Men's Basketball | 2/20/2026 10:29:00 AM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
The 1976 and 2006 teams ended years of disappointment with their Missouri Valley Conference championships. The 2016 team extended Wichita State's run atop the MVC.

Three teams separated by decades and changing times at Wichita State and in college athletics. Banners and rings are shared legacies for those Shockers.

A pipeline to New York supplied much of the star power for the 1976 Shockers, which featured four 1,000-point scorers from Big Apple high schools. They won the Valley by one game over Southern Illinois with a late-season surge. Four key members of the 2006 Shockers came from Texas. One of them – guard Matt Braeuer – started that team's run with a memorable shot to beat Creighton. WSU won the MVC by two games over Missouri State, Creighton and Southern Illinois.

The 2016 Shockers relied on three prominent Kansans and starters from Illinois, Houston and Oklahoma. The MVC offered minimal resistance that season. Wichita State finished with a four-game lead over Evansville and Illinois State.

Wichita State will recognize those three title teams at halftime of Saturday's 5 p.m., game vs. Temple.

For those who need a refresher, here is the quick pitch on what to know about those Shockers.

1975-76

Record: 18-10, 10-2 MVC

Coach: Harry Miller

Final national ranking: None

In context: Shocker basketball slipped from its 1960's heights. Miller was hired in 1971 to change that slide and experienced minimal success until 1975-76. A combination of veterans such as Robert Elmore and Robert Gray and freshmen such as Cheese Johnson, Bob Trogele and Charlie Brent worked to return the Shockers to the top of the MVC for the first time since 1965.

The 1974-75 Shocker went 11-15 and Miller's job seemed in jeopardy. Assistant coach Ed Murphy joined the staff after the season and his New York connections landed Johnson and Trogele.

The 1975-76 Shockers endured an up-and-down nonconference schedule. They started 3-2 before defeating Oklahoma. They split games with former MVC opponents Memphis and Louisville.
 

The season turned on Jan. 29 when Wichita State defeated No. 20 West Texas State to start a 10-1 stretch to finish the regular season and win the Valley title. A 65-64 win over MVC newcomer Southern Illinois also proved pivotal. That run included a non-conference win over Louisville, which had won the MVC title in 1975 before exiting the conference.

With no conference tournament, the Shockers grabbed the MVC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and returned to post-season play for the first time since the 1966 NIT.

In Denton, Texas, Michigan defeated the Shockers 74-73 on a shot with six seconds to play by Rickey Green in the NCAA first round.

Shocker stars: Johnson earned MVC Newcomer of the Year honors and Elmore grabbed a spot on the All-MVC first team. Gray led the team with an average of 13.3 points and Bruton averaged 12.9 points and 5.1 assists. Both made the MVC's second team.

Big game: Bruton made two free throws with 19 seconds to play to give the Shockers a 65-64 win over Southern Illinois on Feb. 14, 1976. Gray scored 22 points, making 10 of 15 shots, and Wichita State won its sixth straight game to move into first in the MVC. SIU ended the season one game behind the Shockers in the MVC standings.

Quotable: "I think Calvin did as fine a job defensively on (SIU's Mike) Glenn as is humanly possible. It boils down to the fact that we got a sensational defensive game out of Bruton and an outstanding offensive game out of Gray, two of our seniors," Miller told the Wichita Eagle.
 
In one sentence: That group of Shockers provided the highlights of the 1970's with the 1976 NCAA bid and another 18-10 record in 1976-77.

Post-season: NCAA Tournament
 

2005-06

Record: 26-9, 14-4 MVC

Coach: Mark Turgeon

Final national ranking: No. 21 (coaches)

In context: Turgeon, athletic director Jim Schaus and university president Don Beggs started the decade determined to revive Shocker basketball. They recognized a critical need to upgrade athletic facilities and renovated Levitt Arena into Charles Koch Arena before the 2003-04 season.

