It took Wichita State decades to record a signature tournament moment in St. Louis in its previous conference. In their seventh season as a member of the American Athletic Conference, the Shockers gutted their way to one in Fort Worth.
Thumbs up.
The 12th-seeded Shockers knocked off fifth-seeded Memphis 71-65 on Thursday in the second round of the AAC Championship. It is, for many reasons, the highlight of a difficult season.
All those difficulties, as coach Paul Mills says frequently, are part of the process. On Thursday, the Shockers got a reward for working and sticking together.