Wichita State basketball could wrap up conference title at Koch after schedule change
It’s not a game that will move the needle for Wichita State’s chances of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, but it does offer up the chance for the Shockers to cut down the nets on their home court.
The first-place Shockers will now finish the season at home against South Florida, a noon Saturday game at Koch Arena, instead of at Temple. That game was canceled Tuesday afternoon by the American Athletic Conference because of COVID-19 issues within Temple’s program.
If WSU (13-4, 9-2 AAC) wins at Tulane on Wednesday night, then it will be able to clinch the outright regular-season title in the American with a victory over the Bulls (8-10, 4-8 AAC).
WSU hasn’t won a regular-season conference championship since the 2016-17 season, its final year in the Missouri Valley. The Shockers had a chance to share a regular-season title in their first season in the American, but lost their 2017-18 regular-season finale to Cincinnati at Koch Arena. WSU finished sixth and fourth in the conference the past two seasons.
It also gives WSU one last home game to recognize its seniors in point guard Alterique Gilbert and forward Trey Wade. Because the NCAA has stated this season does not count against players’ eligibility, both players could potentially return to play for the Shockers again next season.
While winning at Tulane (NET No. 163) would allow WSU to wrap up a conference title at home against USF (NET No. 193), the addition of the Bulls to WSU’s schedule doesn’t exactly qualify as the “meaningful” game the conference was hoping to add to WSU’s schedule to beef up its NCAA Tournament at-large resume.
While a 2-0 week won’t do much to move WSU (NET No. 67) up in the NET rankings, a loss could cripple its chances to score an at-large berth. Bracketologists are in agreement that a loss at Tulane (NET No. 163) or at home to USF (NET No. 193) would undo all of the good will built up for WSU with its win over Houston (NET No. 4).
But if the Shockers can head to the conference tournament in Fort Worth with a spotless record in Quad 3 and 4 games and a regular-season title to its name, then the marquee win over Houston and three notable road wins over Ole Miss, Central Florida and Tulsa could be enough for WSU to return to March Madness without winning the conference tournament.
All of those concerns, however, are off in the future. For now, WSU coach Isaac Brown is focused on the first step — winning at Tulane on Wednesday.
“I’m just focused on the Tulane Green Wave,” Brown said. “That’s my only focus. I let the other people try to schedule another game. If that happens, great. I would love to play another game at home for our seniors. But if it doesn’t happen, then we’ve just got to prepare for the next team up on the schedule.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2021 at 7:24 PM.
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