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Wichita State Shockers suffer upset loss to Marshall in first round

By Leigh Oleszczak

SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 16: Jarrod West #13 of the Marshall Thundering Herd shoots against Conner Frankamp #33 of the Wichita State Shockers in the second half during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 16, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - MARCH 16: Jarrod West #13 of the Marshall Thundering Herd shoots against Conner Frankamp #33 of the Wichita State Shockers in the second half during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Viejas Arena on March 16, 2018 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images) /
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The Wichita State Shockers will not be dancing into the Round of 32 after being knocked off by the 13th-seeded Marshall Thundering Herd. They lost 81-75.

We’ve now seen two 13-seeds take down four-seeds and the Wichita State Shockers were the second of that group to be defeated. This goes down as one of the biggest upsets of this year’s tournament and within the last few years.

Wichita State looked uncomfortable from the very beginning, as Marshall played great defense against them. Jon Elmore took control of this one and was the reason the Thundering Herd came out victorious, putting up 27 points. Four Marshall players (including Elmore) had double digit points.

It wasn’t all bad for the Shockers, as Connor Frankamp matched Elmore’s 27 points and kept the Shockers in the game even when they didn’t deserve to still be in it. Three other Wichita State players had double digit points, but when it came down to it, they couldn’t stop Marshall from knocking down threes, connecting on nine three-point shots.

The game went down to the wire, but it appeared to be over once the Thundering Herd took a six point lead with under two minutes to play. The momentum was on Marshall’s side and it showed. WSU began to play panicked and that won’t win you games.

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Even with a hot day for Frankamp, the Shockers were playing with the pressure of not losing to a 13-seed and it showed. They had no answer for Elmore and were forced into some forced shots even when they didn’t have to take those shots.

Hats off to Marshall in this one. The Thundering Herd hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1988 and the hype was through the roof with the Marshall faithful. Their fans showed up big time, making noise all throughout and anytime they made a big shot or a big play, it sounded like Huntington, West Virginia was the host site for the game.

For Wichita State, this is a disappointing end to their first season in the AAC. The Shockers earned a four-seed, but had to face an incredibly tough 13-seed team who had nothing to lose. The Shockers had everything to lose and now their 2017-2018 campaign has come to a close.

The Shockers will graduate six seniors this May, paving way to a different looking team in 2018-2019. While many had hoped for a different outcome this year, the Thundering Herd deserved the win and the Shockers allowed them to be in the game from start to finish.

It almost appeared as if the Shockers looked past Marshall, expecting to be playing West Virginia (or Murray State) on Sunday. Now they’ll be watching Marshall play in that game instead.

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