Wichita State turned a tie game into a route with its typical “play angry” defense.
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People all across the country are claiming to know everything there is to know about basketball.
The NCAA selection committee looks for reasons to keep mid-majors out of the tournament in favor of Power 5 leagues. Two more First Four games are Wednesday: Holy Cross plays Southern University and Tulsa plays MI. There have been enough highlights since then to call it a successful addition to the NCAA Tournament. Three of those losses came to double-digit seeds, while Tuesday night’s loss came in the tournament’s play-in game.
Wichita State built a 31-19 halftime lead and cruised. It never is for a program that relies just as heavily on his backcourt partner Ron Baker and a deep roster of role players that included six players coming off the bench to lend a hand against the talented Commodores. “After Luke got hurt, we lost some of it. And I’m not sure that we ever totally recaptured that together chemistry that we really had, I thought, going well for us early in the season”. “The momentum shifted slowly and we kind of grasped it and kept on rolling”. The Shockers and their number one rated defense smothered the 6th seeded Arizona Wildcats 65 to 55 in Providence, RI.
Toye went scoreless in the second half, he and LaChance led the team with 10 points. Overall, the Shockers didn’t shoot especially well, at just 40.7% and an ugly 3-20 (15%) mark from behind the three point line.
VanVleet had to leave the game early to get treated for a cut on the right side of his forehead. “I’ve played in some great games”, said Anderson, who transferred to Arizona from Boston College for his final year. If that gets you an 11 seed – even when the Valley was way down this season – I’d hate to see the 10 seed. “I’ll just butterfly (bandage) it up”.
“I mean, give them credit, like coach said, they’ve done that to everybody this year”, York said. “He patched me up real quick”.
Wisconsin doesn’t necessarily need Koenig to go off for close to 30 points (although we’ll take it), but the Badgers do need him to get back on track if they want to beat Pittsburgh and make a tournament run.
SC 88, High Point 66: Laimonas Chatkevicius scored a career-high 30 points and the short-handed Gamecocks (25-8) routed the visiting Panthers (21-11).
So Arizona essentially walked into a buzzsaw, an angry team that plays angrier, looking for an opponent with a big name to take its frustration out on.
The Shockers efficiency continues to impress. Vanderbilt is making its 14th appearance and its first since 2012. How about Wichita State from the South Region. He returned and Wichita State resumed winning, only to be stunned by eventual MVC tournament champion Northern Iowa in the semifinals. Against the Commodores, they missed all five from beyond the arc in the first half.
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The Shockers forced 19 turnovers they converted into 22 points and snared nine steals.
