March Madness is back. The second game of the NCAA Tournament delivered in the battle of 11 seeds Wichita State and Drake.
Drake and Wichita State met in the First Four on Thursday night for the right to advance and play 6 seed USC. Both teams were looking to bounce back after tough losses in their conference tournaments. Drake fell short in the MVC Championship to Loyola Chicago. Wichita lost a heart breaker to Cincinnati in the AAC semifinals.
Wichita State is led by sophomore guard Tyson Etienne who averages 17 points per game. Drake’s scoring is spread out, having 5 players average double-digit points per game. Senior forward Shanquan Hemphill is Drake’s leading scorer, averaging 14.1 points per game. Hemphill missed Drake’s last 9 games but would return for the First Four matchup.
First Half
Both teams got out to a slow start in this First Four matchup. The slow start could be due to nerves because of the big stage. Neither team shot greater than 30% in the first. Morris Udeze got out to a hot start for Wichita, scoring 5 of the team’s first 8 points.
Drake would find themselves down by as many as 12 in the first half. They would use a 10-0 run down the stretch to trail by only one at the half; 21-20. Joseph Yesufu led the way for Drake in the first, scoring 7 points. After his hot start, Udeze would finish the first with 9 points and 2 rebounds.
Wichita was able to hold a one-point lead at the half after their leading scorer Tyson Etienne didn’t score a point in the first. If Wichita wanted to hold on and advance, they would probably need Etienne to step up in the second.
Second Half
The first half saw both teams getting used to the big stage of the NCAA Tournament. After the half, they were able to get comfortable and really get after it. Both teams improved their shooting in the second. Drake made 5 three-pointers in the second, compared to only 2 in the first. Wichita only made 1 three-point shot in the second half.
An early 8-0 the second-half run for Wichita put them up 31-23 at the 15:50 mark. Drake would need to claw back in the second half much like they did in the first. With about 4:16 left in the game, Drake took their first lead since the score was 5-2 with a Darnell Brodie layup.
The game was very hectic down the stretch, with both teams fighting for the right to advance. Wichita State’s Alterique Gilbert would shoot the potential game-winning three with less than three seconds left, and it did not fall. Drake would hold on to win, outlasting Wichita by a score of 53-52.
Yesufu built off his solid first half, finishing the game with 21 points and 3 assists. Darnell Brodie added 9 points and 11 rebounds for Drake.
Udeze scored 22 points and grabbed 4 boards in the loss. Wichita’s leading scorer Tyson Etienne scored only 1 point. The loss will, unfortunately, end Wichita’s season.
This was Drake’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1971. With the win, Drake will advance to play 6 seed USC on Saturday.
