LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Wichita State Shockers are headed to the Final Four in Atlanta after defeating Ohio State, 70 – 66, in the West Regional final played Saturday.
The Shockers haven’t played this deep into the annual college championship tournament since 1981. It’s the first time Wichita has earned a spot in the Final Four since 1965.
Right away, you could see the Shocks weren’t goting to back down from Ohio State.
Back to back three pointers by Takeel Cotton and Demetric Williams gave Wichita State a 10-point lead. They then strectched that lead out to 20 by the second half.
The Buckeyes got back into the game with a 23 – 6 point run late in the contest.
They cut the lead to 3. However, Cotton responded with a huge 3-pointer that pushed the Shocks back ahead by six.
With 1:00 left in the game, the Shocks were up by 4 points. Then Fred Van Fleet fired a shot at the basket and it dropped. The score 67 – 61.
The Shockers missed a few free throws at the end, so they had to sweat it out. But they were able to hang on.
Wichita State becomes the first Missouri Valley Conference school to make it to the Final Four since 1979.
