NEW YORK
They're together since early March, on the road to New Orleans, Memphis, South Carolina, Indiana and New York. They explored Greenville, S.C. and Times Square, won under Indiana's five NCAA championship banners and worked out with a view of the skyline from the practice home of the Brooklyn Nets.
The togetherness shows, nowhere more than on the defensive end for Wichita State. That defense will endure another difficult test against Lipscomb (28-7) in Tuesday's NIT semifinal (6 p.m., ESPN). The Bisons play fast and shoot accurately to present the Shockers (22-14) challenges along the order of Marshall from last season's NCAA Tournament and Davidson and Furman this season.