Wichita State Win Gonzaga Upset By Shockers In NCAA Tournament

After years of toppling Goliaths in the NCAA Tournament, Gonzaga found itself on the wrong end of an upset. In a scintillating back-and-forth affair, No. 9 Wichita State shocked No. 1 Gonzaga, 76-70, in the third round of the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The Shockers took a 36-31 lead into halftime but needed to rally late after the Bulldogs went ahead midway through the second half. Ron Baker, Tekele Cotton and Cleanthony Early all sank key three-point shots as Wichita State roared toward the final buzzer. After a three-point shot by Gonzaga's Kevin Pangos staked the Bulldogs to a 61-54 lead with 5:32 remaining, the Shockers outscored them 22-9 the rest of the way.They never quit," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said after win, via The Associated Press. "You know we got the big lead, Gonzaga makes a great run as a No. 1 team in the country would, and these guys dig down. Marshall has his team in the Sweet 16 a year later than most expected. Last year's team won the Missouri Valley Conference and earned a No. 5 seed, but lost its opening game to No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth. With the three leading scorers from that team gone, little was expected out of this group, at least outside of Wichita. But Marshall restocked his roster with Early, a junior college transfer, and guard Malcolm Armstead, who sat out last year after transferring from Oregon, and Baker. For what these Shockers lacked in hype, they more than made up for in grit, just how Marshall designed it.I don't have thugs, I don't have bad people, I don't have guys that don't go to class or are out causing trouble or getting in trouble with the law," Marshall said. "These guys go to class, take care of their business in the community and are just fun to coach, and that's who you want to experience this type of experience with. They're tough. Our coaching staff is tough. Nobody in our program came from basketball royalty. We're all blue collar."