The RoundHouse | 2/15/2018 8:50:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
January and February, the gripe went, presented mostly downside for Wichita State as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. The potential for bad losses dominated the 18-game schedule, with rare chances to improve its standing in the power rankings.
 
This week is exactly what the No. 19 Shockers wanted when they joined the American Athletic Conference.
 
They are solidly in the NCAA Tournament's 68-team field. The Bracket Matrix judges them a No. 6 seed in its compilation of 106 bracket predictions. ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Wichita State a No. 6 seed. The Athletic's Stewart Mandel considers it a No. 7 seed. At Sports Illustrated, the Shockers are a No. 8 seed. Yahoo.com places them as a No. 5.
 
Because of the schedule, Wichita Staten (19-5, 9-3) can improve – perhaps dramatically – its NCAA resume with a strong finish. That process starts on Thursday against Temple (15-10, 7-6) at Koch Arena. On Sunday, the Shockers travel to No. 5 Cincinnati.
 
"It's the toughest February for me in 20 years as a coach," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "We didn't quite have this type of schedule, gauntlet if you will, in the Big South for nine years at Winthrop, then the first 10 years here. Seems like every year the schedulers know what they're doing, and they put those very meaningful games at the end."
 
For the Shockers, meaningful might mean the difference between a fan-friendly drive to the NCAA Tournament in the same time zone and a plane ride to the coasts.
 
Temple is No. 40 in the warrennolan.com RPI. Thursday's game offers the Shockers a chance to add a win in the NCAA's Quadrant 2, its new attempt to categorize wins and losses for the selection committee to evaluate. The Shockers are 7-1 in that quadrant, which includes home wins against teams ranked 31-75, neutral-court wins vs. teams ranked 51-100 and road wins against teams ranked 76-135.
 
The big prize is Sunday at Cincinnati, ranked No. 8 in the RPI. That game is a Quadrant 1 game (road vs. a team ranked 1-75) and the Shockers need to add to their 2-3 record in that group. According to the NCAA team sheets, their Quadrant 1 wins are at No. 54 Baylor and a home win over No. 29 Houston.
 
Wichita State started the season projected as a top-four seed and a candidate to enjoy the geographic protection the NCAA tries to assign those schools. Shocker fans hoped for a trip to Dallas for the first weekend and the potential of a return to Omaha in the Midwest Regional. The Shockers aren't there now, but a strong finish can bring that possibility back. Future opponents SMU and Central Florida are in the top 100 of the RPI. The regular-season finale is a rematch with Cincinnati at Koch Arena.
 
Then the American tournament should offer more opportunities for quality wins.
 
On Sunday, the NCAA selection committee released its top 16 seeds as of mid-February. The No. 4 seeds, for comparison purposes, possess resumes similar to Wichita State. Tennessee is 4-6 vs. Quadrant 1. Ohio State is 2-4, Arizona 3-3 and Oklahoma 6-6.
 
The Shockers, unlike in February's of past, are trying to improve their resume instead of maintaining.
 
"I write on the board the remaining schedule, how many days that is, how many weeks that is," Marshall said. "One of these days, they're going to say, unless we win the national championship, they're going to say, 'I wish we could have done a little more.' Now's the time."
 
Temple is a good reminder of the weight of those words. The Shockers led the Owls by 10 points in the second half and by five in overtime before losing 81-79 on Feb. 1. The lesson from that loss (and the November loss to Notre Dame) is that each possession matters. Leads, especially on the road, can disappear quickly when turnovers, bad shots or defensive letdowns give the opponent hope.
 
Shocker senior Rashard Kelly referred to a quote popular in the locker room that warns of getting comfortable after tasting success.
 
"We gave up leads in the Notre Dame game and the Temple game," he said. "We settled. To be successful moving forward, you want more."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.