Wichita State wins, claims NCAA berth
No. 21 Wichita State left no doubt as to who the top team in the Missouri Valley Conference is.
Conner Frankamp scored a career-high 19 points and Markis McDuffie added 16 as the Shockers beat Illinois State, 71-51, in the MVC tournament championship game Sunday at St. Louis, earning an automatic NCAA tournament berth.
“I thought it was a very thorough performance,” Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall said. “We defended well. We made our free throws. We got the ball inside. We rebounded well. We shot it well. So that results in a 20-point win and that’s hard to do against that team.”
The teams had split their regular-season series, with Illinois State earning the top seed over Wichita State based on the Rating Percentage Index.
The Shockers (30-4) have won 15 straight games since losing at Illinois State on Jan. 14. The Redbirds (27-6) had won eight straight games since losing at Wichita State on Feb. 4.
Paris Lee, the MVC’s player of the year, led Illinois State with 18 points on seven-for-21 shooting. Illinois State shot a season-low 29.3% from the field (17 of 58).
The Shockers held a 3325 advantage at halftime, led by as many 23 points after that, and made 21 of 31 free throws in the second half.
Florida Gulf Coast prevails: Brandon Goodwin scored 19 points and the Eagles earned their third NCAA tournament trip in the last five seasons with a 77-61 win over North Florida in the Atlantic Sun Conference championship game at Fort Myers, Fla.
Demetris Morant and Marc-Eddy Norelia each scored 14 for the Eagles (26-7), who trailed by six at the half but outscored the Ospreys, 44-22, after that. Zach Johnson and Christian Terrell added had 10 apiece for FGCU.
The school best known for its “Dunk City” run to the Sweet Sixteen in 2013 also went to the NCAAs last season, winning a First Four game before falling to eventual finalist North Carolina.
Dallas Moore, the leading active scorer in Division I, had 19 points for North Florida (15-19).
Winthrop joins NCAA field: The Eagles (26-6) beat Campbell, 76-59, in the Big South Conference final behind Keon Johnson’s 26 points at Rock Hill, S.C.
Winthrop never trailed. Campbell (17-17) tied the score at 21, but once Johnson hit his first three of the second half, the Eagles led by double digits the rest of the way.
Winthrop went to the NCAA tournament in nine seasons from 1999 to 2010. Its lone win came in 2007.