The season has been partly unkind to the No. 20 Wichita State Shockers so far. For one, they’ve already lost to an unranked team. But that’s not all. The Shockers are also dealing with injuries to some of their key players, Fred VanVleet in particular. That said, the Shockers will come into the Sunshine State for the Advocare Invitational as among the favorites to win the pocket tournament. Will the Shockers get past their first test in the form of the rolling USC Trojans? Or will the Trojans extend their win streak to five games at the expense of Gregg Marshall’s boys?
Betting on the Wichita State Shockers (2-1, 0-0 MVC)
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]While the Shockers didn’t need Fred VanVleet to beat Division II Emporia State on Saturday, they’ll surely miss the All-American guard’s presence when they go up against far better teams in Orlando. With VanVleet reportedly not going to play in the Advocare Invitational because of a hamstring injury, there’ll be lots on the shoulder of Ron Baker, who’ll assume the point guard position for the meantime.
Sans VanVleet, the Shockers able easily repulsed Emporia State, 76-54, with Baker doing most of the work. Baker led Wichita State with 23 points, improving his season average to 20.3 PPG. Baker was the only Shocker who finished in double-digit scoring with Landry Shamet chipping in just nine points as the team’s second-best scorer un that game. Speaking of Shamet, the freshman guard would also join VanVleet on the Shockers’ injured list, as the freshman guard is also out with a foot injury. Shamet averaged 8.7 PPG in three games played thus far this season.
Baker is going to be a factor every game for Wichita State, but a big question for the team moving forward is if Baker could get enough support from the other Shockers. The injuries to VanVleet and Shamet should be enough to motivate big man Anton Grady to step up and recover from a bad four-point performance against Emporia State. Grady, who is right behind Baker in points with 11.3 PPG, have shown brilliance on offense early this season when he scored 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting in the loss to Tulsa on November 17.
The over is 3-0 in the last three road games of Wichita State, which is averaging 77.0 PPG while allowing 70.0 to opponents. The Shockers
The Trojans played terrific defense on Monday, when they limited CS Northridge to only 34.4 percent shooting from the field in a lopsided 96-61 victory. And with the Matadors throwing one brick after another, USC made sure that it’d do a great job on the boards, as the Trojans collared 57 rebounds as against CS Northridge’s 34.
The Trojans are going to need more of that tenacious defense against Wichita State. The depleted roster of the Shockers should also make USC’s job on the defensive end easier, but the Trojans can’t underestimate a Wichita State team that is currently ranked 29th in KenPom’s offensive efficiency. So far this season, USC is allowing 69.5 PPG while holding opponents to only 35.8% shooting from the floor.
On offense, the Trojans will look to source majority of their offense from their guards. Jordan McLaughlin led the team with 20 points, while Katin Reinhardt rattled off 17 points in 19 minutes of action off the bench against CS Northridge. After being named as part of Pac-12’s All-Freshman team last season, McLaughlin has become the team’s top option on offense, as he currently leads USC in scoring (20.3 PPG) and assists (4.8 APG). Apart from McLaughlin, USC also has three more guards in the top four in its scoring, so expect USC to use their speed to the hilt and push the tempo, considering the lack of body in Wichita State’s backcourt.
