Men's Basketball | 1/30/2026 4:31:00 PM
By
Paul Suellentrop
Wichita State is in a position it last occupied in 2021. The next week will demonstrate how ready the Shockers are to take advantage.
The Shockers (13-8) are 5-3 in the American Conference to erase a recent history of debilitating starts. By late January over the past four seasons, WSU found itself playing catchup. This season, boosted by a win at USF and one over Memphis, the Shockers are in a group of seven teams with two or three losses.
They play at Tulsa (18-3, 6-2) on Sunday (1 p.m., ESPNU) and face Charlotte (12-9, 6-2) on Wednesday (6:30 p.m.) at Koch Arena (ESPN+). Tulsa, Charlotte and USF are tied for first. FAU (6-3) is next, with the Shockers, Memphis and Temple close behind.
Win both and the Shockers grab status as one of the favorites. A split might keep them in the right neighborhood at the halfway point of what appears to be a race in which the champion might finish with five losses. Also important is finishing in the top four. The top two seeds receive a pass to the semifinals and need only win twice in the post-season tournament. Seeds No. 3 and No. 4 start in the quarterfinals and must win three games.The top 10 teams make the tournament with three staying home.
In 2020-21, the Shockers started 4-1 on their way to an 11-2 COVID 19-abbreviated record and won the American title. Since then: 1-5 and 2-4 under former coach Isaac Brown followed by 0-6, 1-7 with coach
Paul Mills. This version of the Shockers avoided digging a hole in early January and bounced back from tough losses to keep climbing. While they don't have much margin for error, they are in the picture in Mills' third season.
"Whatever metric you want to look at, we've gotten better every single year," he said. "Progress is made in steps, not leaps."
The past three games represent a big step for the Shockers. They bounced back from a loss at FAU to win at USF 86-85 in overtime. They handled ECU 77-60 and led Memphis by 24 points early in the second half before winning 74-59.
Wichita State handed in two of its better defensive games during the wins over ECU and Memphis. They held ECU to 34.9 percent shooting, its lowest in conference play, and outscored the Pirates by 13 second-chance points. They were the first winning team to hold Memphis under 60 points, forced 17 turnovers and limited the Tigers to their worst three-point shooting (3 of 19) accuracy this season.
On offense, guard
Kenyon Giles continues to score efficiently. Teammates are learning how to play off Giles' skills and learning their roles.
Dillon Battie averages 9.8 points in his five starts.
Brian Amuneke came off the bench to help bury Memphis with three three-pointers in the first half.
"None of this stuff matters stylistically if you don't know how to play hard," Mills said. "I think you've seen us develop a style and we kind of know who are offensively and we know what we're doing defensively. You can't play hard unless you know what you're doing."
Tulsa has won five straight and largely avoided the ups and downs that hit every other contender. The Hurricane went 11-1 in nonconference, losing 84-83 at Kansas State. After consecutive losses at North Texas and at home to USF, they've won four of the past five by 12 or more points.
Mills calls Tulsa one of the nation's best offenses.
"They've had two games where they didn't score 80 (or more)," he said. "We need to take care of the ball, because you just can't give them easy possessions."
Tulsa ranks second nationally in foul shooting at 79.7 percent and seventh in three-point shooting (39.7 percent). They have made more foul shots (425) than their opponents attempted (372).
"They have a number of guys who can hit difficult shots, but they know what they're doing," Mills said. "They know the reads. They make really easy decisions. They have phenomenal connector in Tyler Behrend who keeps that thing going."
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit
GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
