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Wichita State Basketball: What makes the Shockers a contender?

By Lukas Harkins

LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 22: The Wichita State Shockers bench and fans celebrate a point during the first half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irishat the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI - NOVEMBER 22: The Wichita State Shockers bench and fans celebrate a point during the first half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irishat the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /
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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 22: The Wichita State Shockers bench and fans celebrate a point during the first half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irishat the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images)
LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 22: The Wichita State Shockers bench and fans celebrate a point during the first half of the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irishat the Maui Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center on November 22, 2017 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

In a season filled with crazy upsets and inconsistent play by the top teams in the country, what is about Wichita State basketball that puts them in the top-10?

The college basketball headlines have been dominated by the same stories all season long. Duke, Villanova, and Michigan State have been the clear-cut top teams in the country and Trae Young has a monster lead in the Player of the Year rankings. Of course, we have also seen some surprising teams jump up the rankings (I’m looking at you Clemson and Virginia) while the some have buckled under high expectations (sorry Northwestern).

Amongst all of this, though, Wichita State basketball remains the team in the top-10 that is the least talked about. In what has become the norm over the past few years, head coach Gregg Marshall has put together an experienced, talented roster that can take the college basketball landscape by storm. Wichita State is in their first year with the American Athletic Conference this season and they are showing no signs of slowing down. The team holds a 13-2 record to this point in the year.

In each of the past eight seasons, the Shockers won at least 25 games per year (averaging 29.1 wins), making the NCAA Tournament out of the Missouri Valley in six of those seasons. Everyone remembers their “magical” run to the Final Four in the 2013 NCAA Tournament but this program is built on way more than just that series of games.

What Gregg Marshall has built in Wichita is special and the Shockers should start being considered as one of the premier programs in the nation. The prolonged success of teams such as Kentucky, Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Kansas, or Wisconsin might not be there, but what they have done in the past eight (now nine) years as a mid-major is nothing short of tremendous.

Now with the AAC, it is possible that Wichita State has their best roster yet. They won’t go 35-1 like the 2013-14 season led by sophomores Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet (and a senior in Cleanthony Early) but this team has all the talent to be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and make a splash.

So, what really is it about the Shockers this season that makes them dangerous? Let’s find out.