In a wild turn of events, the Wichita State men’s basketball team will be making its return to the postseason after all.

On the same day when a team spokesperson told The Eagle that the team’s season was officially over, the Shockers were included in the 32-team field for the National Invitational Tournament.

Wichita State (19-14) will play at Oklahoma State (15-17) on Tuesday with a tipoff scheduled for 8 p.m. at Gallagher-Iba Arena with the game broadcast on ESPN2. Tickets are available to purchase through the OSU website and WSU fans are encouraged to buy tickets in sections 211 and 212.

The winner will face the winner between SMU and Northern Iowa on either Saturday or Sunday, as the 8-team pod in the Dallas region also includes North Texas, Arkansas State, Saint Louis and Furman.

The official 32-team bracket for the 2025 NIT. NIT Courtesy

It is the first postseason bid for WSU since 2021 when the Shockers won the American Athletic Conference championship and received an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Shockers last played in the NIT in 2019 when a Markis McDuffie-led team rattled off three straight road wins to reach the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. WSU also notably won the 2011 NIT championship, which served as a springboard to seven straight appearances in March Madness.

WSU also has a recent history with the Cowboys, as the two teams recently completed a 4-year series from 2019-22 with each side winning two games. The teams also played each other in a preseason scrimmage back in October at Koch Arena.

This story was originally published March 16, 2025 at 9:08 PM.