With 16 minutes left in their Maui Invitational opener against Cal, No. 6 Wichita State - who I, for some reason, touted as potentially the best team in the country not once, but twice in the last week - finally decided to show up to the Lahaina Civic Center.
The Shockers would outscore the Golden Bears 52-24 down the stretch, as their defensive intensity sped Cal up and their size on the interior wore them down. Shaq Morris led the way with 25 points, seven boards and four blocks while Landry Shamet chipped in with 23 points of his own.
Cal’s lead was in large part due to a first half offensive explosion from the diminutive Don Coleman. He scored 26 of his 35 points in the first 20 minutes and his activity in their press helped keep the Shockers from establishing any kind of a rhythm.
But eventually, Gregg Marshall’s club imposed their will.
And in the end, that’s what really matters, right?
Wichita State was dead in the water early in the second half. Shamet was on the bench in foul trouble while Connor Frankamp was firing up 28-footers that never had a chance, even on Maui’s soft rims, and it looked like Wyking Jones was on his way towards getting the first statement win of his tenure. That slowly but surely changed. The Shockers got the ball into the paint, their defense ratcheted up and they do what they normally do: Grind you down to a pulp.
Is it concerning that Wichita State let it get to that point?
Absolutely. Cal is not all that good. They lost their opener to UC Riverside. If they had held on to win this game, there’s an argument to make that it could end up being the most surprising outcome of the season. They should not have been in that spot.
But they were.
And they got out of it with a win.
If I’m Gregg Marshall, I chalk that up to jet lag, tired legs and a team that spent too much time enjoying the islands. Burn the first half tape, show them the second half and get ready for Marquette, who is basically the same team as Cal, only much, much better.
Me?
I’m not quite ready to move off of the idea that Wichita State could be the best team in the country.
I just won’t be saying it publicly for a while.