Wichita State advances out of First Four with win over Vanderbilt

The Wichita State men’s basketball team gets to keep dancing.

The Shockers defeated Vanderbilt 60-48 on Tuesday night in the First Four at the University of Dayton Arena, earning the No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s South Regional. They’ll face No. 6-seed Arizona on Thursday at 8:20 p.m. in Providence, R.I. The game will be televised on TNT.

It also means the careers of three of the most beloved Shockers of all time — seniors Ron Baker, Fred VanVleet and Evan Wessel — gets at least one more game.

“In the back of your mind, you know it can be your last game,” Baker said. “But (WSU coach Gregg Marshall) just wants us to relax and enjoy the process. The NCAA Tournament is something very special ... you just have to try and go there and have fun, just like you would at Charles Koch Arena.”

It’s the fourth year in a row WSU has won at least one game at the NCAA Tournament, following a run to the 2013 Final Four, a win over Cal Poly in 2014 and last year’s Sweet 16 appearance. Arizona, coached by Sean Miller, was ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll and finished third in the Pac-12. The Wildcats and Shockers are both 25-8.

WSU was scheduled to take a 2 a.m. charter flight out of Dayton and will have a public practice and news conference Wednesday in Providence.

“You don’t even think about being tired at this point,” VanVleet said. “You get to play another game. That’s all that matters.”

This story was originally published March 15, 2016 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Wichita State advances out of First Four with win over Vanderbilt."