Why free throws could decide the winner in Wichita State-Tulsa rivalry basketball game

Looking for where Wednesday’s game between Wichita State and Tulsa could be decided?

Look no further than the free throw line when the 93-year-old rivalry tips off at 6 p.m. Wednesday with an ESPNU telecast from the Reynolds Center.

Tulsa is averaging 24 attempts per game and owns the 20th-highest free throw rate in the country. The foul line has been a bellwether for the Golden Hurricane this season, as they are 9-1 when they shoot more free throws than their opponent and 2-7 when they don’t.

“If you look at the metrics, the ability to keep them off the free throw line is pretty significant when you play a team like Tulsa,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “We’ve done a good job of defending without fouling, so we can’t allow that free throw disparity to occur. For us, we have to be able to defend without fouling.”

The Shockers have excelled in that regard, sending opponents to the foul line at the 14th-lowest rate in the country this season.

But their discipline will be put to the test by Tulsa star freshman P.J. Haggerty, a 6-foot-3 guard who is averaging 19.3 points (most in the country for a freshman) and 3.5 assists. A former star in the Houston prep scene who was named Mr. Basketball in Texas, Haggerty redshirted last season at TCU before transferring to Tulsa and blossoming under second-year head coach Eric Konkol.

Although just a freshman, Haggerty plays like a wily veteran when it comes to drawing fouls. He’s an expert at drawing contact and contorting his body to earn 7.3 fouls per 40 minutes. He’s ninth in the country in made free throws and he’s converting 80.8% of his free throws on 8.7 attempts per game — for a 70.9% free throw rate that ranks top-25 nationally.

It’s likely Harlond Beverly and Colby Rogers will spend the majority of the game defending Haggerty. Their discipline in not reaching and falling for pump fakes in the half-court and tracking back in transition could go a long way in determining WSU’s success.

“What (Haggerty) does a tremendous job at is getting to the rim,” Mills said. “I’m aware of his high school accolades and how downhill of a player that he is. It will definitely be a challenge.”

Where WSU should have the advantage is on the glass, especially considering it just outworked one of the top rebounding teams in the country in SMU for a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.

Tulsa plays a small front line (Carlous Williams is 6-foot-5 and Jared Garcia is 6-foot-8) and ranks in the bottom-third (No. 295) nationally in defensive rebounding. Meanwhile, WSU rotates Quincy Ballard (6-11) and Kenny Pohto (6-10) at center and ranks in the top-third (No. 85) nationally in offensive rebounding.

“That’s the thing we’re really concerned about is our ability to rebound against their size because they are really big,” Konkol told Tulsa media. “They put a lot of pressure on you with the dribble and cuts, so you’ve got to be able to guard the paint. And once those shots go up, the play is really just beginning. And then at the other end, they have such size at the 5, they’re trying to force teams to shoot mid-range 2s. We’ve got to make some of those, but we can’t take the bait and just live on that.”

“That’s something we need to do a good job of, but we can’t trade it,” Mills said. “We need to be able to dominate the glass and limit them to one shot.”

After upsetting SMU at home on Sunday, the Shockers (9-11, 1-6 AAC) will look to build their first winning streak since November.

WSU took a step forward with a relatively good offensive performance, which included 1.13 points per possession, 14 offensive rebounds, just one turnover in the second half and six straight makes from the foul line in the final three minutes to help close out a win.

But Mills said his team’s pace was “awful” on offense, which led to timing issues that prevented execution on sets. Winning for the first time in 43 days was nice, but the coach has stressed in practice this week WSU must improve to win again on Wednesday.

“You need to stack days together, you need to stack practices together and you need to stack film sessions together,” Mills said. “It’s pretty important for the psyche of a basketball team. Winning road games is a different mentality. You have to be able to be dialed in.

“The thing we’ve concentrated on this week is, ‘If you’re juiceless, you’re useless.’ So we just need to make sure we’re rested and have the energy. We’ve been focused on probably more of a mental approach than a physical one.”

WSU has dominated the series with Tulsa since the rivals began playing again in 2010 with the Shockers taking 18 of 20 games.

Last season saw WSU sweep Tulsa three times, but Konkol has essentially overhauled Tulsa’s entire roster from last season’s 5-win group with the Golden Hurricane (11-8) already doubling their win total.

A big reason why is a dynamic backcourt that features Haggerty and Cobe Williams, a sharpshooter drilling 1.9 3-pointers per game with a 13.4 scoring average. Tulsa struggles with turnovers and doesn’t rebound well, but shoots a ton of 3-pointers and draws a ton of fouls to stay in games. The Golden Hurricane have been a different team at home this season, posting a 9-2 record and averaging 82.2 points.

“We know (Wichita State) is going to be a hard-playing team,” Williams told Tulsa media. “They just beat SMU and they got their first conference win, so I’m sure they’re ready to play hard so they can get their second one. We’re fired up and we’re going to play hard too.”

As for Mills, who lived in Tulsa for the last six years while coaching at Oral Roberts, he said his return on Wednesday won’t be very sentimental.

“I have zero hobbies,” Mills said. “If I’m not at the office, I’m at the house, and if I’m not at the house, I’m at the office. And I’m probably doing basketball at both places. So I couldn’t even give you a Tulsa restaurant recommendation.”