Paul Mills was sure the season was over for his Wichita State team. After the Shockers lost in Friday’s quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference tournament, players and coaches parted ways, with a handful leaving Wichita to start spring break.
On Sunday night, though, Mills’ daughter was navigating Instagram and saw Wichita State included in the 32-team field of the NIT. Now, suddenly, the Shockers have at least one more game left as they face fourth-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round on Tuesday in Stillwater, Okla.
“I do think that some guys feel like we left a lot on the table,” Mills told the Wichita Eagle. “It’s just not often that you get a chance to course-correct on something like that.”
After finishing eighth in the AAC, Wichita State (19-14) makes its first NIT appearance since 2019 and the program’s first postseason appearance in four years. The Shockers advanced to the semifinals in 2019, eight years after winning the NIT championship.
Mills said that, despite some players leaving town over the weekend, he expects all of them to be ready to take on the Cowboys (15-17).
“We’ll be ready,” he said.
Xavier Bell averages 14.9 points per game for the Shockers, who have beaten Oklahoma State three times in the last five meetings, all in Stillwater. Corey Washington contributes 13.5 points and 7.4 rebounds, and Bijan Cortes (6.2 ppg) emerged in the last two AAC tourney games, scoring 20 and 19 points to go along with seven and five assists.
As for Oklahoma State, Abou Ousmane leads the way with 12.2 points and 5.3 boards per game, topping 24 points twice in the past five games. A 43.2 percent shooter from 3-point range, Ousmane has fallen into foul trouble of late, fouling out three times in the last eight games.
Bryce Thompson (12.2 ppg) and Marchelus Avery (11.4) also average double figures for the Cowboys, who are in the postseason for the first time since 2023, when they advanced to the NIT quarterfinals.
Oklahoma State has played in the NIT 13 previous times — and the Cowboys have never been to the title game.
Oklahoma State coach Steve Lutz, whose team finished in a tie for 12th in the Big 12 and lost in the first round of the conference tournament, said that the Cowboys “deserve” the NIT bid. Now they just need to take advantage of it.
“If we can play postseason and have an opportunity to continue to fight for a championship, these guys deserve it,” he said. “They’ve given us a lot all year long and have set the culture for the future. So we need to reward them if at all possible.”
–Field Level Media
