The RoundHouse | 11/5/2021 2:29:00 PM

 
Wichita State opens the men's basketball season on Tuesday as the reigning American Athletic Conference champion.
 
The Shockers won their 12th conference title as an NCAA Division I team in March – 11 in the Missouri Valley Conference and one in the American. History tells us titles come in clusters for the Shockers. They won consecutive titles in the MVC four times and two in three years in the early 1980s.
 
To tip off the season, here is a look at each of Wichita State's conference titles.
 
Today: The Stallworth era
Monday: Cheese, Super Cal and MTXE
Tuesday: Roundhouse Renaissance
 

The Stallworth era

The Shockers took their big step onto the national stage in the early 1960s by moving toward the top of the MVC, then one of the nation's top basketball conferences. Coach Ralph Miller built the program into a consistent winner and led the Shockers to the NIT in 1962 and 1963. Meanwhile, Cincinnati won NCAA titles in 1961 and 1962 and advanced to the Final Four in 1959, 1960 and 1963 by dominating the MVC. In the 1963-64, the Shockers surged past the Bearcats and to the top of the MVC.
That success laid the foundation for all that followed for Wichita State basketball.

1963-64

Record: 23-6, 10-2 MVC (T1st with Drake)

Coach: Ralph Miller

Final national ranking: No. 5 (Associated Press)/No. 6 (Coaches poll)

Shocker stars: F Dave Stallworth earned All-MVC honors and first-team AP All-America honors after averaging 26.5 points and 10.1 rebounds. C Nate Bowman averaged 12.8 points and was a second-team All-MVC pick. G Ernie Moore averaged 17.4 points.

Big game: The Shockers defeated Drake 58-50 at Allen Fieldhouse in the MVC playoff to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid. Stallworth scored 21 points and Moore contributed 10 of his 15 in the second half. The Shockers led 49-46 with 11:14 when they went into a stall.

In one sentence: Miller and Stallworth, two of the biggest names in Shocker history, got the program into the NCAA Tournament for the first time with the MVC title.

Post-season: NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.


 

1964-65

Record: 21-9, 11-3 MVC

Coach: Gary Thompson

Final national ranking: No. 14 (Coaches poll)

Shocker stars: Stallworth averaged 25 points and 12.1 rebounds in 16 games before exhausting his eligibility after the first semester. F Kelly Pete, an excellent defender, picked up the scoring burden and averaged 17.3 points. F Dave Leach joined Stallworth and Pete on the All-MVC team. F Jamie Thompson also stepped into a bigger role late in the season. He scored 24 points in a win at Saint Louis in his first start in place of Stallworth and averaged almost 20 points over his final 14 games.

Big game: The Shockers won 85-79 at Bradley after losing their first 16 trips to Peoria. They finished two games ahead of the Braves and Saint Louis in the MVC race. Bradley defeated the Shockers, playing without Stallworth, 77-73 in Wichita later in the season.

In one sentence: Wichita State advanced to its first Final Four by defeating SMU and, with the starters playing all 40 minutes, Oklahoma State.

Post-season: NCAA Tournament Final Four
 



Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.