Wichita State shows once again it’s no typical Cinderella
One thing is readily apparent after watching Wichita State dismantle Vanderbilt and Arizona in its first two NCAA tournament games.
This is no typical No. 11 seed.
Two nights after routing the talent-laden but enigmatic Commodores by 20 in the First Four, the Shockers overwhelmed Arizona 65-55 in a first-round game in Providence. Wichita State led by 12 at halftime and by 24 midway through the second half en route to handing the Wildcats their first double-digit loss since Feb. 27, 2013.
With Thursday’s victory, Wichita State earned a second-round game against third-seeded Miami and added to its long list of accomplishments the past four few years.
Three years ago, Wichita State made a shocking Final Four run. Two years ago, Wichita State finished the regular season unbeaten. Last year, Wichita State beat in-state power Kansas to advance to the Sweet 16 and this year the Shockers are one win away from returning.
Two dominant victories from Wichita State this week has already inspired second guessing of the Shockers’ No. 11 seeding.
On one hand, Wichita State had only one Top 50 RPI win the entire season and had a resume that typically sends a team to the NIT. On the other hand, its dominance against inferior competition was so pervasive that multiple analytics systems suggested the Shockers were a Top 25 team and Ken Pomeroy’s ratings had them 11th in the country.
Seeding strictly based on analytics rather than accomplishments is not the answer, but neither is ignoring them altogether. It’s a disservice to Wichita State’s opponents that they have to face such a quality team so early, though Arizona didn’t exactly cover itself in glory with its effort either.
The catalyst for Wichita State’s success was a stifling defense ranked among the best in the nation. Arizona scored only 19 first-half points, dished out only seven assists and committed 19 turnovers, a product of both the Shockers’ ball pressure and the poor ball-handling of the Wildcats’ backcourt.
No Arizona player had more than 11 points, nor did any tally more than two assists. Standouts Allonzo Trier, Gabe York and Ryan Anderson scored 10, 10 and eight points respectively.
Wichita State advances to face third-seeded Miami on Saturday even though the Shockers were hardly dominant offensively. They won despite 3-for-20 3-point shooting. Fred VanVleet had 16 points and Ron Baker tallied 13.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
