Arizona head coach Sean Miller doesn’t have advice for Dayton’s Archie Miller in planning for Wichita State

“He doesn’t have any advice, none.”

Dayton%E2%80%99s+head+coach+Archie+Miller+takes+questions+from+the+media+during+a+pre-game+press+conference+the+day+before+the+Flyers+take+on+the+Shockers+in+Indianapolis.+%28Mar.+16%2C+2017%29

Brian Hayes

Dayton’s head coach Archie Miller takes questions from the media during a pre-game press conference the day before the Flyers take on the Shockers in Indianapolis. (Mar. 16, 2017)

Arizona head men’s basketball coach Sean Miller doesn’t have advice for his younger brother ahead of Wichita State, except for maybe to pack an extra shirt.

Last year, Miller had his concerns rise when No. 11 seed Wichita State defeated Vanderbilt in the play-in round in Dayton, Ohio. When the two teams met in Providence, R.I., Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall and company ran away with an early first half run. By halftime, Arizona had handed over too many turnovers for comfort along with a 12-point Wichita State lead.

Miller, bothered by the lower-seeded Shockers’ success, famously sweat through his shirt forcing a change at halftime.

“He doesn’t have any advice, none,” Archie said Thursday. “He didn’t have any advice after that game.

“I watched the game — I haven’t seen a team do that to one of Sean’s teams maybe ever.”

Archie, younger brother to the Arizona head coach, was presented with a chance to take on the Shockers in a first round meeting in Indianapolis Friday night.

 

Wichita State has only passed met Dayton in passing. In November 2015, a faltering Shocker team struggled off the court in Orlando as the Flyers flew into the championship of the AdvoCare Invitational.

Marshall and Archie Miller never met like either thought they would’ve. The Flyers finished as the runner-up; Wichita State lost three straight. But that hasn’t stopped either coach from keeping tabs on the other.

“I’ve been following Wichita State as a head coach since I got the job,” Archie said.

Miller said he watched Wichita State go through teams like No. 1 seed Gonzaga and Ohio State in 2013 to advance to the Final Four.

“They kind of motivated me,” Miller said. “I kind of look at Wichita State as a program that gives a lot of places like ours the faith that they can play with anyone. They can beat anyone.

“I think their game last year was great evidence against Arizona that they don’t really care who they’re playing.”

Marshall, who watches basketball routinely, hasn’t seen much of Dayton. Last year, while on the road at a Holiday Inn Express, he watched Dayton pull off a come-from-behind victory in overtime on the road at Davidson. It was enough to show him the competitiveness in the Flyer’s program.

Wichita State enters Friday a six-point favorite — similar odds that the Shockers were presented with a year ago against Arizona.

Friday will be the winner-take-all of the mid-majors, a chance to advance to the Round of 32 for the second straight year and another chance to turn up the heat on another Miller brother.