Who said yellow and blue didn’t mix? The stands of the CenturyLink Center were filled with Shocker and Jayhawk fans Sunday in Omaha.

Before Wichita State’s 78-65 dismantling of the University of Kansas, head coach Gregg Marshall met with fans at the team’s hotel. As a chorus of cheers rang out upon Marshall’s arrival, he grabbed the microphone in front of a sea of Shocker faithful.

“Whew,” Marshall said. “I don’t know if you’re more excited about going to the Sweet 16 or playing the team in crimson and blue.”

Marshall’s prediction came true. The Shockers are headed to Cleveland for the Sweet 16 where the No. 3-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish await.The Shockers were behind by three points — senior Tekele Cotton’s opportune time came without filing a flight plan. He soared through the air, was briefly halted by contact from Jayhawk center Landen Lucas and floated the ball in the air, which bounced around the rim before dropping.

One free throw later, the game was all tied up with 1:27 left to play in the first half.

“I think I probably surprised them a little bit [with my athleticism],” Cotton said, grinning. “I looked at their faces and they looked a little surprised. I didn’t really get it like I wanted to, but I think they were a little surprised.”

When Cotton hit that soaring layup, everything in the game — and the state of Kansas — changed.

The Jayhawks have dominated this series winning 12 of the previous 14 matchups. The last time they met, KU knocked down WSU with a 103-54 victory in 1993. A lot has changed in 22 years, and it showed.

The Shockers weren’t so little compared to the blue bloods of college basketball anymore. Little brother grew up, and he’s bigger than big brother now. And big brother got scared.

“They were far superior to us in the second half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Whatever we tried, they had a counter.”

When Shaq Morris fouled Frank Mason, Mason was stunned, laying on the ground for what seemed like minutes. Mason went full speed into 260-pound Shaq Morris, who stood over Mason like a giant.

Earlier, Kansas forward and Wichita native Perry Ellis left the game after taking an elbow from the smaller Fred VanVleet.

With 50 seconds remaining in the first half, VanVleet sank a three. Then he poked the ball away on defense, flipped an underhand at the basket and missed as time expired.

VanVleet ran off the court smiling with the Shockers controlling a three point lead.

The Shockers extended the margin in the second half and after an Evan Wessel three-pointer to go up 37-30, WSU opened a whole new can of worms the Jayhawks couldn’t handle.

Self sat on the sidelines helpless, watching his team fall apart in what’s been coined the “Battle of Omaha.”

“Wessel is a stud,” Self said. “To me, he was the most most valuable guy of the game, and he dominated the game from a loose-ball energy. When he made that three, it kinda took the lid off the basket after that. Then they dominated us.”

An “Evan Wessel” chant stirred through the arena after the game.

Wichita State wasn’t David with a slingshot against Goliath. They used all their artillery and they had a full arsenal.

Wessel rained threes and hit the boards, Baker hit big shot after big shot, Cotton scored at will, Zach Brown looked like the best freshman on the court and VanVleet kept the team’s composure.

Darius Carter and Cotton hit back-to-back shots under the five minute mark, followed by a timeout. Before heading to the Shocker bench, VanVleet pulled his team together at halfcourt.

“He didn’t say too much,” Cotton said. “He just kept us poised, like a leader.”

VanVleet directed traffic and not worried about running clock. He kept attacking — making plays — poised to head to the Sweet 16.

“Obviously, at that time, you can pull the ball out and run clock,” Baker said. “But we’re a really aggressive team and we make smart decisions with the ball, and that’s what we did.”

The Shocker team had mixed emotions after this one. Marshall said it’s awesome and Cotton …

“I’m speechless,” Cotton said. “In the locker room I heard Fred say he didn’t know how to feel. This feeling was unreal, and he was right about that.”

Not getting the opportunity to play KU and going to the Sweet 16 is a tremendous achievement, Baker said.

Fans decked in their crimson and blue couldn’t do anything, but sit, silently, watching the black and gold bully them.

It wasn’t about getting a crack at the Jayhawks to Marshall, though.

“The game was about the right to go to the Sweet 16,” Marshall said. “Anything other than that is just a side light. We wanted to go to Cleveland and play Notre Dame.  If it was Duke or North Carolina, it would’ve been the same.”

The Shockers will head back to Wichita and prepare to go into their next challenge with Notre Dame on Thursday in Cleveland.

“Just a great day to be a part of Shocker nation,” Marshall said, “and to lead these young men into battle. When you are able to go home and get a few day’s rest and deal with all the media and whatnot, it kinda sinks in, you’re one of the top 16 teams in the country.”