Markis McDuffie scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half, and Dexter Dennis tallied 15 of his 17 after halftime Tuesday night as sixth-seeded Wichita State earned a spot in the NIT semifinals with a 73-63 win over top-seeded Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.
Samajae Haynes-Jones added 13 points for the Shockers (22-14), who will meet either Lipscomb or North Carolina State on April 2 at Madison Square Garden. Wichita State won three road games in seven days to earn its trip to New York, trailing for just 11:28 total.
Senior Juwan Morgan tallied 21 points for the Hoosiers (19-16), while Aljami Durham scored 13 and Devonte Green added 12 points. However, Indiana made only 38.5 percent of its field-goal attempts and was outrebounded 43-37.
Morgan hit a foul shot with 11:27 left to pull the Hoosiers within 46-45, but McDuffie stuck a 3-pointer to quiet the crowd. After Indiana got within 51-50 on Green's trey at the 8:26 mark, Dennis canned a 3-pointer 17 seconds later.
The Shockers pulled away down the stretch, icing the game by going 8 of 8 at the foul line in the last 1:24.
Defense dominated the first 10 minutes. When McDuffie converted a jumper off an offensive rebound halfway through the first half, Wichita State owned an 11-10 lead. That kicked off a 9-0 Shockers run, McDuffie capping it with a jumper for an 18-10 advantage at the 8:54 mark.
The lead reached 26-15 when Jamarius Burton converted a driving layup with 6:55 left, but Indiana finally gained a bit of traction by scoring six straight points. Rob Phinisee's two free throws with 5:10 remaining pulled the Hoosiers within 26-21.
The margin stayed between five and eight points for the half's remainder. Wichita State headed for the locker room with a 36-29 cushion after Ricky Torres sank a pullup jumper with 48 seconds left. The difference was Indiana's poor shooting. The Hoosiers made only 11 of 34 (32.4 percent) from the field before the break.
--Field Level Media
Wichita St. | Indiana | |
Markis McDuffie 21 | Scoring | Juwan Morgan 21 |
Jamarius Burton 4 | Assists | Devonte Green 4 |
Jaime Echenique 11 | Rebounds | Devonte Green 7 |
Samajae Haynes-Jones 8 | Free Throws Made | Juwan Morgan 4 |
Markis McDuffie 2 | Steals | Devonte Green 3 |
Dexter Dennis 6 | Blocks | Juwan Morgan 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Wichita St. | 73 | 40.0 | 11-29 | 18-25 | 14 | 39 | 9 | 4 | 12 |
Indiana | 63 | 38.5 | 6-18 | 7-13 | 12 | 30 | 4 | 7 | 9 |