Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Wichita State Shockers won easily 85-71 over the Tennessee State Tigers in a game that Tennessee State never really stood a chance. Wichita State is now 4-0 in the 2013-14 season and don’t look like losing to many of the teams on their weak schedule. However, there are two teams on their non-conference schedule that should worry the Shockers after their game against Tennessee State.
The Shockers face two strong SEC opponents, the Tennessee Volunteers and Alabama Crimson Tide, in December. Both teams have already picked up a disappointing loss this season, but should continue to get better due to the experience and talent on both rosters.
Wichita State let Tennessee State senior guard Patrick Miller score 23 points going 9-of-20 shooting. For a team that went to the Final Four last year mostly due to strong defense, that’s an extremely worrying stat. On top of that, the Volunteers and Crimson Tide have two of the best senior guards in all of college basketball, Jordan McRae and Trevor Releford, who are a lot better players than Miller. If the Shockers play the same lackadaisical defense on McRae or Releford that they played on Miller, they could devastate this Shockers’ team from all over the court.
If Wichita State can make it past these two teams, then I’m not sure there is any team on their schedule that can beat them. However, the Shockers cannot get complacent because of the ease at which they beat teams like Tennessee State or a small lapse in concentration could lose the opportunity to go to the 2014 NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
Taylor Sturm is an SEC Basketball Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS or add him to your network on Google.
