INDIANAPOLIS -- No. 10 seed Wichita State entered Friday night's South Regional opening-round game averaging 82.1 points and with an average winning margin of 19.6 points.
But if nothing else, the Shockers (31-4) proved in their 64-58 victory against No. 7 seed Dayton (24-8) that they are proficient in low-scoring, grind-it-out games as well.
"I didn't doubt we would react well in a tight game," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said. "I was disappointed in the first half. I thought we were playing passively.
"I thought we were not executing. The three words that I talked about were verve, vigor and vitality. We didn't have those things."
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But the Shockers, who will take on No. 2 Kentucky Sunday in the second round, reversed course in the second half, limiting Dayton to 8-of-29 field goal shooting (27.6 percent).
Conner Frankamp's clutch 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining gave Wichita State a seven-point lead, and the Shockers held on.
Landry Shamet led the Shockers with 13 points, Zach Brown added 12 and Shaquille Morris scored 10. Frankamp's big 3-pointer was his only field goal.
"This kind of game definitely was something a little brand new to us from what we've seen in the Missouri Valley," Brown said. "We just grinded it out. The Dayton Flyers are an amazing team. It was really hard fought. None of it came easy."
Wichita State outrebounded Dayton 48-29, getting 11 from Rashard Kelly.
Scoochie Smith scored 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting for Dayton, which shot only 31 percent (18 of 58). The rest of the team was a collective 9 of 41.
"That was one of the hardest played games we've been in in a long, long time," Dayton coach Archie Miller said. "It was anyone's game for a good portion, but give them credit for making timely shots and getting timely rebounds. Then, we really sputtered."
Kelly's 3-pointer just ahead of the halftime buzzer pulled the Shockers to within 29-27. Smith made 6 of 10 first-half field-goal attempts and scored 15 to lead Dayton.
"You've got to give them credit, because they were the ones defending us, but in the second half, it was more on us," Smith said. "We had to step up and hit shots, and lot of people on our team couldn't get those shots to fall or get into any kind of flow."
No one scored more than five points for Wichita State during the opening 20 minutes when the Shockers shot 35.7 percent (10 of 28). Dayton shot 34.5 percent through one half (10 of 29).
Wichita State outrebounded the Flyers 24-16.
NOTES:
-- Dayton's Archie Miller was selected Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and Flyers senior G Kyle Davis was selected A10 Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 8.1 points and shooting 55.8 percent from the field.
-- This was Dayton's fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the 18th in school history.
-- Dayton's senior class has won a school-record 102 games.
-- Miller has coached the Flyers to five NCAA Tournament victories in the past three years.
-- Dayton's bench has outscored the opponents' non-starters 22 times, winning 20 of them.
-- This is Wichita State's sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the 14th in school history.
-- Wichita State has won 30 games or more for a fourth time in five seasons.
-- The Shockers have a 16-game winning streak, the second longest in school history -- 35 in a row during the 2013-2014 season.
-- This is head coach Greg Marshall's best offensive team ever, averaging 82.1 points a game.
