Hilfe » Purple Aces did most of what they set out

EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- No. 4 Wichita State relied on the basics Sunday: defence and ball security. Again, it was the perfect combination. The Shockers forced 18 turnovers, finished with a season-high 14 steals and finally locked down Evansvilles shooters late to pull away for an 84-68 victory that kept them one of the nations two undefeated teams. "We wanted to extend them, get their timing disrupted. I dont think we expected that many steals," Fred VanVleet said. "There were only a few times where we had breakdowns where we werent really where we were supposed to be." Few expected the Shockers (27-0, 14-0 Missouri Valley Conference) to be in this spot -- even after reaching the Final Four last April. They are one of only 21 teams in NCAA history to win their first 27 games, extended their school-record winning streak and are 14-0 in conference play for the first time in school history. And after Arizonas latest loss, Wichita State could be poised to move up another notch in the poll, getting even closer to Division Is only other perfect team -- No. 1 Syracuse. A win Wednesday at Loyola also would assure the Shockers at least a share of the regular-season conference title and the No. 1 seed in the Valley tournament -- with three league games still on the docket. How have they done it? With a balanced offence and a staunch defence that Evansville knows is the best in the Valley. Wichita State trumped the Purple Aces by outscoring them 23-2 off turnovers and 10-4 on fastbreaks. Coach Gregg Marshall didnt even need a stat sheet to tell him what had happened. He estimated that the Shockers topped the 40-deflection mark. The other numbers were just as glaring. VanVleet and Ron Baker each finished with a career-best five steals, and, not surprisingly wound up as the top scorers. Baker had a career-high 26 points, while VanVleet added 18 and eight assists and flirted with the possibility of a triple-double throughout the second half. But thats not what motivated Wichita, which lost twice to Evansville last season and fell behind by double-digits early in the first meeting two weeks ago at Wichita. They wanted to put away the Aces, and before the game, Marshall let Cleanthony Early, the teams top scorer, know exactly what he needed to do in front of a Pacers scout who had been asking about his defence. Early responded by scoring 13 points, seven rebounds and playing his best defensive game of the year, too. "I loved his mental approach tonight and thats not always the case," Marshall said. "But tonight I thought he was very disciplined and when he does that, man, hes really good." Evansville (11-16, 4-10) learned its lesson the hard way. Despite getting 19 points from D.J. Balentine, the MVCs top scorer, and 19 points and 10 rebounds from Egidiju Mockevicius, it wasnt quite enough to prevent a fourth loss in five games or a second straight this season to Wichita. The Purple Aces did most of what they set out to do -- shooting 51.1 per cent from the field, 45.5 per cent from 3-point range, made 15 of 16 free throws, limited the Shockers to only six offensive rebounds and kept challenging Wichita State right down to the final minutes. But the turnovers, as they had all game, finally did them in. "We didnt turn it over in the press, we did it in the half-court and you have to take care of the basketball," coach Marty Simmons said. "Weve really got to learn, weve got to learn from that, and thats one of our biggest deficiencies." The Purple Aces, however, only trailed 38-32 at the half and still found a way to fight back after falling into a 55-41 deficit early in the second half. Mockevicius scored the first eight points in a 10-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 57-51 with 11:19 to go. Early answered with five straight points and Evansville rallied again, getting as close as 65-60 with 6:10 left before throwing the ball away on an inbound pass that would have cut the deficit to three. "They did a good job of changing defences and I was trying to get a timeout," Simmons said. Instead, the Shockers got the ball back and forced two more turnovers during the decisive 13-4 run that finally sealed the victory. "We were just focused on getting stops and it went in our favour," VanVleet said. "We wanted to end it right there. After that possession, I think we got back on the right track." Kyle Wilber Raiders Jersey . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night. Emmanuel Lamur Jersey . -- Coyotes coach Dave Tippett thinks of one thing when he watches Eastern Conference teams struggle against Western opponents before they get to Phoenix: His team must keep pace. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elite-Johnny-Townsend-Raiders-Jersey/ . Louis against the Blues. The Canucks picked up their second straight victory in the swings opener on Tuesday in Calgary before getting routed in Minnesota last night, 5-1. Doug Martin Jersey . The 23-year-old restricted free agent appeared in all 48 games last season, finishing second among all Sabres skaters with 15 goals and 34 points. Gareon Conley Raiders Jersey . Hes coming back to fulfil them. One of Europes top coaches, Blatt was hired Friday by the Cavaliers, who ended a sweeping, 39-day search with an out-of-the-box selection they hope changes their fortunes.Less than two weeks ago, general manager Craig MacTavish stood by the Edmonton Oilers long-term plan. Coach Dallas Eakins is no longer part of it. With MacTavish expected to be behind the bench, the lowly Oilers will try to snap their latest losing streak and extend the Arizona Coyotes franchise-record home skid to 10 games tonight. Edmonton (7-19-5) is tied with Carolina at an NHL-low 19 points, losing 15 of 16 games while averaging only 1.7 goals. That stretch cost Eakins his job Monday, but not after MacTavish orchestrated a bizarre Dec. 5 press conference. MacTavish not only gave his former coach a vote of confidence, but also said: As painful as this process is, we feel that its a necessary step to get us to the next level. Getting outscored 13-5 during a four-game slide following Sundays 2-0 home loss to the New York Rangers was probably not what MacTavish considered as the next level. Now, the four-time Stanley Cup winner as a center for the Oilers and Rangers will return to the bench. He was Edmontons coach from 2000-09, reaching the playoffs three out of eight times while losing in the Stanley Cup final to the Hurricanes in 06. Hell remain in the position until Todd Nelson of Oklahoma City of the AHL is prepared to take over as interim coach. Im not here to absolve myself of accountability, MacTavish said. I had no real good reason to do this outside of performance. Thats the bottom line that were all judged by, the performance level of the hockey club and certainly the record. The Oilers struggles also come with a roster that features three top overall draft picks in forwards Taylor Hall (2010), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (2011) and Nail Yakupov (2012). Unlike earlier this month, MacTavish is now claiming he isnt ruling out trading one of his promising stars. I dont want to answer that question until I get a hands-on understanding of exactly whats happening in there (the loocker room), he said.ddddddddddddI want to have ample opportunity to have eyeball-to-eyeball conversations with the core group. Nugent-Hopkins leads the team with 19 points, while Hall has 18 and Yakupov eight. The teams defensive play has also been abysmal, with Edmonton giving up an average of 3.32 goals to rank only better than Dallas league-worst 3.52. The Oilers have been far worse in their last nine meetings with the Coyotes (10-16-4), surrendering 4.2 goals per game while going 1-7-1. Theyve dropped all three matchups this season while being scored upon 14 times, including a 5-2 home defeat Dec. 1. Jordan Eberle had a goal in that meeting after collecting six assists in the previous four. Hall assisted on Eberles tally, giving him 18 points in 15 career meetings. He has 12 of those in eight visits to Arizona, scoring two goals and assisting on another in a 7-4 loss there Oct. 15. The Coyotes are enduring major problems of their own since winning at Edmonton, getting outscored 22-8 during a season-high five-game skid (0-4-1). They dropped to 0-6-3 in their last nine at home with Saturdays 4-3 shootout defeat to Minnesota. Eventually things will turn our way, center Antoine Vermette said. The group effort was much better (Saturday). Vermette has been a rare bright spot lately, collecting four points in three games with a goal in each of the past two. He has an assist in three straight meetings with Edmonton. Arizona is 9-1-2 in its last 12 home games against the Oilers. Game Notes: ARZ is 3-0-0 vs EDM this season, 1-0-0 at home ARZ has gone 5-0-2 past 7 at home vs EDM ARZ (10-16-4): 0-4-1 past 5 games, outscored 22-8, 9/16 on PK rank 28th in league on PK (75.5%) Vermette (2G, 2A) 3 game PT streak Boedker (5G, 2A) vs EDM this season EDM (7-19-5): lost 4 straight, 5GF, 1/10 on PP 29th ranked road PP (5.7%) Hall (3G, 2A) vs ARZ this season Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '