Wichita State Shockers Take Down Dayton Flyers in First Round

Mar 17, 2017; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Dayton Flyers guard John Crosby (15) shoots over Wichita State Shockers guard Landry Shamet (11) and center Shaquille Morris (24) during the first half in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports /

The Wichita State Shockers were already angry with where they were seeded in the NCAA Tournament and they took down their first victim as a result in the Dayton Flyers. The Shockers won 64-58 in round one.

State of Shock!

The Wichita State Shockers, who already had a lot to prove in this tournament, just showed they should have been higher than a ten-seed by knocking off their first round opponent.

That opponent was the Dayton Flyers, who were a tricky seven-seed in the tournament. Dayton had their work cut out for them against an angry Shockers group and turned up on the losing end.

Wichita State allowed Dayton guard Scoochie Smith to put up 25 points, but that kid was a monster on the court. Dayton hit 31% of their shots and definitely had a lot of support in the stands in Indianapolis.

Shocker fans showed up big too though, and Landry Shamet fed off that and led WSU with 13 points on the evening. Zach Brown followed with 12 points and Shaquille Morris had ten.

It was a big game for the Shockers, but next up will be their biggest game of the season. Should the number-two seeded Kentucky Wildcats beat Northern Kentucky, that’ll be Wichita State’s next match-up. That game would take place this Sunday and would be what stands in the way of the Shockers making it to the Sweet Sixteen.

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Personally, I think the Shockers have a good shot at beating Kentucky, even if others will count them out. They were under seeded in the first place and showed against Dayton that they play better when they’re angry.

While WSU trailed by two heading into the half, they came out swinging in the second half. Their defense was clutch, holding the Flyers to shooting 8-for-29 on the floor to finish out the game. That’s pretty dang good.

Also, remember how I mentioned Scoochie Smith had a monster game? Most of that damage took place in the first half, as the Shockers defense held Smith to only three points when the Flyers came out of the locker room for the second half.

If Kentucky wins (which they should, as they’re playing a 15-seed), then don’t count the Shockers out of that game. Wichita State is on a mission to prove the naysayers wrong and they already started that by knocking off a seven-seed.

Let’s hope they can defeat the Wildcats on Sunday!

Let’s go Shockers!

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