In midst of losing streak, Wichita State focused on doing the simple for FAU road game

In order for the Wichita State men’s basketball team to end its losing skid, the message from the coaching staff this week has been a simple one.

“What we’re trying to do is dominate the simple,” WSU first-year head coach Paul Mills said. “We’ve just got too many simple things that I think we should be good at messed up.”

In the first year of the Mills era, the Shockers aren’t stocked with the offensive weapons to overpower opponents. There is enough talent to compete in the American Athletic Conference, but WSU is a team that needs to have a strong foundation in the fundamentals.

But that hasn’t been the case for the last six weeks of the season, as WSU has dropped five in a row and seven of its last eight games. There’s no let-up in WSU’s schedule with a road swing to Florida with a date at No. 23 Florida Atlantic (13-4, 3-1 AAC) at 6 p.m. Thursday broadcast on ESPN2 from Boca Raton followed by a road trip to South Florida (9-5, 2-1 AAC) in Tampa on Sunday.

Mills reiterated his belief in his team in his meeting with local media on Tuesday, claiming WSU is improving despite its recent string of losses.

“I believe in this team and I like the guys in our locker room,” Mills said. “I don’t even believe we’re halfway through our season yet, so there’s so much room for growth. Those guys still show up and they approach it with joy and they continue to work. I’m not panicking. I’m confident that we’ll get better.”

On one hand, WSU has several easy ways to fix some of the problems that plague the team. On the other hand, it’s an issue that the team has not been able to master the simple when the coaching staff has seemingly made it a priority all along.

One frustration Mills used to illustrate his point was WSU’s ongoing problem of jumping first on defense, which makes the team structure vulnerable because it allows the offensive player to easily drive around and attack the basket.

“Some of it is discipline. You have to be super disciplined as a player,” Mills said. “Guys know how to utilize shot fakes, but you can’t fall for that kind of stuff. You have to stay down. Nobody is getting penalized if they are the second jump. Where we are getting into problems is when we’re the first jump and we’re not ever asked to be the first jump.

“I would attribute it more to discipline than anything else and that’s on us as coaches.”

Two areas Mills has been working overtime on in practice are the team’s ball handling and decision making. Since the start of December, WSU ranks No. 302 nationally in turnover rate (20%) with one out of every five possessions ending in a turnover.

A good chunk of those turnovers come from easily avoidable mistakes, going back to coaching staff’s pleas to dominate the simple. When WSU has limited its mistakes this season, it has won. Mills pointed out the Shockers have won every game this season when the opponent has less than nine steals.

Thursday’s opponent, Florida Atlantic, currently ranks last in conference play in forcing turnovers.

“I don’t think that’s even asking a lot: Don’t let the other team take it away from us more than eight times,” Mills said.

“It’s really easy to cut down, in my opinion. We don’t need to make all of these one-foot plays. Just play under control, play off of two feet. If you go back and look at our turnovers, we have way too many that are one-foot plays. If we continue to work on playing off of two feet, I think we can drastically cut that number by at least 25%.”

There’s no doubt WSU will have to play near its best to compete on the road against FAU, which ranks first nationally in minutes continuity from a team that reached last season’s Final Four. The starting lineup is stacked with stars, including All-American talent Johnell Davis (17.4 points), 7-foot-1 center Vladislav Goldin (14.6 points, 7.1 rebounds) and guard Alijah Martin (12.2 points). The Owls have the 11th-ranked offense in adjusted efficiency, per KenPom.

Following a 112-86 loss to Memphis over the weekend, in a game where WSU allowed the fifth-most points in program history, Mills said “everything is on the table” in regards to shaking up the starting lineup and rotation.

But two days later, Mills seemed to hint he meant a redistribution of minutes — not a drastic overhaul for the FAU game.

“When you’re headed in a direction, you have to focus on the direction and not the destination,” Mills said. “I don’t think you push people out of the car simply because something didn’t go well.”

Wichita State at No. 23 Florida Atlantic basketball preview

Records: WSU 8-8, 0-3 AAC; FAU 13-4, 3-1 AAC

When: 6 p.m. Central time Thursday

Where: Baldwin Arena (2,900), Boca Raton, Fla.

How to watch: ESPN2 (John Schriffen and Perry Clark)

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Bob Hull)

KenPom says: FAU 84, WSU 68

Series history: WSU leads 1-0 (First meeting in Boca Raton)

Projected starting lineups

Wichita State Shockers (8-8)

Coach: Paul Mills, first season, 8-8

Florida Atlantic (13-4)

Coach: Dusty May, sixth season, 114-64