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Wow, what a matchup we will have in the Round of 32. Wichita State vs. Kansas.
Final Score: Wichita State 81, Indiana 76
2nd (0:09): Ferrell misses the shot and Baker grabs the rebound before he is fouled. His first shot is good. The second shot is no good. 81-76 Wichita State
2nd (0:19): Ron Baker to the line. His first shot is good. The second shot is good. 80-76 Wichita State
2nd (0:33): Indiana nearly draws a five-second violation but a last-gasp timeout from Wichita State saves them from the turnover.
2nd (0:33): Ferrell is bumped at the three-point line. He will go to the line. The first shot is good. The second shot is good. 78-76 Wichita State
2nd (0:40): Cotton with the huge basket on the great playcall from Wichita State. 78-74 Wichita State
2nd (1:02): Williams with the fake and he finishes the layup. 76-74 Wichita State
2nd (1:22): Baker takes the ball strong to the hoop and draws the foul. His first free throw is good. The second is good. 76-72 Wichita State
2nd (1:35): Ferrell almost gets trapped but he moves the ball to Blackmon who was fouled on the move to the bucket. His first free throw is good. The second free throw is no good. 74-72 Wichita State
2nd (1:58): Baker takes the bump but cannot finish the shot. His first free throw is good. The second free throw is good. 74-71 Wichita State
2nd (2:18): FERRELL FOR THREE! 72-71 Wichita State
2nd (3:01): Indiana makes a great play to grab an offensive rebound but then throws the ball away.
2nd (3:47): Collin Hartman spots up and sinks the three! 72-68 Wichita State
Media Timeout: Wichita State 72, Indiana 65
2nd (4:20): Stanford Robinson is called for a foul on the rebound. Cotton to the line for two. He makes the first. The second shot is good. 72-65 Wichita State
2nd (4:52): Perea with some good awareness as he picks up the loose ball and draws a foul on the shot. The first shot is no good. The second shot is good. 70-65 Wichita State
2nd (5:30): Tekele Cotton spots up in the corner and sinks a three. 70-64 Wichita State
2nd (6:30): DUNK! Shaq Morris with the slam as VanVleet draws two defenders to him. Williams steps out and sinks a three. 67-64 Wichita State
2nd (6:50): Ferrell is fouled on the drive. He will go to the line. The first shot is good. The second shot is good. 65-61 Wichita State
Media Timeout: Wichita State 65, Indiana 59
2nd (7:48): Zach Brown with another followup bucket. James Blackmon responds on the other end. 65-59 Wichita State
2nd (8:16): Zach Brown! Timeout Indiana! Wichita State is on an 11-3 run! 63-57 Wichita State
2nd (8:50): Blackmon for three! VanVleet comes right back with a drive to the bucket. 61-57 Wichita State
2nd (9:26): Zach Brown scores from down low on the inbounds play. 59-54 Wichita State
2nd (10:02): Carter with the turnaround jumper. 57-54 Wichita State
2nd (10:17): Blackmon is called for a foul on the offensive end now.
2nd (10:24): Collin Hartman picks up his fourth foul. Carter to the line where he makes his first. The second shot is no good. 55-54 Wichita State
2nd (10:32): Blackmon misses the three but the rebound is knocked out of bounds. Wichita State ball.
2nd (10:52): VanVleet is good on both free throws. 54-54
Media Timeout: Indiana 54, Wichita State 52
2nd (10:52): VanVleet will go to the line after drawing contact on the drive.
2nd (11:24): VanVleet answers with a nice drive to the basket. 54-52 Indiana
2nd (11:46): Perea with the driving hook shot to extend the lead to four. 54-50 Indiana
2nd (12:56): Stanford Robinson with another big offensive rebound and putback. Zeisloft converts a three for the Hoosiers as well! 52-50 Indiana
2nd (13:44): Perea shuffles the feet down low, another turnover on Indiana
2nd (14:08): Morris is fouled on the rebound. He goes to the line for a one-and-one. His first shot is good. The second shot is good. 50-47 Wichita State
2nd (14:42): Carter finishes on the hook shot, followed by a steal from VanVleet. 48-47 Wichita State
2nd (15:28): DARIUS CARTER! Fred VanVleet with the great vision to find Carter open down low for the dunk. 47-46 Indiana
Media Timeout: Indiana 47, Wichita State 44
2nd (16:29): Troy Williams is called for the offensive foul on the drive.
2nd (16:32): Zach Brown will go to the line after he draws a foul his putback attempt. The first shot is good. The second shot is good. 47-44 Indiana
2nd (16:50): Troy Williams makes his first free throw. The second attempt is good. 47-42 Indiana
2nd (17:18): Robert Johnson finishes as the pace picks up even more. VanVleet answers on the other end. 45-42 Indiana
2nd (18:23): Blackmon draws the foul as he drives to the basket. He will shoot two. The first shot is good. The second shot is good. 43-40 Indiana
2nd (18:37): Ferrell with the pullup jumper from the corner of the key. 41-40 Indiana
2nd (19:01): Tekele Cotton with the beautiful drive to the basket and layup. 40-39 Wichita State
2nd (19:38): Darius Carter is down on the floor after taking a hand to the face from Collin Hartman. It doesn't look like it will be a foul
2nd (19:40): Baker with a nice move to the basket. 39-38 Indiana
2nd (20:00): Wichita State brings the ball inbounds and we are underway.
We are just about set for the second half in Omaha. How do you see our game finishing today?
Halftime: Indiana 39, Wichita State 36
1st (0:00): Ferrell with the quick drive to the bucket and layup. The shot at the buzzer is no good. 39-36 Indiana
1st (0:14): VanVleet with the beautiful move off the dribble to convert the layup and draw the foul. The free throw is good. 37-36 Indiana
1st (1:00): Baker will go to the line after being fouled on the cut to the basket. His first shot is good. The second shot is good. 37-33 Indiana
1st (1:22): Robinson with a big offensive rebound and the putback. 37-31 Indiana
1st (1:50): VanVleet takes it to the hole and finishes strong for two. 35-31 Indiana
1st (2:33): Hartman follows the missed shot well and get the putback. 35-29 Indiana
1st (3:09): Indiana called for a goaltending violation. 33-29 Indiana
Media Timeout: Indiana 33, Wichita State 27
1st (4:13): VanVleet with the runner in the lane. 33-27 Indiana
1st (4:37): Yogi Ferrell falls awkwardly after being tripped on a drive. He landed hard on his hip. He looks to be okay though as he goes to the line. His first shot is good. The second shot is good. 33-25 Indiana
1st (5:35): Collin Hartman drains another three pointer. 31-25 Indiana
Media Timeout: Indiana 28, Wichita State 23
1st (5:54): A jump ball called, possession arrow favors Indiana when we come back.
1st (6:32): THREE! Collin Hartman from downtown, a wideopen bucket from deep! 28-23 Indiana
1st (7:35): Zach Brown nails a three-pointer for Wichita State. Stanford Robinson with a spin move to the bucket and the layup on the other end. 25-23 Indiana
1st (8:12): Baker with a nice mid-range jumper that is answered by a layup from Robert Johnson. 23-20 Indiana
1st (8:38): Darius Carter is called for his second foul on a layup attempt by Troy Williams. His first shot is good. The second shot is good. 21-18 Indiana
1st (9:16): Darius Carter goes to the line after being foul on an offensive rebound and putback. His first shot is good. The second shot is good. 19-18 Indiana
1st (9:50): VanVleet with the layup in transition. 19-16 Indiana
1st (10:08): Fred VanVleet is fouled on the jumper. He heads to the line for two. The first shot is good. The second shot is good. 19-14 Indiana
1st (10:28): Blackmon gets one shot blocked by Baker, his second shot is denied by the rim but a foul is called on Baker. He makes one of two free throws. 19-12 Indiana
1st (11:20): Ferrell for three again! 11 points for the junior. 18-12 Indiana
Media Timeout: Indiana 15, Wichita State 12
1st (12:07): Ron Baker hits the floater in the lane. 15-12 Indiana
1st (12:54): A couple missed free throws leads to a missed three-point attempt from Ron Baker. A foul is called down low on the Shockers.
1st (13:02): Yogi Ferrell for three again! He has eight on the day. 15-10 Indiana
1st (13:56): Troy Williams is fouled on a dunk attempt. He goes to the line where his first shot is good. His second shot is good. 12-10 Indiana
1st (14:30): James Blackmon with a beautiful drive and layup. 10-10
1st (14:55): VanVleet is fouled on the dribble-drive. He will go to the line. The first shot is good. The second shot is good. 10-8 Wichita State
1st (15:08): Yogi Ferrell sinks a stepback three. 8-8
Media Timeout: Wichita State 8, Indiana 5
1st (15:57): Wichita State is playing some very good defense, they force the ball out of bounds to lead into the media timeout.
