WKU Basketball: Tops Crumble in Dayton Lose to Wright State 76–74.
WKU would hit the road and despite leading by more than 8 points three times, the Tops would lose focus in the second half before a…
WKU would hit the road and despite leading by more than 8 points three times, the Tops would lose focus in the second half before a comeback bid came up short in a road loss to preseason Horizon favorite Wright State.
The game started out as well as anyone could have asked for as the Hilltoppers played with intensity and kept feeding Charles Bassey (12 first half points) jumping out to an early 19–10 lead. The Tops would let their foot off the gas as Wright State went on a 8–0 run to take the a 22–21 lead at the 9:19 mark.
WKU would regain their composure and answer with an 8–0 run of their own and gain their largest lead of the game at 34–24 with 4:31 remaining. The Tops would then let up again allowing Wright State to close out the half on a 10–2 as turnovers (8 total in first half) and offensive rebounds by the Raiders let creep back into game. The Hilltoppers would cling to a 36–34 lead heading to the half.
After Wright State quickly tied the game at 36 , WKU would once again build another ten point lead over the next four minutes capped off by a Carson Williams lay-up.
That lead would slowly vanish over the next 7 minutes as Wright State would chip away and WKU’s offense would come off the rails. The Raiders would regain the lead at 60–59 with 8:03 remaining. From there WKU’s offense would continue to crumble as the Hilltoppers fell behind by as much as nine points with 4:44 remaining. The Hilltoppers repeatedly settled for poor jumpers , runners and commited more unforced turnovers, while also letting Wright State control the game.
WKU would rally late as Camron Justice and Charles Bassey would will the Tops back in the game. Both players would hit clutch shots and the Tops defense would finally tighten up as WKU retook the lead 74–73 with 1:36 remaining.
Unfortunetly, Wright State’s Cole Gentry would immediately respond with a layup to retake the lead. Charles Bassey would then get blocked by freshman Grant Basile and then foul him to get the Raider lead up to 2. Taveion Hollingsworth would then miss a non chalant runner and WKU was on the brink. WKU would get a last second stop but Cam Justice would miss a last second layup and WKU would lose to Wright State falling to 6–3 on the season.
Here are some thoughts on tonight’s frustrating defeat:
Wright State is a good team (won’t hurt resume) but there’s no way to spin this one except a bad loss. WKU led by 10 points multiple times and repeatedly let the Raiders back into the game. This team’s lack of a killer instinct continues to show each game.
WKU lost the turnover battle 15–12 which easily reflected in the two point loss. I don’t understand why the problem hasn’t gotten fixed over the past two seasons.
With Wright State’s starting center Louden Love out, WKU was outrebounded 40–35. That is inexcusable with a five star center and sizable guards littering the lineup.
WKU defense went from a strength last year (top 100 in Kenpom) to liability (below 150 in Kenpom), Stansbury’s plan to trade offense for defense hasn’t worked out like he thought it would as offensive inconsistency bleeds over to a poor defense.
Losing Tolu Smith continues to haunt this team. The dropoff when Bassey is out of the game is apparent on both sides. Wright State repeatedly made runs with Bassey on the bench as they have zero inside presence defensively without him.
Carson Williams finally had a semi productive game (8 points, 6 rebounds) but continues to look a step slow out there. With the talk of his high motor going into the season it’s been a big let down seeing him struggle as WKU’s schedule has hardened
I still have no idea what Stansbury is doing with the lineup. He continues to limit WKU defensively with Williams, Justice and Savage all playing at the same time. When they’re not performing each player can turn into a black hole.
This loss might be the deathknell for yet another year of at-large consideration. WKU now has zero margin for error with games against Arkansas, Rhode Island & Belmont still to come. With WKU’s leaky defense and turnover problems, it’s hard to see WKU winning even one of those games at this point. The season may once again come down to three days in Frisco.
All in all sitting at 6–3 is nothing but disappointing at this point. WKU looks like the same team that it was last season with an inconsistent, turnover laden offense and a now poor defense. Rick Stansbury is losing fans by the day with performances like this & Bowling Green. WKU was supposed to take advantage of experience, talent and depth to have a strong start to the regular season. Preseason expectations are already fading after three poor performances in the past 10 days. The Stansbury can’t coach critics rightfully are out in force after yet another mediocre start to the season.
WKU (6–3) returns to Diddle on Saturday to take on Arkansas (7–0). The Razorbacks are a much improved team under first year coach Eric Musselman. If Rick Stansbury wants to stop the bleeding he need to get a statement win on Saturday and then back it up during the rest of December.
Here are your final stats from tonight’s debacle:
