ST. LOUIS -- After Friday night's 82-56 rout of Bradley in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament, Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall was asked how he kept his team motivated for a third meeting with an opponent they had beaten twice by a combined 49 points.
"They'd been playing well, four-game win streak for them," he said of the Braves. "You have to have a mental edge. You can't go in with young people thinking it's going to be easy. It's never easy."
Marshall can basically make the same speech Saturday when the 21st-ranked Shockers (28-4) meet Missouri State in the MVC semifinals at Scottrade Center.