Bracketology: Illinois State drops out of picture; Wisconsin moves up

Frankamp picked the ideal time to set a season-high in scoring as the Shockers earned their sixth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

After sluggish starts in the first two rounds of Arch Madness, the Shockers were sharp and effective early in the final.

“We picked a bad day to have a bad day”, Illinois State coach Dan Muller said. Fouls were a problem the entire game, as three players – Fayne, MiKyle McIntosh and Deontae Hawkins – fouled out.

McIntosh also exited with 1:46 left after saying something to the referees after a foul on Tony Wills and receiving a technical, which counted as his fifth foul.

Conner Frankamp tallied a game-high 19 points for second-seeded Wichita State (30-4), earning Most Outstanding Player honors for the tournament. He connected two more times from beyond the arc in the first half, giving him 11 triples for the tournament. Markus McDuffie and Landry Shamet scored in double figures as well for the Shockers.

The way Wichita State has played the past eight weeks should mean an easier road this time. The trade-off for increased visibility is that schools that make the dance often have at least 11 days before they play again.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Vincent Edwards scored 25 points and Caleb Swanigan added 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Boilermakers held on for a victory over the Wildcats.

“If we’d have lost, it would have been kind of stressful to think about the whole week, about the loss”. The Illinois State’s resume does not look very good. Shots misfired, free throws clanked off the rim, the rhythm and flow of Saturday were nowhere to be found.

Conference championship week is underway, and one of the best mid-major leagues in the country gets a nationally televised showcase on Sunday afternoon. “We had a little jitters at that point early, but after that we shared basketball, we really rebounded well, our defense was very good and we come away with a 26-point win”. They split the season series with Wichita State, and that’s their lone quality win, one that will impress the selection committee, anyway.

Muller didn’t seem optimistic about the Redbirds’ chances to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, particularly with how his team played Sunday. They ran roughshod over the Redbirds in the Valley title game, punching their ticket for the sixth straight year.

The victor of Sunday’s championship was assured of a bid, and the loser stuck waiting, hoping that the Selection Committee sees that their season was worthy of an NCAA Tournament bid.

“This team is very deep”, Marshall said.

Just a year ago, after barely getting in, WSU went to the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, and stoned Vanderbilt, then trounced Arizona in a first-round game before finally losing to Miami (Fla.) for a trip to the Sweet 16. The Blue Raiders would simply be acknowledged as one of 32 automatic qualifiers from a conference that seldom gets more than one NCAA berth.

The Shockers erased all doubt Sunday by doing what they’ve been doing for a couple of months.