WICHITA, Kan. -&nbsp;

For most of the first 16 games,&nbsp;Wichita State coach&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/coaches.aspx?rc=780">Gregg Marshall</a>&nbsp;knew what to expect from his team. The Shockers played unselfishly, especially after an early November readjustment, and knew how to win.Now Marshall isn't so sure what he's got. The 16th-ranked Shockers lost their second game in a row on Saturday at Koch Arena, this one a 65-54 loss to Houston."I've not recognized our team the past two games," Marshall said.&nbsp;Wichita State (15-3, 3-2 American Athletic Conference) shot 30.4 percent from the field and missed nine of its 24 foul shots. It felt a lot like Wednesday's 65-53 loss at Temple.Marshall doesn't like that feeling."I don't know what's crept in," he said. "If you're worried about you, and you're worried about how many points you're scoring, how many shots you're getting, how many minutes you're getting, then that's not healthy. We've got a lot of guys doing that."Marshall saw too much one-on-one play and poor decisions ranging from bounce passes that the Cougars turned into layups or ill-advised shot against bigger defenders. The Shockers couldn't break down Houston's defenders one-on-one, yet they often didn't let the offensive system help."We're trying to do it ourselves, as opposed to trying to get someone else a shot," Marshall said. "That's just not going to work. We've got to be better at dribbling into the paint, drawing the defense, and kicking as opposed to dribbling into the paint and going up against . . . the shot-blocker ready to just spike our shot. It's just not smart."Houston (14-4, 4-1) blocked nine shots and held Wichita State to a season-low 12 points in the paint, most of those coming off turnovers late in the game.&nbsp;For the guts of the game, Houston kept the Shockers from scoring in the lane. The Cougars built a 22-point lead on that defense, which blanketed Wichita State's shooters, doubled the post and rarely gave up open shots."They beat us in every way," Marshall said. "They came in and manhandled us. I tried to tell them this is who Houston is. Some of them had to experience it."The post-game comments&nbsp;sounded&nbsp;a lot like ones after a 69-63 win over Texas Southern in early November. After a game in which they totaled six assists, the Shockers talked about trusting teammates and running the offense. They took off after that.A similar readjustment is necessary. The team talked about changes after the game in the locker room. Marshall said he asked them to tell him how to help.&nbsp;"The first 16 games we played, for the most part, pretty together and shared the basketball," Shocker guard&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4217">Erik Stevenson</a>&nbsp;said. "We were reading the press, drinking the Kool-Aid. We've got to get back to being hungry dogs like we were when weren't ranked and weren't being talked about."Houston possesses a rare blend of defenders, fast enough to guard three-point shooters and help in the lane and long enough to alter shots. Not everybody can do what they do and not everybody is coached well enough to pull it off.On Saturday, they did it almost to perfection. Stevenson, Wichita State's leading scorer, finished with seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. Center&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4213">Jaime Echenique</a>&nbsp;scored eight points and played 14 minutes due to foul trouble.The Shockers shot 3-of-21 from three-point range against Temple. Houston held them to 7 of 25 (28 percent). The Cougars threw aggressive double-teams at the Shocker big men to take the ball out of their hands. Jarreau followed Stevenson everywhere to take away his outside shot.&nbsp;"Taking away their shooters – we did a really good job with that," Jarreau said.&nbsp;Wichita State's offense only perked up late in the game when its press created turnovers. For much of the game, the offense lacked movement, which allowed the Cougars to lock in on drivers and swarm them."We've got to keep getting the ball moving, keep getting players moving," Wichita State guard&nbsp;<a href="https://goshockers.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=4209">Jamarius Burton</a>&nbsp;said. "So the defense isn't just looking at the ball. Right now, we're stagnant."Marshall narrowed the game&nbsp;down&nbsp;to three first-half turnovers that Houston turned into dunks or layups and his team's seven missed free throws.&nbsp;The Cougars led 35-25 at halftime after outscoring Wichita State 9-0 on fast-break points and 10-2 in the paint."We talked about never bounce passing the ball on the perimeter, but we did," Marshall said. "We threw a couple bounce passes on the perimeter, which they stole and went down on the other end."

Shockers Offense Struggles in Loss to Houston