Top-seeded Wichita State headed to St. Louis — with Kansas company

Some people reacted with anger and sympathy on behalf of Wichita State as CBS revealed the Midwest Region bracket. The top-seeded Shockers appeared to receive a tough break from the selection committee, which placed some of college basketball’s biggest names in between them and a return to the Final Four.

The unbeaten Shockers reacted with excitement. Anybody who thinks this team will shrink from playing Kentucky, Kansas State, Louisville or Duke doesn’t understand this team. They want to play the big names. The biggest reaction during Sunday’s selection show came when “Kentucky” popped up as a possible opponent.

If the Shockers win their way to Arlington, Texas, for the national semifinals on April 5, they will earn it through a field that appears monumentally difficult.

“The best challenge out there is those big-name schools that you think you can’t beat,” WSU forward Cleanthony Early said. “And I feel like we can beat them, if we continue to play hard and do what we do.”

Before the Shockers can think about big names, they must fulfill the duty of the No. 1 seed and dispatch a No. 16. It’s usually easy, but they witnessed No. 16 Southern trail No. 1 Gonzaga by one point with 2:28 remaining last season in Salt Lake City. Gonzaga won 64-58, a performance which hinted at its loss to the Shockers two days later.

The Shockers (34-0) will play either Cal Poly (13-19) or Texas Southern (19-14) on Friday at Scottrade Center. Those teams meet Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio. The Shockers would face the Kansas State-Kentucky winner in the round of 32 on Sunday.

No. 1 seeds are 116-0 against the No. 16 seed.

The Scottrade Center, site of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament, will be a madhouse starting Thursday with the public practices at noon. Kentucky and Kansas (in the South Region) own two of the largest fan bases in college basketball. Shocker fans started buying tickets for St. Louis at least a month ago. Kansas State adds a fourth team, with fans used to traveling, within driving distance.

While Wichita is 442 miles from St. Louis, Lexington is 334 and Manhattan is 368.

The challenge for WSU is to ignore the circus and focus on playing, first against an opponent they won’t know until Wednesday night. A year ago, the Shockers slipped relatively unnoticed into Salt Lake City — unable to fill a chartered flight with fans — as a No. 9 seed. This season, all eyes are on the nation’s lone unbeaten, some cheering and some wishing for their early demise. Before the Shockers can worry about Kentucky’s height or Kansas State’s Marcus Foster or a rematch with Louisville, it needs to win a game.

“Our bracket looks very stacked,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “Any time you’re going to play in this tournament, you really can’t think too far down the road. There will be upsets. People are going to talk about ‘You’re going to play this team or this team.’ You just need to take care of the business that is right in front of you, and that’s preparing for Texas Southern or Cal Poly.”

The Shockers excelled at taking each opponent seriously this season.

“We’ve got business to take care of and we’ve got to prepare properly,” Early said.

Grabbing one of four seeds atop a bracket adds another landmark to this historic season.

Wichita State is the Valley’s second No. 1 seed, joining 1979 Indiana State. It is WSU’s best seed in the tournament, topping a No. 5 in 2012. The Shockers are making a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, a first for the program.

“My reaction was, very thankful,” WSU guard Ron Baker said. “You get chill bumps watching your team’s name pop up on the bracket. This year, as a one seed, it feels very special and we’ll hope to take advantage of it.”

The Shockers join a list of 45 schools to earn top seeds since the NCAA first ranked the field in 1979. North Carolina (14), Duke (12), Kentucky (11) and Kansas (10) lead the list. Since 2004, WSU, Gonzaga (2013), Memphis (2006, 2008) and Saint Joseph’s (2004) are the only schools outside the SEC, ACC, Big East, Big 12, Big 10 and Pacific-10 conferences to earn a No. 1 seed.

Preparations started immediately, thanks to the use of Internet-based video systems. The video portion of the scouting reports were done within an hour or so of the selection show. Assistant coach Steve Forbes will handle the scouting duties for Texas Southern. Greg Heiar will prepare for Cal Poly. Associate head coach Chris Jans will scout Kentucky and either Forbes or Heiar will switch to Kansas State after WSU’s first opponent is determined.

WSU will travel to St. Louis on Wednesday. Public and private practices and media sessions are scheduled for Thursday.

“Both of these teams will have our full respect,” WSU guard Fred VanVleet said. “We’ll know our opponent pretty well by tip-off.”

Reaction to the Mighty Midwest came quickly.

According to the Associated Press, four of the teams in the Midwest are among the top eight in the nation —No. 2 WSU, No. 5 Louisville, No. 7 Duke and No. 8 Michigan.

Three 2013 Final Four teams — WSU, second-seeded Michigan and fourth-seeded Louisville, the defending NCAA champion, are in the Midwest. So is Saint Louis, ranked No. 10 less than a month ago. Seventh-seeded Texas finished in a tie for third in the Big 12 and owns wins over North Carolina, Iowa State and Kansas.

WSU, Duke and Michigan are ranked in the top 11 of the RPI, according to warrennolan.com. Louisville, which has won five straight games by 10 or more points, is a favorite of Ken Pomeroy’s advanced statistics. He ranks them No. 2 nationally with its offensive and defensive efficiency both in the top 10. WSU is the only other team ranked in the top 10 of both.

The committee also hit WSU hard with its map skills.

