Selection Sunday starts another March journey for Wichita State

Wichita State freshman Zach Brown, then a signed recruit, watched last season’s NCAA Tournament selection show on his couch in Houston. Sunday, he will join his Wichita State teammates in the Champions Club at Koch Arena in what has become a routine.

The 12th-ranked Shockers will make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season, an unprecedented run for a program that previously earned consecutive bids in 1964 and 1965 and 1987 and 1988. Sunday’s inclusion will give WSU one of 36 at-large berths for the third time in four seasons, never an easy task for schools outside the power conferences.

“I’m sitting at home on the edge of my seat; I was very excited at that moment,” Brown said. “I can’t imagine what it will be like (Sunday).”

Junior guard Fred VanVleet can. He knows nothing but NCAA appearances. So does senior Tekele Cotton, who will become the first Shocker to play in four NCAA Tournaments. Junior Evan Wessel will be on the roster for all four, but sat out the 2013 tournament due to injury.

“It’s routine,” VanVleet said. “I don’t want be jaded or anything, but … I’m just ready to figure out where we’re going. Last year was exciting, because I wanted to see if they were going to gyp us out of getting a No. 1 seed.”

Freshman forward Rashard Kelly takes a business-like approach to his first NCAA trip.

“We’ve still got work to do,” he said. “It’s just about getting prepared for the next opponent.”

WSU (28-4) figures to fall between a No. 5 and a No. 7 seed in the 68-team bracket. Omaha is the closest first-weekend site, but the Shockers are not guaranteed any favorable geographic treatment.

Perhaps WSU coach Gregg Marshall is due a little love from the selection committee to make up for last season’s assignment. The Shockers earned that No. 1 seed, only to see famously talented Kentucky as an over-qualified No. 8 seed in the third round. The Wildcats won 78-76 in an event Sports Illustrated called its 2014 Game of the Year.

“They don’t call for my opinion,” he said. “I don’t know why they don’t, after they screwed up last year the way they did. They still haven’t made that call.”

WSU could visit some familiar place, in addition to Omaha. Portland, where the Shockers played in 2012, is an option for the first weekend. The West Regional is in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, where WSU defeated La Salle and Ohio State in 2013.

Marshall was recovering from pneumonia last week and he rested earlier in the week. The Shockers didn’t practice Sunday, Monday and Thursday. The players worked with coaches on Tuesday and practiced Wednesday and Friday. They will practice Sunday before the selection show.

“It’s been a tough week,” he said Friday. “I’m not 100 percent. But I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t feeling better. They’ve been working. It’s time to get back after it now.”

When Marshall returned Wednesday, he tried to watch practice from the sideline. His usual position during practice is in the middle of the court, orchestrating, instructing and talking. Predictably, his time as a spectator didn’t go as planned.

“I got out there a couple times,” he said. “It was very, very frustrating. I tried to sit in a chair and that didn’t last.”

The tempo picks up on Sunday evening after the Shockers discover their next opponent. Coaches will start watching video and calling friends for scouting reports. Travel plans and practice plans must be arranged quickly.

For WSU, this is all part of the March routine.

This story was originally published March 14, 2015 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Selection Sunday starts another March journey for Wichita State."