Wichita State’s week of anxious waiting turned into relief on Sunday. The Shockers are in the NCAA Tournament for a fifth straight season and will play Vanderbilt on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio.
Both teams are No. 11 seeds. The winners advance to play No. 6 seed Arizona in Providence, R.I. on Thursday in the South Region.
The Shockers (24-8) lost in the MissourI Valley Conference Tournament semifinals to set off a furious round of worrying, dissecting and calculating. In or out? First Four or No. 8 seed? In the end, the Shockers grabbed one of 36 at-large spots for the fourth time under coach Gregg Marshall.