Should WSU and Louisville advance to the Sweet 16, they meet in Indianapolis in a regional semifinal, 114 miles from Louisville and 676 from Wichita, which hardly seems like geographic protection for the region’s top seed.

“No one in that committee room had the common sense to look at the Midwest and say, this is ridiculous?” wrote Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated on Twitter.

Eric Prisbell of USA Today Tweeted: “My worst fear: Louisville a 4 with WSU a 1. Totally ridiculous. No way Louisville is a 4 seed.”

The Shockers, after two months of talk about their schedule and their worthiness as a NCAA title contender, are ready for the main event.

“Once you get to the NCAA Tournament, it seems like a whole season in itself,” Baker said. “We can put everything behind us and focus.”

Copyright : kansascity.com

Notes: Sheehey hobbled, as Wisconsin test arrives

Zach Osterman, IndyStar

BLOOMINGTON Tom Crean didn't need to let anyone know Will Sheehey played injured against Penn State. His performance, Crean said, wouldn't have given it away.

Sheehey took a hard fall in practice last Thursday, one that left him so hobbled that he would not be 100 percent the rest of the week. Crean said Sheehey could only participate in the Hoosiers' walkthrough Friday, and he was a gametime decision Saturday in State College.

Neither Crean nor associate head coach Steve McClain specified the nature of the injury on Monday.

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Whatever it was, Crean said he saw little evidence that it held Sheehey back against the Nittany Lions. He only confirmed that his senior forward was suffering after Sheehey's nine-point, five-rebound performance.

"If I wouldn't have said anything about it, you could have never been able to tell (Sheehey was injured)," Crean said.

Speaking Monday night on his radio show, Crean acknowledged all of the extra responsibilities Indiana has heaped onto its only returning senior. He pointed to tough assignments, like defending stud Michigan State forward Adreian Payne.

Sheehey, Crean said, hasn't backed down from those demands.

"He's working every day at being an even better leader," Crean said. "He brings such a spirit, such a toughness."

BADGERS MOVING THE BALL WELL: Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan has guided his team to a 16-0 start at least in part via an offense that's more productive than the norm in Madison.

Ryan's teams have often been typecast as methodical, even plodding, and they rarely work themselves into the top quarter of the Big Ten in scoring offense. But this season, the Badgers are scoring more than 10 points per game more than they averaged in 2012-13, with four players averaging double-figure scoring.

While the point totals have ticked up, the methods that create those points have not, according to Crean.

"They're not an above-average passing team," Crean said. "They're a great passing team."

Crean said Indiana's rotations will have to be crisp, because Ryan's swing offense is designed to exploit even the slightest defensive mistakes. Disciplined teams can fall victim to the Badgers' ability to free up scorers in their offense, according to Crean.

"They take conventional defensive wisdom and throw it right back in your face," he said.

THE FLIP SIDE – WISCONSIN REBOUNDING CONCERNS: Indiana has leaned hard on its rebounding ability this season. Though young, the Hoosiers' athleticism has helped them become one of the country's best teams on the boards, at both ends of the floor.

Wisconsin, conversely, has allowed 41 offensive rebounds in its last two games. The Hoosiers might pin their upset hopes on second chances offensively.

If they do, freshman forward Noah Vonleh appears poised to lead the way.

Vonleh pulls in 2.6 offensive rebounds per game and 9.3 rebounds per game overall. The freshman sits atop the Big Ten in rebounds per game.

"Size and agility usually have a lot to do with that, and he's got both," Ryan said on the Big Ten coaches' teleconference. "He's got a knack for the ball."

Northwestern head coach Chris Collins yells after his team beat Illinois 49-43 during an NCAA college basketball game in Evanston, Ill., on Jan. 12, 2014.(Photo: Matt Marton AP)

COLLINS, WILDCATS GRAB UPSET: Northwestern waits for Indiana this weekend, marking first-year coach Chris Collins' first trip to Assembly Hall.

The Wildcats will come to Bloomington with a win against a ranked team – something Indiana still hasn't accomplished – already in their pocket. Northwestern defeated then-No. 23 Illinois 49-43 at home Sunday for Collins' first conference win.

"Maybe not the prettiest thing to watch," Collins said of the win, "but at the end of the day, we made a lot of tough plays and did the things we need to do to win."

JerShon Cobb scored 11 points for the Wildcats, filling in for Dave Sobolewski at point guard.

Though the point isn't Cobb's natural position, Collins said Northwestern benefited from the switch against Illinois. Having the 6-foot-5 Cobb running its offense gave Northwestern a size advantage that Collins had hoped for.

"It gave a different look," Collins said. "I was interested to see how that would work."

HAWKEYES NOTCH SIGNATURE ROAD WIN: Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey's team let a signature road win slip away a week ago at Wisconsin, when the Hawkeyes led at halftime before eventually stumbling to defeat.

In Columbus on Sunday, Iowa didn't make the same mistake, handing then-No. 3 Ohio State its second loss in as many games.

The No. 14 Hawkeyes trailed by nine midway through the second half, but their methodical rally turned into a late lead, and McCaffrey's team sewed up an 84-74 win by making 10-of-12 free throws down the stretch.

"We had a lot of opportunities to go away, and we just kept coming," McCaffrey said. "I'm very proud of my team."