It’s finals week at Wichita State, a familiar marker on campus that signals the end of the fall semester and, for the Shockers, the beginning of what head coach Paul Mills considers a pivotal stretch of the season.
The next two weeks is a stretch when habits are formed, standards are reinforced and teams begin to define who they will be when games matter most.
With the semester complete, the Shockers have spent the week practicing at 10 a.m. in preparation for Saturday’s 11 a.m. tip-off against DePaul at Koch Arena, a nationally televised ESPNU game that opens a three-game homestand before American Conference play begins.
“If you’re juiceless, you’re useless,” Mills said. “The guys have had tremendous juice at these 10 a.m. practices.”
It helps that Wichita State is coming off its best win of the young season, a 74-69 overtime victory at Northern Iowa, and has had a full week to absorb the lessons from it. WSU (6-4) will play three straight home games and log roughly 10 practices before opening conference play Dec. 31 at UAB.
Mills views this window as indispensable to long-term growth.
“They’re pros nowadays. They get paid to play basketball,” Mills said. “And now you don’t have any other responsibilities, so it’s such a critical time. These next 10 days, it’s about your ability to be a pro and handle things off the court.”
The emphasis during that time has shifted sharply toward the margins that often determine close games. Since Wichita State’s winless trip to the Bahamas, Mills has been intent on toughening up his team, repeatedly showing film of plays that slipped away. One sequence still stands out: a 50-50 rebound in the final minute against Saint Mary’s that Wichita State failed to secure, leading to a score that helped seal the loss.
“There was a number of people who came to me and said, ‘Fred VanVleet makes that play. P.J. Couisnard makes that play,’” Mills said. “I had to remind our guys, as Shockers, we make that play. There was a brand of basketball that started long before any of us ever got here. Being in a blue-collar city, you make tough plays.”
Those reminders have been constant, not only from the Saint Mary’s finish but also from lapses in the first half against Colorado State. Mills thought the response was evident in Cedar Falls, where WSU made enough of those plays to escape with a gritty road win. One that stands out in particular was when 7-foot-2 Will Berg was first to the floor to secure a loose ball.
That progress shows up in the metrics Mills values most. He has tracked deflections throughout his more than two decades as a Division I coach and says his teams are 118-0 when they reach 30 in a game. WSU has yet to hit that mark, but the Shockers finished with 28 deflections at Northern Iowa and have steadily trended upward in areas like boxing out, crashing the glass and contesting shots — all metrics WSU tracks on its own.
“The previous two teams I’ve coached here, you could show them that number and they’re like, ‘Eh,’” Mills said. “It wasn’t like there was that commitment to, ‘Alright, if you’re 118-0 on 30 deflections, how do you actually do that?’ That’s what we’re seeing (with this team). We’re starting to get closer to things that really impact winning.”
That identity will be tested Saturday by a DePaul team that brings a 7-3 record and Big East-caliber athletes to Wichita, even if it looks far different from the group that buried WSU with 17 3-pointers in Chicago a year ago. This season’s Blue Demons are led by wing C.J. Gunn (13.8 points), point guard Layden Blocker (12.2 points, 3.7 assists) and 6-foot-8 forward N.J. Benson (11.2 points, 6.9 rebounds). They share the ball extremely well, which is sure to test WSU’s switch-happy defense, and their defensive calling card is taking away the 3-point line, ranking 12th nationally in limiting attempts.
For a WSU team that has been streaky from deep, the path to offense likely runs through the paint. Look for the Shockers to attack off the dribble, finding matchups and trying to win one-on-one situations. That approach aligns naturally with Mills’ style, one built on creating driving gaps and getting players downhill for paint touches.
Ultimately, Mills believes winning will come down to effort plays over the ones that make the highlight reel. By his estimation, there are around eight true loose balls in every game. Simply breaking even is not enough. The standard at WSU is to dominate those situations.
“You have to have a game for March,” Mills said. “There are things that you have to do in order to have a game for March and we’re not doing them.”
For Mills, this stretch in December — free from classes, travel and distractions — offers a chance to close that gap. Whether the Shockers fully seize it will help determine not just how they handle DePaul on Saturday, but what kind of team they become when the calendar turns.
“Uphill dreams require uphill habits,” Mills said. “You can’t have uphill dreams with downhill habits.”
DePaul at Wichita State basketball preview
Records: DePaul 7-3, WSU 6-4
When: 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Koch Arena (10,506)
How to watch: ESPNU (Derek Jones with John Williams)
How to listen: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Dave Dahl)
KenPom says: WSU 74, DePaul 68
Series: DePaul leads 5-4 (WSU leads 2-0 in Wichita)
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Taylor Eldridge
The Wichita Eagle
Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.
