NASHVILLE, Tenn. - For Wichita State tonight, the NIT might as well stand for "No Ineptitude Tolerated."
It is true the Shockers could have their pick of ready-made excuses should they lose to Vanderbilt.
First, there's the matter of having played in that dreaded play-in game, which means they had to win one more game -- and expend more energy -- than most other teams in the field to advance.
The Shockers won that game against Houston on Wednesday, and they won again Saturday night against Western Kentucky in the first round. Sunday, they flew out to take on Vanderbilt, which has won 23 straight nonconference home games.
It hardly seems fair the Shockers have to make such a quick turnaround. After all, Vanderbilt will have been resting at home for five days by the time the teams tip off tonight.
"It's going to be a heck of a challenge," WSU coach Mark Turgeon said. "They're sitting there waiting for us, and our travel plans aren't great."
Then there's the matchups. Vanderbilt is competitive in the SEC, which -- with apologies to the Missouri Valley Conference -- simply has bigger, better athletes.
Vanderbilt returned three starters from last season's team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Despite all that, the Shockers think they can win. Having won two hard-fought NIT games already has done wonders for their confidence. They've recaptured the aggressiveness and swagger that was sorely missing toward the end of the regular season.
It's still not the NCAA Tournament, but the Shockers and their fans have shown each other that winning NIT games means something to them.
"It's a good step for our program", Shocker center Paul Miller said. "Hopefully it'll give us some national attention."
The game will be aired on ESPN. There is some frightening potential for the Shockers to be blown out on national television, since they have had precious little time to scout Vanderbilt, which starts two freshmen.
But no worries. Turgeon said he watched Vanderbilt 70-56 home victory over Alabama, an NCAA Tournament team, and was impressed.
"They have some big guys who can shoot it," Turgeon said. "I'm well aware of what they run. But there's no way we can teach our guys in 48 hours -- having to travel -- what they do. We just have to go play. All I know is that we're looking forward to playing an SEC school on the road."
It is true the Shockers could have their pick of ready-made excuses should they lose to Vanderbilt.
First, there's the matter of having played in that dreaded play-in game, which means they had to win one more game -- and expend more energy -- than most other teams in the field to advance.
The Shockers won that game against Houston on Wednesday, and they won again Saturday night against Western Kentucky in the first round. Sunday, they flew out to take on Vanderbilt, which has won 23 straight nonconference home games.
It hardly seems fair the Shockers have to make such a quick turnaround. After all, Vanderbilt will have been resting at home for five days by the time the teams tip off tonight.
"It's going to be a heck of a challenge," WSU coach Mark Turgeon said. "They're sitting there waiting for us, and our travel plans aren't great."
Then there's the matchups. Vanderbilt is competitive in the SEC, which -- with apologies to the Missouri Valley Conference -- simply has bigger, better athletes.
Vanderbilt returned three starters from last season's team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet 16.
Despite all that, the Shockers think they can win. Having won two hard-fought NIT games already has done wonders for their confidence. They've recaptured the aggressiveness and swagger that was sorely missing toward the end of the regular season.
It's still not the NCAA Tournament, but the Shockers and their fans have shown each other that winning NIT games means something to them.
"It's a good step for our program", Shocker center Paul Miller said. "Hopefully it'll give us some national attention."
The game will be aired on ESPN. There is some frightening potential for the Shockers to be blown out on national television, since they have had precious little time to scout Vanderbilt, which starts two freshmen.
But no worries. Turgeon said he watched Vanderbilt 70-56 home victory over Alabama, an NCAA Tournament team, and was impressed.
"They have some big guys who can shoot it," Turgeon said. "I'm well aware of what they run. But there's no way we can teach our guys in 48 hours -- having to travel -- what they do. We just have to go play. All I know is that we're looking forward to playing an SEC school on the road."
