Who, when, and where Wichita State will play in 2018 NCAA Tournament
For the seventh straight season, Gregg Marshall and the Shockers are dancing in March.
Wichita State was awarded a No. 4 seed in the East region and will play No. 13 seed Marshall in San Diego at 12:20 p.m. Friday at Viejas Arena in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be shown on TNT.
The Shockers finished their inaugural season in the American Athletic Conference with a 25-7 overall record, a second-place finish in the regular season, and an appearance in the conference tournament semifinals.
Marshall is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1988, as it earned the automatic bid for winning the Conference USA tournament. The Thundering Herd are 24-10 on the season. The Shockers could potentially see West Virginia in the second round and No. 1 seed Villanova in the Sweet 16.
WSU has already sold out of its allotted NCAA Tournament tickets, but fans can attempt to purchase tickets through the ticket exchange on NCAA.com.
Marshall and WSU players were not available for comment on Sunday.
"I have no idea who we'll play, what region we'll be in, what bracket we'll be in, but we're going to play a good team," Marshall said on Saturday after WSU lost 77-74 to Houston. "We've got to figure out how to win games against these quality opponents."
Although WSU enters the NCAA Tournament with the second-fewest wins during its seven-year, it has built one of its most impressive postseason profiles thanks to a rigorous non-conference slate and the increased strength of AAC play.
The Shockers own four wins over NCAA Tournament teams, including Cincinnati, Houston, South Dakota State, and College of Charleston. Non-conference opponents such as Baylor and Notre Dame were among the committee's first four teams out, while Oklahoma State and Marquette were both among the bubble teams left out of the field.
The American had three teams in the NCAA Tournament field, tied for fifth-most among conferences and the same as the Pac 12. Cincinnati was a No. 2 seed in the South region and Houston was also included in the field.
The No. 4 seed by WSU is the second-highest seed it has had during the seven-year run.
"I'd like to be positively surprised one year, but I'm not anticipating anything favorable," Marshall said on Saturday. "I just hope we get a good draw and go to a good place and we play well and see how far that can carry us."
This story was originally published March 11, 2018 at 5:35 PM with the headline "Who, when, and where Wichita State will play in 2018 NCAA Tournament."