Wichita State slips past Dayton 64-58

INDIANAPOLIS — Wichita State’s high-flying offense didn’t get off the ground until the closing minutes, when the Shockers played like the more tournament-experienced team and pulled away to a 64-58 victory over Dayton on Friday night.

The 10th-seeded Shockers (31-4) won their 16th in a row — the second-longest streak in school history — by clamping down on defense and swatting away shots down the stretch. Wichita State blocked eight shots and held the seventh-seeded Flyers (24-8) to a season-low 31 percent from the field.

Zach Brown’s 3-pointer put Wichita State up 51-45 with 5:38 left, the biggest lead by either team up to that point, and Dayton never threatened again. Landry Shamet had 13 points.

Dayton had the experienced lineup, playing in its fourth straight NCAA Tournament with three senior starters. Point guard Scoochie Smith had 25 points.

The Shockers haven’t lost a game since Jan. 14, going two months with nothing but postgame high-fives. They have relied on their offense to carry them, averaging 82.1 points per game. Feeling slighted by their tournament seed, they showed they can win other ways, too.

BIG PICTURE

Wichita State: The Shockers scored 80 points a school-record 23 times this season. Their 64 points on Friday matched their second-lowest total of the season, but they won anyway.

Dayton: The Flyers were in the tournament for a school-record fourth straight season in large part because of their senior-led team, which includes three starters averaging double figures. Aside from Smith, nobody else did much. Smith was 9 of 17 from the field, the rest of the team 9 of 41 (22 percent).

UP NEXT

Wichita State plays the winner of the Northern Kentucky-Kentucky game on Sunday in the South Regional.