Experienced, determined Tulsa knocks off No. 9 Wichita State

Gregg Marshall will have to wait a little longer for his 400th career coaching victory.

Marshall watched his ninth-ranked Wichita State team struggle on the road Tuesday night against a talented and experienced Tulsa team falling 77-67 to the unranked Golden Hurricane, in yet another early season upset. The loss ended a run of seven straight victories for Wichita State in the series.

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The Shockers never found any offensive rhythm and didn’t shoot the ball well, despite having stellar point guard Fred VanVleet in the lineup. VanVleet has been working through a strained hamstring and a sprained ankle.

VanVleet brought his team back at the end of the first half hitting three consecutive 3-pointers in the span of 77 seconds to give the Shockers a one-point advantage. The Shockers held their largest advantage early in the second half up five, but they couldn’t hold the lead with poor shooting against an inspired Tulsa team with nine seniors.

While VanVleet enjoyed some stellar moments and scored 11 points, he clearly wasn’t himself and Marshall might have to consider sitting VanVleet until he his healthy. Yet, Marshall’s biggest problem might be getting more scoring from the rest of his team outside of his two stars.

Starting forward Anton Grady scored 18 to complement the experienced backcourt, but the Wichita State bench combined for just eight points.

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Ron Baker led all scorers with 23 for Wichita State, but senior Shaquille Harrison answered with 20 for Tulsa and was one of four Tulsa players to score in double figures. Marquel Curtis and Pat Birt combined to score 30 points off the bench for Tulsa.

It is the kind of confidence-building, early season victory that could propel Tulsa to memorable season. Coach Frank Haith felt good about the potential of his team and its experience prior to the season and he has to feel even better about the Golden Hurricane now that they have a signature victory.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo