(St. Louis, MO) – Wichita State wasn’t given any favors for earning a number one seed, or so says ESPN’s Dick Vitale. Look at the Midwest regional setup (and you can play a bracket right here on ValleyHoopsInsider.com!) and you’ll see that it looks like the selection committee decided the Shockers deserve no advantage at all!
Apparently Mid-Majors aren’t supposed to go to the Final Four one year and then go undefeated the next season. This looks like a committee trying to teach the program a lesson.
Wichita State does get to play in an arena and in a city they and their fans enjoy some familiarity. But after that, it is all stacked against the 34-0 Shockers. Assuming the Shockers can win their second round game against a ‘play-in’ team, Head Coach Gregg Marshall’s team presumably would face a Kentucky squad that has been ranked as high as number one in the national polls and is actually 100 miles CLOSER to St. Louis than are the Shockers.
Coach Marshall told me today that they have shot the ball well at Scottrade Center and they’ve won all four games they’ve played in St. Louis this year, so if Ron Baker, Cleanthony Early, MVC Player of the Year Fred Van Vleet, MVC tournament Most Outstanding Player Tekele Cotton can survive the test of playing at least five future NBA players, then they travel to Indianapolis and take on (if seeds hold) national champion Louisville. Indianapolis is practically in Louisville’s back yard.
Louisville is ranked fifth in the latest Associated Press poll and third in the coaches poll, so how are they FOURTH IN THE MIDWEST? Not only did Louisville get cut short, but why would the committee put two of the top three teams in the nation against each other in the third round of the Madness?
Hey Selection Committee! Where is the preference a number one seed is supposed to receive? Can the Shockers win these games and return to the Final Four? Sure, but after the gauntlet I’ve described, which is the toughest of all the number ones, they would presumably would take on Michigan for a trip to Dallas.
The Shockers are as tough-minded as any team in the country. They are athletic, physical, they can shoot and they know how to win tight games and are NCAA tournament tested. Can they take on three Goliath’s in a row? That’s why we love this tournament.
Here at Valley Hoops Insider we’re rooting for the disrespected, undefeated Wichita State Shockers.
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.@SEMOMBB wins at home and is 2-0, tied with @MSUEaglesMBB atop the @OVCSports. Our prayers are with the @LRTrojans after the death of one of their managers Josh Claxton. Their game with EIU was postponed today.
Good officiating in the @SEMOMBB/@SIUEMBB in a little late game dust up.
BTW, @LindenwoodWBB is 2-0. @CoachAmyEagan has that program headed the right direction.
With @SkyhawkHoops winning on the road and @LUMensBball winning at home, right now, 5 @OVCSports teams are 1-1.
