Wichita State Basketball: 3 thoughts on 2018-19 non-conference schedule
The Wichita State Shockers are going through a retooling, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at their challenging non-conference schedule.
The 2017-18 season ended in disappointing fashion for the Wichita State Shockers.
After a successful first year in the AAC, the Shockers earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they were a sleeper Final Four pick (at least in the eyes of this prognosticator). One awful upset to Marshall later, Wichita State’s year was over.
Joining the AAC was the culmination of years of hard work for the Shockers, who earned their elevation from the Missouri Valley.
Their time near the top of the conference may be shortlived, though.
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Wichita State lost nearly every player of consequence from last year’s squad. Some were expected – the graduations of Rashard Kelly, Darral Willis Jr., Shaquille Morris, and Conner Frankamp – while the departures of Landry Shamet (NBA) and Austin Reaves (transfer) will sting from some time.
Outside of Markis McDuffie, general college basketball fans would be hard-pressed to name another member of Wichita State’s 2018-19 squad.
Still, the Shockers will have games to play this season as they attempt to make the NCAA Tournament once more.
Here are three major takeaways about their recently released non-conference schedule.