Indiana to Face Wichita State with NIT Final Four on the Line

It will be Hoosiers vs. Shockers on Tuesday night with a chance to play at New York’s famous Madison Square Garden on the line.

Wichita State (21-14) defeated Clemson 63-55 on Sunday afternoon and will now travel to Bloomington to play IU on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Eastern.  The game will be broadcast on ESPN.

After a slow start to the season, the Shockers have been on a roll in the latter half of the campaign.  Winners of 13 of their last 16, they finished sixth in the American Conference.

This season snapped a streak of seven straight trips to the NCAA Tournament for Wichita State under the direction of head coach Gregg Marshall.  They reached the Final Four in 2013.

Marshall was thought to be a candidate for the Indiana job in 2017.  He went head to head with Dayton and Archie Miller in the NCAA Tournament that year in what would be Miller’s last game with the Flyers.  Wichita State won that first round contest 64-58.

Senior Markis McDuffie leads Wichita State in scoring with 18.3 points per game.  The 6-foot-8 forward also contributes 5.0 rebounds per game.

The Shockers are ranked No. 83 according to KenPom as of this writing.  They are ranked No. 132 in adjusted offense and No. 71 in adjusted defense.

Indiana (19-15) is seeking its first 20 win season since the 2015-16 campaign.  The Hoosiers last reached the NIT Final Four in 1985 when they fell in the championship game to UCLA and Reggie Miller.

The all time series is tied 1-1.  Wichita State won a first round 2015 NCAA Tournament meeting 81-76.  IU took down the Shockers 75-54 in 1989 in Indianapolis in connection with the Hoosier Classic.

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