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Gregg Marshall's message to voters in the Associated Press poll who finally started ranking his Wichita State team this week: What took so long?

The Shockers, who have lost just twice since mid-November, made their first appearance of the season in the AP rankings, coming in tied for 24th in this week's poll.

"To be honest, I thought we were a top 25 team last year,'' Marshall said. "I always thought that on a given night, we could beat anybody.''

The Shockers went 29-8 last season, finishing second in the Missouri Valley regular-season race before seeing their NCAA tournament hopes get bounced in a semifinal loss to Indiana State in the conference tournament. Wichita State rebounded to win the National Invitation Tournament.

Of their eight losses, the Shockers dropped an 83-79 decision to Connecticut and a 68-67 decision to Virginia Commonwealth.

"We got screwed against Connecticut,'' said Marshall, obviously still remembering the 31-17 foul differential that allowed the Huskies to score 32 points from the free-throw line in the Maui Invitational game. "Connecticut went on to win the whole thing.

"We got hurt by a late whistle against VCU. They beat us on free throws with little time on the clock. They made the Final Four. We were a little more inconsistent last year, but the talent was there. It's my job to make them be a little more consistent, and we've been able to do that.''

The Shockers have played much of this season in the shadow of Creighton, which got off to a fast start that contributed to a lot of national attention being directed the Bluejays' way.

Wichita State lost back-to-back games to Alabama and Temple in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off in November. Since then, the Shockers' only losses came against Creighton and Drake, the latter in triple overtime on the road.

Wichita State avenged its loss to the Bluejays by pounding out an 89-68 victory last Saturday in Omaha. That win solidified the Shockers' hold on first place, leaving them two games up with three to play in the regular season.

Afterward, Marshall lobbied for a little love for his basketball team.

"Maybe we'll get some press now,'' he said. "We've gotten some but not nearly the amount of the Creighton team, and they deserved it the way they played early in the year. But maybe these guys will get some now.

"I've never been around a group that's more mentally tough. It takes physical and mental toughness to do what they do on the road."

Ticket sales up for Valley tournament

Interest continues to grow for the conference tournament, which will be played March 1 to 4 at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

A total of 5,959 all-session tickets have been sold by the 10 Valley schools through Feb. 8. That's a 17 percent increase from last year, and league officials say sales in the St. Louis area also are up.

Creighton set a record by selling 2,575 tickets, one more than Wichita State's total in 2007. The record for total pre-tournament sales is 8,601, set in 2008.

Players of the week

Overall: Wichita State guard Joe Ragland. The senior from West Springfield, Mass., averaged 21.5 points and 4.5 assists in wins over Northern Iowa and Creighton. He shot 76.2 percent from the field, including making 7 of 11 attempts from 3-point range.

Newcomer: Northern Iowa forward Seth Tuttle. The freshman from Sheffield, Iowa, averaged 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in winning the award for the second consecutive week and the third time this season.

Stat of the week

Indiana State's Jordan Printy had misfired on 11 of his 12 previous 3-point shots until going 6 for 6 against Southern Illinois. Printy had half of the Sycamores' 3-pointers as they set a NCAA record by making 12 of 12 from beyond the arc against the Salukis.

Quote of the week

"To beat them, you're going to have to play particularly well, have guys step up and then you're going to have to catch some breaks. They're savvy, they're experienced and their guys understand how to win.'' — Missouri State coach Paul Lusk, on the challenge of facing Wichita State.

— Steven Pivovar

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