No Shocker at All: Wichita State is the Real Deal

Anyone who thought the Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team would take a relative nose dive from their historic Final Four run last year is eating a ton of crow and duck with tarred feathers as we speak.  Not only did the Shockers run the regular-season table for the first time in school history, they have done so by making their mark in a number of areas.

First and foremost, as of press time, the big number to note is 34, as in a school best 34-0 record that gives the Shockers the distinction of having the most wins without a loss before the NCAA Tournament.  This also breaks last year's 30-win campaign that saw the Black and Gold come agonizingly close to knocking off eventual national champ Louisville, coming within four points of the Cardinals.  Secondly, WSU's trail of terror features now-marquee victories over Saint Louis and Davidson, one a budding Sweet 16 contender, the other a former Elite 8 club.

What's surprising to note is that for a mid-major program like Wichita State, the margins of victory this year are anything but mid-major.  If you throw out the overtime thriller January 11 at Missouri State (whom the Shockers have now beaten a third time with the rout of the Bears in the Missouri Valley tourney) and single digit verdicts against Northern Iowa, Tennessee, Saint Louis & Alabama, Wichita State has a very comfortable double-digit margin of victory.

Also of note, Wichita State is trying to become the latest mid-major with consecutive appearances at the Final Four.  The last to do it was former Horizon League member Butler, now in the revamped Big East. Another run to the national semis would make it four of the last five years that mid-majors would have reached the final stage.  The last time such a run happened was between 1978 and 1983, when then-mid-majors Notre Dame, Louisville, DePaul and Penn made the Final Four [Louisville won two of their three titles as members of the Metro Conference].

What does all of this mean?  It means Gregg Marshall, in his seventh season as the head coach, is about to be NBA jail bait very soon.   All he has done is lead the program to 63 wins in the last two years and three MVC regular-season championships.  Look for him to get a call from Brad Stevens of the Celtics (and formerly of Butler) in regards to handling those types of inquiries.  That is, if All-American candidate Cleanthony Early doesn't persuade him to stay a few more years.