Turgeon, hired in 2000, got the Shockers into the NIT in 2003 and 2004. The 2005 Shockers came painfully close to an NCAA bid before a late-season slump sent them to the NIT again.

The 2006 Shockers started the season with modest expectations after the departure of a group of seniors who returned the program to relevancy. Wins over Providence and Northwestern State and a last-second loss to Illinois highlighted the non-conference schedule.

The Shockers started MVC play 2-2 before winning eight of nine. Center Paul Miller scored 30 points in a double-overtime win over SIU, which had won or shared the four previous titles. WSU won four of its final five games – losing to George Mason in a Bracket Busters game – to wrap up its first Valley title since 1983.

WSU earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Seton Hall and second-seeded Tennessee. The run, WSU's first NCAA appearance since 1988, ended with another loss to George Mason, 63-55 in Washington, D.C.

Shocker stars: Miller earned MVC Player of the Year honors after averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds. Forward Kyle Wilson averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 rebounds to join forward P.J. Couisnard on the All-MVC honorable mention list.
 

Big game: Braeuer's buzzer-beater gave the Shockers a 62-61 overtime win over Creighton on Feb. 14, 2006. Helped by other results that day, the Shockers took hold of the MVC race and finished with four straight conference wins. They finished with a two-game edge over Missouri State, Southern Illinois and Creighton in a season in which four MVC schools played in the NCAA Tournament and two (Wichita State and Bradley) advanced to the Sweet 16.

Quotable: "It's awesome. I'm happy for the team. I'm happy for the coaches. I'm happy for the city of Wichita," Miller told the Wichita Eagle after the Shockers cut down nets to celebrate the MVC title.

In one sentence: After finishing second the previous two seasons, the Shockers returned to the top of the MVC with a team that won with defense and chemistry.

Post-season: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
 

2015-16

Record: 26-9, 16-2 MVC

Coach: Gregg Marshall

Final national ranking: None

In context: Shocker fans expected MVC titles and NCAA berths during this era. The 2016 Shockers won a third straight title and earned an NCAA spot for the fifth straight bracket.
Coach Gregg Marshall's machine was rolling, led by seniors Ron Baker, Fred VanVleet and Evan Wessel. His teams always played superb defense, and this team may have been his masterpiece.

VanVleet's hamstring injury slowed WSU early and he did not play in tournament losses to Southern Cal, Alabama and Iowa. Less well-remembered is that WSU also lost freshman Landry Shamet to a stress fracture early in the season.

When VanVleet returned, the Shockers won 15 of 16 games, highlighted by a 67-50 rout of No. 25 Utah at Intrust Bank Arena.

WSU started 11-0 in MVC play before losing at Illinois State. They finished the regular season winning five in a row and gleefully routed the Redbirds 74-58 in the final game.
 

The Shockers showed off their defensive chops in the NCAA Tournament by handling Vanderbilt 70-50 in the First Four and smacking No. 17 Arizona 65-55. The season ended with a 65-57 loss to No. 10 Miami.

Shocker stars: VanVleet won his second MVC Player of the Year honor and made his third appearance on the MVC All-Defensive team. Baker finished third in the voting, his third straight season in the top three. Forward Markis McDuffie averaged 7.4 points and earned MVC Freshman of the Year honors.

Big game: Evansville pushed the Shockers early in the MVC schedule before losing 67-64 in Koch Arena. In the rematch, Wichita State held the Purple Aces to 34.8 percent shooting and blocked nine shots to win 78-65 in front of 10,034 fans at the Ford Center. VanVleet scored 32 points and the Shockers led by 10 or more throughout the second half.

Quotable: "If you don't play defense, you won't play. And everybody wants to play," McDuffie told the Wichita Eagle after the Shockers held Arizona to 20 baskets and forced 19 turnovers.
 
In one sentence: Wichita State ranked first nationally in scoring defense (59 points), No. 1 in Ken Pomeroy's defensive efficiency statistic and No. 2 in turnover margin (plus-5.6).

Post-season: NCAA Tournament

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.