Wichita State advances with 81-76 victory over Indiana

OMAHA, Neb. — Guard Fred VanVleet tied his career high with 27 points and No. 7 seed Wichita State set up a long-awaited game with an instate rival by holding off No. 10 seed Indiana 81-76 on Friday in the second round of the NCAA Midwest Regional at Century Link Center Omaha.

Wichita State (29-4) advances to face No. 2 seed Kansas in Sunday’s regional quarterfinals. The programs, separated by 163 miles, haven’t faced each other since 1993.

Junior guard Yogi Ferrell scored 24 points and freshman guard James Blackmon had 14 for Indiana (20-14).

Ferrell was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers and made one with 2:21 remaining to pull Indiana within 72-71. The Hoosiers had trailed by eight points with 7:53 to play.

But Wichita State forward Ron Baker was 7-of-8 on free throws in the final 1:58, making three in the final 19 seconds. Wichita State finished 28 of 32 at the line. Baker, only 3 of 13 from the field, had 15 points.

Wichita State trailed by three at halftime but held Indiana without a field goal for a 5 1/2-minute stretch and used an 8-0 run to take a 50-47 lead with 14:08 remaining on two free throws by forward Shaquille Morris.

Indiana answered with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by guard Nick Zeisloft and a sky hook from forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea.

That’s when VanVleet keyed a 15-3 Wichita State run to put the Shockers ahead to stay. He had six points to help the Shockers build their biggest lead of eight points and later assisted on a Morris dunk that ignited the pro-Wichita State crowd.

Indiana led 39-36 at halftime. Ferrell’s driving shot in the closing seconds answered a three-point play by VanVleet, which had pulled Wichita State within one point.

The Hoosiers led by as many as eight points in the first half, thanks to 6-of-13 shooting on 3-pointers, including three from Ferrell.

Wichita State overcame sub-par shooting from the field and made a living at the free-throw line in the first half, going 13 of 16.

Freshman forward Zach Brown’s 3-pointer, Wichita State’s only one in the first half, forced a 23-23 tie with 7:40 remaining. But Indiana answered with an 8-0 run to take its biggest lead, with sophomore forward Collin Hartman, who picked up two early fouls, hitting back-to-back 3-pointers.

NOTES: Indiana G Yogi Ferrell hit a 3-pointer with 15:13 remaining in the first half to stretch his streak of making at least one 3-pointer to 65 games, the longest current streak in the nation and an Indiana record. … Wichita State is a No. 7 seed for only the second time. In 2006, the seventh-seeded Shockers reached the Sweet 16 before losing to Final Four-bound George Mason. … Wichita State senior G Tekele Cotton became the first Shocker to appear in four NCAA Tournaments.