Where have you gone, Wichita State men’s basketball? That’s likely the question that countless men’s basketball fans in the Sunflower State, and the team’s backers at Kansas sportsbooks, are asking.
The Shockers have fallen to shocking lows on the hardwoods of the American Athletic Conference in 2024-25, continuing a slide over the past few seasons.
Long Fall For Wichita State
This year’s WSU team is 11-10, on pace to finish with a .524 winning percentage. Last season the Shockers were 15-19, their first losing season since an 11-20 mark in 2007-08. And their woeful 1-7 start in conference play equals a .125 winning percentage; they have not finished under .200 in league play over a season since the 1969-70 team went 3-13 (.188) in the Missouri Valley Conference. At Caesars Kansas Sportsbook, WSU has +250000 odds of winning the national title.
With a return to March Madness being virtually out of the question (save for a miraculous run at the AAC Tournament in March), it’s worth wondering how the Shockers reached such depths. They have gone from being one of the darlings of the mid majors under Marshall to an also-ran program in the AAC.
BetKansas.com, the best place to find real money Kansas sports betting promos, looked at the Shockers’ recent track record to pinpoint where it all went wrong for Wichita State, with the team’s move to the AAC in 2018 looking worse and worse by the year.
Wichita State Basketball in Recent Years
Here's a snapshot of the program's final years in the Missouri Valley Conference against their first several season in the American Athletic Conference:
- AAC Era (2017-18 to present): 144-102 (.585), two NCAA Tournament berths (lost in First Round once and First Four once)
- MVC Modern Era (2010-11 to 2016-17): 208-43 (.827), six consecutive NCAA Tournament berths, including:
- One Final Four berth in 2013 (lost to Louisville, 72-68)
- One Sweet 16 loss in 2015 (lost to Notre Dame, 81-70)
- Three defeats in Round of 32 (2014, 2016, 2017)
- Two defeats in Round of 64 (2012, 2018)
How Shockers Got Here
To say that Wichita State’s issues stem from their decision to part ways with Marshall is short-sighted. The program’s fall from grace began before Marshall was fired for off-court conduct in 2020.
The roots of the Shockers’ current slump trace back to when they joined the AAC in 2017-18. That season, WSU went 25-8 overall and made the Big Dance for a seventh consecutive season under Marshall. But that team crashed out in the first round as a fourth seed, falling to Marshall 81-75 in what turned out to be the final tourney game under Marshall, who has the most win in program history.
The Shockers went 45-23 over the next two seasons but on the outside of the field of 68 come Selection Sunday. Marshall left in disgrace just as the 2020-21 season got underway.
Marshall’s successor (assistant coach Isaac Brown) rallied the troops enough to get the Shockers through a COVID-shortened 16-6 season (11-2 AAC) but Drake bounced WSU 53-52 in the First Four, putting a sour note on the program’s most recent NCAA Tournament run.
Brown coached two more seasons with the Shockers, going 15-13 and 17-15, before being shown the door after the 2022-23 season (that was the season folks in the Sunflower State could use legal Kansas sports betting apps to wager for the first time). Wichita State then hired former Oral Roberts head coach Paul Mills.
Two seasons in, and it looks like that bet has not paid off for the program or for those laying futures wagers on the Shockers at Kansas sports betting apps. Mills has posted a 26-29 record with the program, going 15-19 and 11-10 (so far) as the leader of what once was a proud program.
It’s too early to speculate on whether Wichita State athletic director Kevin Seal will opt to start over again in 2025. What we can say with some degree of certainty is that the AAC era has been one to forget for Shockers hoops fans, with the once-proud program mired in an era of mediocrity in the Air Capital of the World.
As of Jan. 31, FanDuel Kansas Sportsbook has Duke and Auburn as co-favorites to win the national title, each at +400 odds, followed by Houston (+750).
USA Today photo by William Purnell
