LOS ANGELES—Call it a fairy tale if you want—Wichita State men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall doesn’t care. 

After WSU upset Ohio State on Saturday 70-66 in the Staples Center to advance to the Final Four for the second time in the program’s history—the other time coming in 1965—the idea that the Shockers don’t belong among the elite holds little validity. 

“I don’t think we’re Cinderella at all,” Marshall said. “Cinderellas usually are done by this stage. If you get to this point, you can win the whole thing. You beat a No. 1 seed and a No. 2 seed; I think Cinderella just found one glass slipper. I don’t think she found four.”

And Marshall’s logic is solid. 

To win a national championship, a certain amount of luck has to be involved. While fate has certainly shined in WSU’s favor in its four NCAA Tournament games, the team’s dominance needs to be noted. 

The Shockers defeated Big East power Pittsburgh by 18 points in the second round. Before needing to rally against No. 1 Gonzaga in the third round, WSU held a 13-point lead in the first half and canned 14 3-pointers. La Salle proved to be a complete mismatch in the Sweet 16, with the Shockers jumping out to a 17-3 lead and out-rebounding them by 21. 

Then came Big 10 champion Ohio State in the West Regional championship Saturday. A heavy favorite, the Buckeyes found themselves trailing by as much as 20 points with 12:39 to play. 

Sure, like any good team, they rallied to cut the deficit to three with plenty of time to play. But WSU never blinked. 

It wasn’t luck that got the Shockers to the Final Four. It was cold-blooded skill. 

“I just feel like we’ve got that same potential as those guys, regardless if they know who we are or not,” WSU junior forward Cleanthony Early said. “We just tend to work hard. We know we have potential pro basketball players, and we’re just trying to continue to work hard.”

The Shockers’ approach has been to “play angry” and to be “never satisfied.” This has led to a dismantling of all their opponents with a minimal amount of celebrating. 

To put into words how rare and historic WSU’s Final Four run has been is difficult to do. While the fans celebrate—even greeting the team at 3 a.m. upon its arrival from California—the team continues to stay focused. 

“It feels good, but I feel like this team, we aren’t done yet,” WSU senior forward Carl Hall said. “So it’s on to the next game. We celebrate tonight, but tomorrow we’re back to work again, so we’re just ready to go and make a run for this thing.”

WSU will now head to Atlanta and to the biggest stage the school has ever been on. Joining the Shockers in the Final Four are powerhouse programs Louisville, Michigan and Syracuse. 

Maybe Marshall’s name isn’t at the same level as Louisville’s Rick Pitino or Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, and maybe the Shockers don’t have any NBA lottery picks, but what they do have is the ability to beat anyone. 

They don’t care about rankings, seedings or name recognition. They don’t care about the team on the other side of the court. What WSU cares about is each other and shedding its Cinderella moniker once and for all. 

“They’re a band of brothers,” Marshall said about his players. “They talk about being brothers. They act like they’re brothers and they continually pick each other up. That’s how we’ve been able to persevere and overcome so much adversity this season.”