Wichita State defeated second-seeded Kansas City 78-65 in their NCAA tournament showdown on Sunday.

Fred VanVleet and the rest of the Missouri Valley registered a comfortable victory to earn a trip to the Sweet 16 in the sweetest way possible.

"There's so much to be said about this rivalry with Kansas," VanVleet said, "but really, it's all about the fans. What better story is there for Wichita State?"

The Shockers have been trying hard schedule a game against Kansas, but the dominant school in the Sunflower State has preferred not to accept their request, claiming that it would gain nothing from the match.

But the beating on Sunday showed that Wichita has got the potential to defeat any team.

For seventh-seeded Shockers, Tekele Cotton scored 19 points and VanVleet finished with 17. Evan Wessel hit four 3-pointers and scored 12, helping his team advance to Cleveland for a Midwest Regional semifinal against third-seeded Notre Dame.

"We don't have McDonald's All-Americans, we don't have guys that have been in the spotlight, and been given that pedestal," VanVleet said. "We work for everything we've got, from managers to coaches to our preacher to, you know, whoever. We've scrapped and fought our whole lives."

"We'd been playing anybody else, it would have meant the same, advancing to the Sweet 16," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "It just so happens we played an in-state team to go where we wanted to go, and they were much better than us."