WICHITA (AP) – Missouri Valley regular-season champion Wichita State has received a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament and will play 12th-seeded VCU in the second round.

The Shockers (27-5) were in line for a better seed before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Wichita State not only tumbled to a fifth seed, it also wound up in the same region as overall No. 1 seed Kentucky.

VCU (28-6) knocked off Kansas en route to the Final Four last season.

It’s the ninth NCAA tournament appearance for Wichita State, and first since 2006, when it reached the round of 16 under former coach Mark Turgeon.

The Shockers had landed in the NIT the past two seasons. They won that tournament last year to build momentum heading into one of the best regular seasons in school history.