KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall may finally get his wish.
Marshall has been trying for years to schedule a game against Kansas, the basketball powerhouse just a couple hours’ drive from the Shockers’ campus. The Jayhawks have balked, insisting they have nothing to gain from a series against the Missouri Valley school.
But if the seventh-seeded Shockers take care of Indiana, and the second-seeded Jayhawks beat New Mexico State, the schools will meet in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
“You get ready to play Indiana,” Marshall said, when asked for his reaction to the road ahead. “If we’re fortunate enough to play in the third round, if it’s Kansas or New Mexico State, we get ready to play them. We take it one round at a time.”
Kansas coach Bill Self follows the same approach. But that doesn’t mean he was oblivious to the potential matchup when the bracket flashed on the screen Sunday night.