around player to the NBA in Cleanthony Early, Wichita State returned the Missouri Valley Player of the Year Fred VanVleet, their sharpshooter that expanded his game last season, Ron Baker, and one of the best defensive guards in the country, Tekele Cotton.
Things appeared to be easier for the Shockers even without Early with those three still around and had some even saying that the Shockers could possibly go undefeated throughout the regular season once again.
That hasn’t happened, though. While still a very good team, the Shockers are no longer the underdog, rather, they are now the hunted. Wichita State put together a schedule that would challenge them, make them compete every night and develop their players.
The result of this is two losses. Neither of them can be considered bad losses (a true road loss in overtime at nationally ranked Utah and a neutral-court loss to a good George Washington team on Christmas Day), but they are losses nonetheless.
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If anything, it’s proven that the Shockers are mortal and that they are capable of losing, something few thought possible at the start of the season.
Now that Wichita State is no longer has the burden by that undefeated record, they are able to focus on being a better team and getting back to the NCAA tournament.
They already have a solid resume, but the Missouri Valley Conference schedule now holds one challenge that the Shockers will have to be wary of: the Northern Iowa Panthers.
Entering January, UNI sits with an 11-1 record over Stephen F. Austin (road), Richmond (home) and Iowa (neutral). Their lone loss came on the road against VCU in double overtime. The Panthers aren’t blowing opponents out, though.
Their highest margin of victory is 19 points, which occurred twice against Virginia Tech and Northwestern. No, UNI is using a combination of length and scoring balance to win games.
The Panthers haven’t been flashy, but they’ve been consistent and relentless. They bring constant effort and energy to the floor and has held eight of their first 12 opponents to 55 points or less, giving up an average of 58 points per game, which ranks 29th in the country.
Their 11-1 record is the third-best one-loss start in program history. The last time they began a season like this was during the 2009-10 season, the same season UNI upset Kansas in the NCAA tournament on their way to the Sweet 16.
One of the main keys to Northern Iowa’s success has been their ability to score in the paint. Through their first 12 games, the Panthers have scored more points in the paint than 10 of their opponents, tying in the total in one game and losing to VCU by two in another.
This is highlighted by Seth Tuttle, the team’s leader in points (14.0) and rebounds (6.2). Tuttle also leads the team in assists at 3.3 per game. He does it all without being the most talented player on the floor. He’s gifted in terms of basketball IQ and court vision. A solid passer and a patient player on offense, Tuttle’s been doing it all for the Panthers.
However, he’s not doing it alone, as a lot of the offensive output has been coming from the bench. Of the team’s top six scorers, three of them come off the bench, highlighted by Wes Washpun, who averages 11.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Washpun, a Tennessee transfer, brings energy and physicality to the backcourt.
Northern Iowa has something going, and it may just be the team that puts Wichita State on the edge. The Missouri Valley has been looking for a team to challenge the Shockers since Creighton ventured off to the Big East, and the Panthers may just be that team.
The Panthers and Shockers don’t go head-to-head until Jan. 31 in Cedar Falls, but a lot is going to be made of that game.
One thing that’s plagued Wichita State so far this season has been the ability to consistently hit outside shots. This can be an emerging problem since the inside play of the Shockers is one of the questions surrounding this team. Wichita State is shooting 36 percent from three-point range, which isn’t terrible, but it could definitely be better.
One of UNI’s biggest assets on defense is that they force opponents to hit outside shots. They sag off on defense in order to keep opponents out of the paint, highlighted by their edge in points in the paint. UNI is holding opponents to a tad over 30 percent from the three-point line.
Not hitting shots from the outside hinders the rest of your offense going against the Panthers.
Wichita State is still a good team, but they’re not the team they were last year. This has been proven already this year since they have already lost twice. Northern Iowa may be the only team in the Missouri Valley can can exploit the flaws of the Shockers. They certainly have personnel and the playing style to pull off the victory, if not two victories.
Wichita State is well aware they are the hunted, and Northern Iowa would like nothing more than to be the first conference team to beat the Shockers in two years to pull off the win.
Northern Iowa has used great depth, length and defense to get off to their very nice start, earning themselves the first rankings in the national polls since 2010. They’ll have to continue this play to get the Shocker monkey off their back, but they certainly have what it takes to get it done. They have the nation’s attention, now it’s time to capitalize on it.