WICHITA, Kan. - Riding a six-game win streak, Wichita State men's basketball enters the 2026 American Conference Championship as the No. 2 seed.

Wichita State concluded the regular season at 13-5 in league play, tied with Tulsa in the league standings, but earned the coveted top-2 seed due to the tiebreaker. With the No. 2 seed, Wichita State secures a triple bye all the way to the semifinals. Wichita State will take the court in Birmingham on Saturday, March 14 at 4 p.m. on ESPN2.

The Shockers will play either No. 3 Tulsa, No. 6 North Texas, No. 7 Florida Atlantic or No. 10 Temple for a spot in the championship game.

This is the highest seed for Wichita State in the American since 2021 when the Shockers were the top seed. Wichita State has yet to appear in the American Conference title game.

Wichita State is 8-7 all time in the American Conference Championship and has won at least one game every year except 2022.

South Florida won the regular season and enters the tournament as the top seed after going 15-3. No. 3 Tulsa and No. 4 UAB get a double bye to the quarterfinals. UTSA, East Carolina and Rice were the bottom three teams in the standings and were left out of the tournament field.

2026 American Men's Basketball Championship Schedule
Legacy Arena at the BJCC | Birmingham, Ala.

First Round | Wednesday, March 11
Game 1: No. 8 Memphis vs No. 9 Tulane - 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT 

Game 2: No. 7 Florida Atlantic vs No. 10 Temple - 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT 
 
Second Round | Thursday, March 12
Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs No. 5 Charlotte- 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT 

Game 4: Game 2 Winner vs No. 6 North Texas - 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT 
 
Quarterfinals | Friday, March 13
Game 5: Game 3 Winner vs No. 4 UAB - 1 p.m. ET/Noon CT

Game 6: Game 4 Winner vs No. 3 Tulsa - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT
 
Semifinals | Saturday, March 14
Game 7: Game 5 Winner vs No. 1 South Florida - 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT

Game 8: Game 6 Winner vs No. 2 Wichita State - 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT | ESPN2 | Stats
 
Final | Sunday, March 15
Game 9: Game 7 Winner vs Game 8 Winner - 3:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m.