No. 2 Kansas defeated by in-state rivals
Finally getting a chance to play the school that continually spurns them, Fred VanVleet and the rest of the Missouri Valley champs, No. 7 seed Wichita State, rolled to a 78-65 victory over the second-seeded Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday at Omaha, earning a trip to the Sweet 16 in the sweetest way possible.
“There’s so much to be said about this rivalry with Kansas,” VanVleet said. “But really, it’s all about the fans. What better story is there for Wichita State?”
The Shockers have tried for years to schedule a game against Kansas, but the dominant school in the Sunflower State has always refused, arguing it would have nothing to gain from it.
After Sunday, it’s no wonder the Jayhawks never want anything to do with Wichita State.
Tekele Cotton scored 19 points for the Shockers (30-4), and VanVleet finished with 17. Evan Wessel hit four three-pointers and scored 12, helping his team advance to Cleveland for a Midwest Regional semifinal against third-seeded Notre Dame.
“We don’t have McDonald’s All-Americans, we don’t have guys that have been in the spotlight, and been given that pedestal,” VanVleet said. “We work for everything we’ve got, from managers to coaches to our preacher to, you know, whoever. We’ve scrapped and fought our whole lives.”
They didn’t stop on Sunday. If anything, they scrapped harder.
“We’d been playing anybody else, it would have meant the same, advancing to the Sweet 16,” Kansas Coach Bill Self said. “It just so happens we played an instate team to go where we wanted to go, and they were much better than us.”
Devonte’ Graham and Perry Ellis had 17 points each, and Frank Mason added 16 for the Jayhawks (27-9), who blew an early eightpoint lead.
West Virginia 69, Maryland 59: Devin Williams had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Mountaineers pounded the boards for 16 second-chance points to beat the fourth-seeded Terrapins at Columbus, Ohio. Next up: A showdown with top-ranked Kentucky in the Sweet 16.
The fifth-seeded Mountaineers (25-9) will face the Wildcats (36-0) on Thursday in the Midwest Regional semifinals in Cleveland. Gary Browne had 14 and Daxter Miles Jr. 12 as West Virginia made it to the regional semis for the first time since 2010. Melo Trimble had 15 for Maryland (28-7).