Wichita State basketball wiping slate clean to try unprecedented AAC tournament run
In order to extend its season, the Wichita State men’s basketball team likely needs to win four straight games in four days in Fort Worth this week at the American Athletic Conference tournament.
It’s a tall order, but Temple showed winning four straight is indeed possible last season, as the 11th-seeded Owls won four straight to reach the tournament championship game before running out of steam in the final against UAB. Temple is the only team to win four games in the AAC tournament’s 10-year history.
Wichita State, the No. 8 seed with an 18-13 record and 8-10 mark in conference play, opens postseason play at 11:30 a.m. Thursday against No. 9 seed South Florida (13-18, 6-12 AAC) in a game broadcast on ESPNU. The winner advances to face No. 1 Memphis in Friday’s quarterfinals at noon on ESPN2.
“It’s a clean slate,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “Everybody understands what’s in front of them and the prize that’s available if you will approach this the right way. We’ll need fresh minds and fresh bodies for Thursday because in order to win four games in four days, you’re going to have to have that.”
The Shockers will also need to gain a sense of urgency, which was completely absent from their most recent performance — a 73-63 loss to Tulsa on senior day.
WSU closed out the regular season with a 7-3 record in its final 10 games, but the players know their effort, intensity and execution must be rewired following a dud performance.
“I feel like it comes down to having pride,” WSU senior Harlond Beverly said about the team’s defense. “There will be more games, but I feel like as a group we need to have more pride staying in front of the ball.”
Fellow senior Xavier Bell, who was recently named first team all-conference, added that the transition to postseason can help with a new mindset.
“Everyone is 0-0, so it’s a whole new season,” Bell said. “We understand that now it’s win or go home. It doesn’t matter if you’re tired, it’s going to take everything from all of us, from the bench to the guys out there on the court. It’s a total team effort. If we stick together and stay connected through the hard times, we’ll find a way.”
Working against WSU is the history of its seed at the AAC tournament, as no No. 8 seed (or No. 9 seed for that matter) has ever knocked off a No. 1 seed in bracket play in the event’s 10-year history. Since WSU joined the conference, play-in teams have won just 25% of the time (6-18) in the quarterfinals.
What can give the Shockers confidence is that they have proven capable of beating both teams that stand in their way to the semifinals. During its 7-3 close to the regular season, WSU notched a 75-70 road win over the Bulls and a 84-79 overtime win over Memphis — its only loss since Jan. 16.
“We’ve got a group of veterans,” WSU center Quincy Ballard said. “I believe in this team. We know we have the chemistry to do it. We can definitely make a run.”
“This being an older team, an older group of guys with a lot of seniors, I think we all understand what’s at stake,” Bell added. “We know what needs to be done, so it’s really just about trusting each other, trusting the coaching staff and go out there and find a way.”
A loss on Thursday would conclude an 18-win season, a 3-win improvement from last season’s mark, which would be rather disappointing considering the expectations for a more veteran group to take a leap in Mills’ second season.
A deep run in Fort Worth could change that outlook.
“We don’t want the script to be, ‘Man, they battled back, but they could just never get over the hump,’” Mills said. “We need to continue to get better and better. We’re now entering a situation where you’re playing elimination basketball, so we need to make sure we’re not writing a script of, ‘Man, we got close.’ We need to do the things necessary to find a way in order to actually tackle what’s ahead of us.”
Shocker basketball preview vs. South Florida
Records: WSU 18-13, 8-10 AAC; USF 13-18, 6-12 AAC
When: 11:30 a.m. Thursday
Where: Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas
How to watch: ESPNU (Mike Corey with Perry Clark)
Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Dave Dahl and Bob Hull)
Series history: WSU leads 10-3
KenPom says: WSU 74, USF 70
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 12:00 AM.
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