Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Southern Illinois University
18-6 (7-4MVC)
Wichita St.
17-5 (11-0MVC)
Shockers cruise past Men's Basketball, 76-55
02/03/2016 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
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WICHITA, Kan. - Wichita State used suffocating defense and superior guard play to win its 43rd-straight home game, dismantling Southern Illinois, 76-55, on Wednesday night at sold-out Charles Koch Arena.
The No. 21-ranked Shockers (17-5, 11-0) tightened their grip on first place in the Missouri Valley Conference, building a four-game lead with seven games remaining. Judging by the way they've breezed through the Valley slate so far, the biggest upset would be if the lead doesn't continue to grow.
The Salukis (18-6, 7-4) never led in the game, but they were more competitive than during the first meeting between the teams in Carbondale last month, in which WSU coasted to a 25-point victory. Senior guard Anthony Beane had a hot hand early, scoring SIU's first 10 points and finishing with a game-high 20. He moved into the top five in all-time scoring at SIU, surpassing Darren Brooks, and now has 1,771 career points.
Beane made four of his first five field goal attempts and kept the Salukis in the game until the nine-minute mark of the first half. That's when the Shockers put the pedal down and scored nine unanswered points to build a 29-19 advantage. The run started with a beautiful lob pass from Fred VanVleet to Rashard Kelly for a dunk, followed by a VanVleet 3-pointer, a layup by Anton Grady off a dish from VanVleet, and a pair of VanVleet free throws. In other words, the senior point guard simply took over the game, as he's done throughout a brilliant career.
VanVleet finished with a dozen points, 11 assists and four steals. His stellar performance helped offset a night in which running mate Ron Baker scored only nine points on 2-of-10 shooting.
"These two kids are legacy players," said SIU head coach Barry Hinson. "Twenty years from now we'll still be talking about (VanVleet and Baker)."
Down by just nine at halftime, the wheels came off during the first five minutes of the second half for Southern. SIU committed eight turnovers during a stretch in which the Wichita lead ballooned to 53-34. The Saluki deficit was 20-plus for the last eight minutes of the game and as many as 26. Of the Shockers' 25 field goals, 17 featured assists, as their offense executed with deadly precision. Meanwhile, they held the Salukis to a season-low 30 percent shooting.
"We shared the ball and our defense was phenomenal, especially in the second half," said Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall, who passed Ralph Miller as the winningest coach in school history.
After a hot start, Beane was 2-for-10 from the field the rest of the game. He had a pair of taller defenders hounding his every step.
"We send multiple guys at him," Marshall said. "It used to be Tekele Cotton and Ron Baker, and now it's Markis McDuffie and Zach Brown. We use our athleticism and length to our advantage. You can't stop him, you just try to contain him."
Beane also had five turnovers, as the burden of carrying the team's offense weighed heavily upon the superstar's shoulders.
"I don't do a very good job of subbing Anthony and we wore him down," Hinson acknowledged. "The constant pressure the Shockers put on him wears him down, but I think you have to give it up to their length."
Southern had just seven assists in the game and 22 turnovers -- the most during the Hinson era versus a league opponent. Wichita State took away SIU's No. 2 and No. 3 scorers, holding Sean O'Brien to two points and Leo Vincent scoreless. Combined, they were 1-for-13 from the field.
"We have no margin for error," Hinson said. "You can't have a starter go 1-for-6, turn it over four times with no assists, and have another starter shoot bad and have five turnovers and no assists."
There was good news and bad news for the Salukis in the battle for superiority around the basket. SIU out-rebounded the Shox, 48-31, as center Bola Olaniyan snared a career-high 16 rebounds -- nine coming on the offensive end.
"Bola Olaniyan did a wonderful job on the glass tonight," Marshall said. "I told him after the game, I was very, very impressed with how he competed and his tenacity on the glass."
On the downside, Wichita was the more skilled team in the paint, as big men Shaquille Morris and Anton Grady combined for 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting.
"The emphasis was to go inside, and they got really deep post position," Marshall explained. "(SIU) elected not to double down in the post."
While the Shockers are running away with the league race, a furious battle for second place is developing. Southern Illinois, Evansville, Illinois State and Indiana State are locked in a four-way tie for second in the MVC.
"The game that bothers more than anything and still lingers is the Evansville game," Hinson said. "It's really hurt us, but there's a basketball god out there somewhere that has Saluki in him, because Evansville got beat tonight and we're still in second place."
The Salukis have lost three in a row, but have a chance to make up some ground as they play three of their next four games at home against the bottom three teams in the MVC (Loyola, Bradley and Drake).
