When Wichita State beat Kansas in the NCAA Basketball Tournament, I was happy. After working at WSU for more than 28 years in news and media relations, it was nice to get to play KU and win.
But don?t expect me to gloat. It?s one game. Granted, it was a big game because it came during March Mad?ness, but it?s still one game. I thought the Shockers had a fair shot to win, but I was far from confident and pleasantly surprised that the game wasn?t nip and tuck at the end.
The majority of KU and Wichita State fans handled the situation pretty well from what I observed, but there are always exceptions.
What I find interesting is how the media responds or reacts. The day after the game, a Kansas City sports talk radio station aired a program that dissected Wichita State?s win over KU. WSU was credited for wanting the game more, playing harder, yada, yada, yada.
Coach Bill Self disagreed that Wichita State wanted the game more, although the radio show host said the eye test didn?t back up Coach Self?s claims.
That same talk show host thought it was one of the few times that Self was outcoached. I?m not smart enough to know whether he was or not. But there?s little doubt that Wichita State played better on that day.
Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall noted that KU is well-coached with talented players, but said something along the lines of ?we?re pretty good, too.?
Media can be harsh. I saw a tweet quoting former college great turned broadcaster Chris Webber on why WSU and KU don?t play in the regular season. ?So basically, they?re (KU) scared to play a team. Let?s call it like we see it.?
Somehow, I don?t think KU teams are afraid of anyone, although I do think they feel like they have nothing to gain by playing Wichita State.
Winning 11 consecutive Big 12 titles is amazing and that?s exactly what the Jayhawks have done. The trouble is, when you?re as successful as KU, losing during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is considered a disappointing season.
For most of my career at Wichita State, we rarely sniffed the NCAA Tourna?ment, so the recent success has been most enjoyable. I suppose if the Shockers had reached the tournament 15-20 consecutive years, I?d be a bit spoiled, too.
Let?s not kid ourselves. The Missouri Valley Confer?ence is not as good as the Big 12 in basketball. That makes it all the harder to explain how KU is only 1-3 against MVC teams in the last 10 years in NCAA Tournament games.
However, many national pundits said the recent KU-Wichita State game was a toss-up and not really an upset. In fact, one writer said if you?ve been paying attention, Wichita State has been better than KU the past couple of years or so.
In the meantime, you?ll have to forgive WSU fans for being a little giddy over beating KU and having so much success in recent years.
I often said that my parents spoiled me rotten and I loved every minute of it. Those of you who are KU fans should probably take the same approach.
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Speaking of success, let?s not overlook what Tabor College has done in basketball in recent years. A year ago, both the men?s and women?s team won the KCAC tournament to qualify for the NAIA Tournament.
And this year, both teams won conference championships and made it to the national tournament again. The women made a remarkable run, winning two games before losing.
Congratulations to all the players and coaches on their success!