Shockers to NIT: Who, when and where Wichita State basketball plays next
Wichita State’s season marches on.
A few hours after falling one win short of the NCAA Tournament, the Shockers learned Sunday they will keep playing together in the NIT — and this time they will do it at home.
Wichita State was selected to the 32-team NIT field and will host Wyoming at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Koch Arena in a first-round game televised by ESPNU. The Shockers are the No. 3 seed in their pod and the winner will advance to face either Oklahoma State or Davidson in the second round on either Saturday or Sunday.
For a Wichita State (22-11) team that had spent the last two months charging back into postseason relevance, the bid offered both a consolation prize and an opportunity.
The disappointment from Sunday’s 70-55 loss to South Florida in the American Conference tournament championship game was real. WSU had entered Birmingham believing it could play its way into March Madness. But unlike some teams around the country that treat the NIT as an afterthought, the Shockers sounded like a group eager for more time together.
“Basketball players want to play basketball,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said after Sunday’s loss. “Nobody wants to go out on a loss. I’ve been fortunate to play in a couple of NIT championships, and if you can find a way to win your last game of the year, those were some really, really memorable experiences.”
What once looked like a year drifting toward frustration instead became a thrilling turnaround. The Shockers were just 10-8 in mid-January and in danger of letting the season slip away. Instead, they surged down the stretch and won 12 of their final 15 games to revive postseason hopes and put themselves in position to matter again in March.
So while Sunday’s loss ended the NCAA dream, it did not end the season or the bond this roster has built.
“This was probably the most fun year I’ve had in my college career,” WSU senior Karon Boyd said. “Really joyful. Teammates constantly encouraging each other and showing support. We just had a lot of joy playing out here together.”
In the modern era, the end of a season often means the immediate start of roster churn. The transfer portal opens, veterans move on and teams scatter quickly. Wichita State could face some of that uncertainty, too, especially with several players holding eligibility decisions ahead of next season. But for now, the Shockers get at least one more game, and possibly several more practices and meaningful postseason minutes together.
For a team that found itself late, that matters.
It matters for player development. It matters for a program still trying to build sustainable momentum under Mills. And it matters for a fan base that has seen postseason success in this event before and understands how an NIT run can be more than just a footnote.
Wichita State’s NIT history is substantial. The most famous example came in 2011 when the Shockers won the NIT championship, a run that helped springboard the program into its most successful decade of modern basketball.
WSU also reached the NIT Final Four in 2019, winning three straight road games to get to Madison Square Garden. Long before that, the Shockers made three straight NIT appearances from 2003-05 before breaking through with the memorable 2006 Sweet 16 run.
Wichita State’s last home NIT game came on March 23, 2011, an 82-75 win over College of Charleston at Koch Arena on the way to that title.
Now Koch Arena gets another postseason game.
That alone is a notable development for a program that had to go on the road for its NIT opener a year ago. Hosting status gives Wichita State a chance to extend its season in front of its home crowd and perhaps turn the event into something more than a consolation.
The opponent presents a real challenge.
Wyoming enters 18-14 after finishing ninth in the Mountain West. The Cowboys closed the regular season by winning five of their final six games before losing 73-70 to UNLV in the opening round of the conference tournament. They are led by a balanced group, including senior guard Leland Walker and freshman wing Nasir Meyer.
The Cowboys also arrive with an identity that should get Wichita State’s attention: they rebound.
Wyoming has been one of the better rebounding teams in the country this season, which could make for a fascinating contrast against a Wichita State team that built much of its late-season rise on physicality, toughness and winning extra-possession battles. Even after the offensive struggles against South Florida on Sunday, that has remained one of the clearest pillars of Wichita State’s improvement.
Yes, Wichita State wanted the NCAA Tournament. Yes, Sunday in Birmingham hurt. But the Shockers have spent too much of the last two months resurrecting their season to treat this as empty basketball now.
They earned more games. They earned another home crowd. And if this team still feels the joy Boyd described, then the NIT offers Wichita State one more chance to turn a good late-season run into a memorable finish.
This story was originally published March 15, 2026 at 8:52 PM.
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