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Time off
Wichita State hasn't played since March 7. Nevada lost on Friday in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
WSU coach Gregg Marshall would prefer a shorter break after the conference tournament. The Shockers practiced four times before finding out their NIT opponent on Sunday.
"There's pros and cons to that," Marshall said. "We've had some time to heal. The other part is the rustiness, perhaps, sets in. You never know how that's going to play out."
Forward Gabe Blair is one of the players on the mend. He missed three games late in the regular season with a bruised left thigh. He played in the MVC Tournament and says he continues to feel better, although he won't be fully healed until after the season.
"I'm the best I've felt since it happened," he said.
Marshall said the Shockers would likely need to play into the NIT's third round to give sophomore David Kyles a chance to return. Kyles is out of the cast worn since he broke his right hand on Feb. 22. Marshall characterized him as a "maybe" if the Shockers advance to quarterfinal games March 23-24.
Junior Johnson
Nevada isn't just about forward Luke Babbitt. Junior guard Armon Johnson (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) averages 15.8 points and 5.6 assists and earned second-team All-WAC honors.
"He's a big guard, and we utilize his size," Nevada coach David Carter said.
Johnson's skills are of particular interest to WSU point guard Clevin Hannah. Johnson isn't a three-point threat.
"I've got to try to keep him from getting to the rim," Hannah said. "That's what he's good at. He's a power guard."
Guard Brandon Fields leads Nevada with 61 threes. He scored 32 points in a 100-92 win over New Mexico State earlier this month.
Nevada doesn't go deep into its bench. Senior guard Ray Kraemer averages 20.3 minutes, and no other reserve averages more than nine. Babbitt, Johnson and Fields play 33-plus minutes.
Better numbers
The Shockers, after an up-and-down stretch, rediscovered their mojo late in the season. They won three straight before the MVC Tournament title game, their longest streak since early January.
"We're at a point where we need to show that every game, we want to win it," Blair said. "Especially when we're playing in a tournament. From the start, our goal was to ultimately win a championship."
WSU's improvement can best seen on defense. In the winning streak, it didn't allow a team to score more than 63 points. Before that, six straight opponents scored 64 or more and three reached 70.
Top of the heap
WSU is playing in its 11th NIT. It has never won a game in New York, home of the entire tournament until 1977 and now host to the semifinals and finals.
The Shockers lost in Madison Square Garden in 1954, 1962, 1963 and 1966.
The current team is mostly in "one game at a time" mode. Talk of New York is muted, since the Shockers are three wins away.
"That's too far," Hannah said. "We're trying to get past Nevada first."
Muted, but not totally absent.
Shockers who watched ESPN's special on former Pacers star Reggie Miller vs. the Knicks got a history lesson on Madison Square Garden's importance.
"We know it's the mecca of college basketball," Blair said. "That's something we're working for."
Should third-seeded WSU win tonight, either second-seeded Rhode Island (23-9) or seventh-seeded Northwestern (20-13) awaits. As the higher seed, Rhode Island would host if it wins. An upset would send Northwestern to Koch Arena.
Second-round games are played Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday.
