It was the basketball game that Bill Self and his merry band of Jayhawks feared — Wichita State.
The Shockers scored 49 second-half points to run past Kansas 78-65 in the NCAA Tournament.
No die-hard Jayhawk fan who paid close attention to this year’s Big 12 champions should have been surprised.
Self had done his best to avoid scheduling the Shockers — and now we realize why. After all, playing the Shockers was probably a lose, lose situation for the Jayhawks. The Jayhawks would always be the perceived favorite playing an underdog with more at stake. When the Jayhawks got their chance, they lost.
Now, maybe it’s in the best interests for Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall to agree to not schedule the Jayhawks. The Shockers have nothing to prove. They are 2-0 all-time in the NCAA Tournament against the Jayhawks.
Wichita State showed more physical toughness and mental discipline. The Shockers pushed the pace and played their game. The Shockers hustled for 100 percent of the contested 50-50 balls.
The Jayhawks were a championship level team in Lawrence. But outside of road games at Texas and Oklahoma, the Jayhawks had not exhibited consistent toughness away from Lawrence.
Perry Ellis and freshman Devonte Graham played brilliantly, but a lot of the Jayhawks were no-shows. What hurt the Jayhawks was they got away from their team concept.
The Shockers’ trio of Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton all played superbly. The Shockers worked together and set up their teammates — like all good teams.
VanVleet handled the pace of the game. Baker did a little bit of everything. Cotton shut out Wayne Selden and scored 19 points.
The Shockers’ wild card was Evan Wessel, who drained four 3-pointers while defending his high school teammate Perry Ellis.
It was a great scene in Omaha, Neb., for college basketball in Kansas. The Jayhawks are still the king of college basketball in the state. But Wichita State has proven they belong in the room.

Jim Misunas