Shock and (Wichit)awe: Angry WSU Latest Mid-Major Reaching Final Four
March 31st, 2013 - 10:07
No. 9 seed Wichita State became the fifth bottom-of-the-bracket team earning a spot at the Final Four, joining #9 Penn '79, #11 Louisiana State '86, #11 George Mason '06 and #11 Virginia Commonwealth '11. Among mid-major schools, UNLV was the only one advancing to the national semifinals in the first 11 years after the tourney field expanded to at least 64 teams in 1985. The Shockers are the eighth different school on the following chronological list of mid-majors reaching the Final Four since the field was expanded to at least 64 teams:
Year Mid-Major School Coach Conference Final Four Result 1987 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian PCAA Lost to eventual champion Indiana in semifinals 1990 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Big West NCAA Champion after defeating Georgia Tech and Duke 1991 UNLV Jerry Tarkanian Big West Lost to eventual champion Duke in semifinals 1996 Massachusetts John Calipari Atlantic 10 Lost to eventual champion Kentucky in semifinals 1998 Utah Rick Majerus Western Athletic Lost to Kentucky in championship game 2006 George Mason Jim Larranaga Colonial Lost to eventual champion Florida in semifinals 2008 Memphis John Calipari Conference USA Lost to Kansas in championship game 2010 Butler Brad Stevens Horizon League Lost to Duke in championship game 2011 Butler Brad Stevens Horizon League Lost to Connecticut in championship game 2011 Virginia Commonwealth Shaka Smart Colonial Lost to eventual runner-up Butler in semifinals 2013 Wichita State Gregg Marshall Missouri Valley Final Four (to be determined)