Bob Lutz: Shocker men, women making the MVC their own

Over the past five seasons, Wichita State has won three outright Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball championships and finished second twice.

That’s domination, people. Complete and utter domination, and it shows in the records.

The Shockers are 77-13 in MVC games during that span; Northern Iowa has the next best conference record at 56-34.

But the men’s team isn’t the only Wichita State basketball team flexing Valley muscle.

The Shocker women, who have clinched a third straight Missouri Valley Conference championship, have a similar stranglehold on the league.

WSU is 44-8 in the MVC over the past three seasons. The next best record belongs to Northern Iowa, which is 33-19. Over a five-year span, the Shocker women are eight games better than UNI.

There’s a whole lot of winning going on with the Wichita State basketball programs, who have won 64 of their 70 Valley games the past two seasons.

“I never thought about trying to match the men’s success because we’re making our own success,” Wichita State women’s coach Jody Adams said. “I’m very proud of Gregg (Marshall) and his guys and what they do, but I really don’t compare programs. There’s a different history in his program where mine doesn’t have a history.”

The women have attained all kinds of firsts under Adams, including a first NCAA Tournament appearance two seasons ago. The Shockers followed that up with another NCAA appearance last season and look like a lock to reach the tournament this season.

Wichita State senior Alex Harden is on the verge of becoming the Shockers’ all-time leading scorer and will probably come out on top in any debate of the best player in Shocker women’s basketball history.

The Shocker men, of course, have standout veteran guards Fred VanVleet, Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton. They helped WSU reach only its second Final Four two seasons ago and the Shockers were 35-0 last season before losing to Kentucky in their second NCAA Tournament game.

At 27-3, WSU is poised for its third consecutive 30-win season if it can sweep through the Valley tournament this weekend in St. Louis.

Yet as much as the men’s and women’s teams share success, they don’t share much else.

Because their seasons are so hectic and it’s rare when both teams are home at the same time, the players don’t run into one another much.

“I just see them practicing and they’re practicing super hard all the time,” Cotton said of the WSU women. “Their whole coaching staff and their players work really hard. They might even be tougher than us at some times.”

Success is relatively new to the Shocker women, who have been stuck in idle for most of the program’s existence. In 2012-13, though, there was a serious breakthrough as Wichita State won its first Valley regular-season title, first conference tournament championship and played its first NCAA Tournament game.

Then the Shockers did it all again last season and appear to be on the verge of making it three in a row.

“I thought this was something we could do,” said Adams, in her eighth season at WSU. “It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of different people who have helped. I’m most proud of the players who have come through the program.. They graduate and they get a taste of what it’s like to see your hard work and your investment pay off with a degree and a championship ring.”

The men’s team, meanwhile, became the first Shocker club since 1963-64, 1964-65 to win back-to-back Missouri Valley Conference championships. They’ve not only won 35 of 36 Valley games the past two seasons, but have done so with just a couple of close games.

“I’m a huge fan of the men,” Harden said. “Any time they play I’m definitely rooting for our guys. I don’t think I’ve gotten to be at any games this season but I watch them when they’re on TV and online.”

Harden is the WSU women’s team version of VanVleet, Baker and Cotton rolled into one. She’s an outstanding scorer, rebounder and passer who wants to win an NCAA Tournament game before her career ends.

“We really see her more during the offseason,” Baker said. “(Harden) definitely has the size and athletic ability and is a really good player.”

Really good players are something both teams have in abundance.

While the Shockers’ men’s team has been packing them in at Koch Arena for years, the women are beginning to draw crowds worthy of their performance and ability. There was a nice crowd for last week’s showdown win over Drake.

“The fans we have are loyal and for that we are grateful,” Harden said. “What we’ve been able to do over the past few seasons has helped us increase the number of fans. It was great at the Drake game to hear everyone cheering for us.”

Everybody loves a winner. And with 143 conference wins and counting over the past five seasons – 28 more than second-place Northern Iowa – the Shocker men’s and women’s team are highly lovable.

This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 7:03 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Shocker men, women making the MVC their own."