1st (16:17): Morris at the line, he makes both of his shots. 8-5 Wichita State
1st (16:35): Shaq Morris with the running hook shot answered by a three-pointer from the corner for Indiana. 6-5 Wichita State
1st (17:09): Another quick foul, this time on Tekele Cotton.
1nd (17:17): An early offensive foul on Shaq Morris. Indiana ball.
1st (18:09): VanVleet to the line where he makes the first. The second is good. 4-2 Wichita State
1st (18:28): Baker with the dive to the bucket. Ferrell answers on the other end. 2-2
1st (19:00): No buckets in the first minute.
1st (19:21): A very fast pace established early from both teams.
1st (20:00): Wichita State wins the tip and we are underway
And we welcome you in to VAVEL USA's live coverage of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. My name is Matthew Evans and I am your host for today's game which will tip off in less than four minutes.
Ron Baker is the team’s leading scorer. Like James Blackmon Jr on Indiana, he will benefit more if VanVleet is able to hit a few shots early. That could open up some more space for Baker to try and take over.
The Shockers are led by junior guard Fred VanVleet. VanVleet is one of the leaders who can fill into a struggling area for the Shockers. If the team needs a scoring threat, he can do it. If they need a big rebound, he can do that. If they need someone to distribute the ball, he can do that too. He is the best all-around player on the team and could have a pretty solid career in the NBA.
Wichita State had some great competition this season in the Missouri Valley Conference with the rise of Northern Iowa. Both teams split their regular season series. There was hope that we’d get to see the rubber match in the MVC Championship Game but alas Illinois State had other plans knocking off the Shockers in the semi-finals.
The Shockers are making their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance and their 4th in a row. The results have been mixed in those last three appearances as they have either been knocked out in the first weekend or made it to the Final Four.
Wichita State comes in as a #7 seed despite a 28-4 record and a #14 national ranking in the AP Top 25.
There were a good amount of questions regarding seeding choices from the Selection Committee. The overseeding of the Big East Conference and the underseeding of the Missouri Valley Conference were the main topics of question.
Freshman guard James Blackmon Jr is the team’s second leading scorer with 15.8 points per game. He is the guy who will benefit the most from Ferrell in all aspects of the game. If Ferrell is shooting well and drawing double teams, he will likely see more open shots. If Ferrell is relying on his passing game, Blackmon is usually the primary target in the backcourt.
Yogi Ferrell – Junior. Ferrell is the team’s floor general. He commands the point but is also blessed with a knack to score. Ferrell leads the team with 16.1 points per game and 4.9 assists per game. He is also shooting 43.8% from the floor and 40.8% from three-point land. If he is not able to get his scoring touch established early, keep an eye on his assist numbers. Those will probably get close to double-digits.
Here are some players to watch for Indiana:
The odds were not in Indiana’s favor. They finished 9-9 in the Big Ten, they were 7th in the regular season, and they beat Northwestern before an early exit in their conference tournament. This season’s weakened bubble surely helped the Hoosiers as they got in with a 10-seed.
Fate would not see eye-to-eye with Indiana as they gradually slid from a top contender to a bubble team. The Hoosiers finished 5-9 in their last 14 games including a 75-69 loss to Maryland in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.
They carried this good start into their conference schedule with wins over Ohio State and Maryland. On January 22nd, the Hoosiers were sitting at 15-4, 5-1 and looking good for a run towards a top 4 seed.
This season’s Indiana squad looked to be getting back to what Indiana basketball is known for, a good team. They picked up a few solid victories in their non-conference over SMU, Pittsburgh, and Butler. They did lose a couple game to Eastern Washington, Louisville, and Georgetown.
The Hoosiers have been the lower seed in 13 NCAA Tournament games since 1990. They have a combined record of 4-9 in those games. Their last win as a lower seed came in 2002 during the Final Four when the 5th-seeded Hoosiers beat the 2nd-seeded Oklahoma Sooners before falling to Maryland in the National Championship Game.
It is a return to the dance after a one-year absence in 2014. In 2012 and 2013, Indiana made it to the Sweet Sixteen before being knocked out by Kentucky and Syracuse respectively.
Indiana is making their 38th appearance in the NCAA Tournament all-time. Their current #10 seed is the lowest that they have ever received from the Selection Committee since that practice began back in 1980.
The winner of our game will face off against the winner of the Kansas/New Mexico State game which is currently underway. We will keep you posted on the final score of that game a little later on.
Good afternoon and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Our game today is a part of the Midwest Region as the #10 seed Indiana Hoosiers (20-13) take on the #7 seed Wichita State Shockers (28-4). My name is Matthew Evans and I will be your host for this afternoon’s game.