What WSU fans need to know about Shocker basketball’s 6-1 start after Norfolk State win

The goal for the Wichita State men’s basketball team against Norfolk State was a simple one.

Find Kenny Pohto near the free-throw line on offense and good things almost always followed.

The 6-foot-10 big man from Sweden delivered his second straight 20-point game — this time with a game-high 25 points to match with six rebounds and a season-high five assists — to lead the Shockers to an 80-67 win over Norfolk State in front of 4,780 in attendance at Koch Arena who braved snowy conditions on Saturday evening.

“It’s all reads,” Pohto said after the second-highest scoring game of his career. “If they stay out, I go one on one. If they crowd me, I just get rid of the ball and find the open guy.”

Keeping things simple led to good results on offense, as the Shockers finished with a season-high 20 assists on 28 made baskets and scored a season-high (against Division I competition) 1.23 points per possession.

While that may have been expected at home against a 13 1/2-point underdog, Norfolk State’s defense presented some unique challenges for WSU. The Spartans’ aggressive style was forcing turnovers on nearly a quarter of opponent possessions, while baiting teams to hoist as many 3-pointers as they would like in a trade-off to protect the paint.

WSU didn’t take the bait, remaining patient, methodically finding Pohto in the middle of the defense and limiting its turnover count to eight, which translated to a 12.3% turnover rate in a 65-possession game. Not bad considering NSU’s defense had forced its six previous opponents into turnover rates of 21% or higher.

Leading the way for WSU’s surge in assists was junior guard Harlond Beverly, who returned from a one-game absence from an ankle injury to play his finest game of the season with 13 points, five rebounds, eight assists and no turnovers in 35 minutes. Xavier Bell added five assists to the ledger.

“I thought we did bad things (when drawing two defenders) going back to the Liberty game and even Coastal Carolina,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “We had two people on us and we didn’t get rid of it. I think we got rid of it (Saturday) when guys had that kind of pressure on them. We do have some good passers.”

While the offense hummed as well as it has all season, the defense was the end of the floor where the Shockers looked like they were shaking off the rust from a six-day layoff.

Norfolk State has thrived this season on drawing fouls and scoring points at the foul line (No. 1 in the country in percentage of total points on free throws). But there was no need on Saturday, as 6-foot guard Jamarii Thomas (17 points, five assists) had no issues dribbling around WSU’s point-of-attack defense to finish shots in the paint or making WSU’s defenders pay when they went under on screens.

Norfolk State only made nine free throws against WSU but managed to stick in the game for 35 minutes. The Spartans were within four points at the 10-minute mark of the second half and were lingering within single-digits until an 8-0 run by the Shockers in the final four minutes clinched the victory.

For an offense that was generating a paltry 0.91 points per possession against less-than-stellar competition, Norfolk State’s offense checking in at 1.19 points per possession after 30 minutes was a strike against WSU’s defense. Quincy Ballard (13 points, five rebounds) finished with a career-high six blocks, but the 6-foot-11 rim protector couldn’t cover up all of WSU’s defensive miscues.

“You’ve got to give them credit. They made some tough shots,” Mills said. “Some shots on your shot profile chart that you would be okay with. But we just didn’t do a really good job individually of being good.”

WSU’s two leading scorers, Colby Rogers and Xavier Bell, had each eclipsed 10 points in the first six games of the season but struggled mightily on Saturday. The duo, which was averaging a combined 34.3 points, finished with a combined 13 points on 3-of-19 shooting.

When Norfolk State switched to zone to try to encourage WSU to let it fly from deep, Pohto stepped up as a consistent source of offense. He scored 12 of his points following a touch in the middle of the zone and also found Ballard twice on over-the-top lobs for easy baskets.

“Coach says if you’ve got two people on you, you’re probably a good player. So get rid of the ball and pass to the open person,” Pohto said. “I just tried to do that (Saturday). If there’s two guys on me, then somebody is open. Quincy is a big man under the basket. It’s hard to miss him.”

The victory improved the Shockers to 6-1 this season, which tied Mills for the best start to a coaching career in program history with Henry Miller from 1971.

Dalen Ridgnal (11 points, five rebounds) took a hard spill saving a ball late in the second half and did not return for the final eight minutes of the game.

Mills said WSU should have its energy man off the bench in four days when the Shockers return to the Roundhouse to host Richmond, the No. 81-ranked KenPom team, on Wednesday.

“He’s fine,” Mills said with a laugh. “He’ll bounce back up. He’s Teflon tough.”