2011–20: A Decade to Remember

[WuShock Reaper]

2014 NCAA SELCTION SHOW

https://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2014-03-16/mbk-ncaa-college-basketball-selection-show-midwest-region-wichita

2014 Selection Show - Midwest Region.JPG

Wichita State had done it. They were ranked #2 in the AP and Coach's Poll and had earned a coveted 1-seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. But most sports pundits were very surprised by their bracket and often commented that it was the toughest bracket they had ever seen.

[WuShock Reaper]

2014 NCAA Tournament
March 21, 2014 - #16-seed Cal Poly vs #1-seed Wichita State - First Round

https://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2014-03-21/mbk-225-cal-poly-wichita-state

2014 NCAA Tourney - Cal Poly vs Wichita State.jpg

Wichita State opened up its 2014 NCAA tournament with a 64-37 win over Cal Poly on Friday night to advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday. The 35-0 start is the best start in NCAA Division I history and the 27 point win is the largest margin of victory for Wichita State in the NCAA tournament.

Cleanthony Early led all scorers with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. Ron Baker pulled down a career high nine rebounds and Fred VanVleet dished out eight assists.

[WstateU]

2014 NCAA SELCTION SHOW

https://www.ncaa.com/video/basketball-men/2014-03-16/mbk-ncaa-college-basketball-selection-show-midwest-region-wichita

2014 Selection Show - Midwest Region.JPG

Wichita State had done it. They were ranked #2 in the AP and Coach's Poll and had earned a coveted 1-seed in the 2014 NCAA Tournament. But most sports pundits were very surprised by their bracket and often commented that it was the toughest bracket they had ever seen.

#1 seed... not sure I ever completely let that 'sink-in'...

Turn it up!

[JVShocker]

#1 seed... not sure I ever completely let that 'sink-in'...

Turn it up!

[WstateU]

Ole Calvin Klein...

[WstateU]

[WuShock Reaper]

2014 NCAA Tournament
March 23, 2014 - #8-seed Kentucky vs #1-seed Wichita State

2014 NCAA Tourney - Kentucky vs Wichita State.JPG

Full Game Replay

John Calipari stood frozen on the Kentucky sideline. Every player on the Wichita State bench held his breath. Everything seemed to stop inside the Scottrade Center as Fred VanVleet let loose with a 3-pointer that could have kept the Shockers perfect. When it bounced harmlessly off the rim, everything was set in motion once again. The boys from Wichita State slumped to their seats, their faces buried in their jerseys.

"I've been doing this so long. I've been in wars," Calipari said later. "You all understand this was an Elite Eight game. The winner of this should have gone to the Final Four." In subsequent years, it would be called one of the greatest NCAA Tourney games ever played. A play here or there, just one more inch to the left, and the "magic carpet ride" would have continued.

"You're going to go through some humps in your life, kind of like this one. It's tough to see us go out like this," Ron Baker said. "At the end of the day, someone's got to go home."

It only made sense that the game would come down to the final possession. "I feel for their team and I feel for their coach," Calipari said. "I'm happy we won. I'm happy for our guys. And I'm disappointed for them, because they had a heck of a run."

[WstateU]

2014 NCAA Tournament
March 23, 2014 - #8-seed Kentucky vs #1-seed Wichita State

2014 NCAA Tourney - Kentucky vs Wichita State.JPG

Full Game Replay

John Calipari stood frozen on the Kentucky sideline. Every player on the Wichita State bench held his breath. Everything seemed to stop inside the Scottrade Center as Fred VanVleet let loose with a 3-pointer that could have kept the Shockers perfect. When it bounced harmlessly off the rim, everything was set in motion once again. The boys from Wichita State slumped to their seats, their faces buried in their jerseys.

"I've been doing this so long. I've been in wars," Calipari said later. "You all understand this was an Elite Eight game. The winner of this should have gone to the Final Four." In subsequent years, it would be called one of the greatest NCAA Tourney games ever played. A play here or there, just one more inch to the left, and the "magic carpet ride" would have continued.

"You're going to go through some humps in your life, kind of like this one. It's tough to see us go out like this," Ron Baker said. "At the end of the day, someone's got to go home."

It only made sense that the game would come down to the final possession. "I feel for their team and I feel for their coach," Calipari said. "I'm happy we won. I'm happy for our guys. And I'm disappointed for them, because they had a heck of a run."

This might have been the toughest loss I’ve ever experienced as a fan... it took me several days to recover. Tremendous game and we were so very very close.

[WuShock16]

I’m a bit of a contrarian. While I was obviously sad to see the losses to Louisville and Kentucky, those weren’t soul crushers for me. WSU wasn’t “exposed” against Kentucky. The winningest program in college basketball history had to play its backside off to beat Wichita State. Think about that for a second. I don’t prescribe to moral victories either. I just recognized that I likely saw the greatest college basketball game that I will probably ever see. It was a game won on good plays, as opposed to awful sloppy play. Both teams traded haymakers. Kentucky made just one more. The Shockers loaded up for the knockout blow at the bell and just missed.

With Louisville, I think I was so numb from the amazing ride that I couldn’t be anything but immensely proud. It has only been as time moved on that have looked back at those games and said, “Damn. We could’ve had that.” I can’t imagine what playing on Monday would have been like. My mom was in Atlanta with me, and I warned her on Saturday that if the Shockers won that night, I was going to be unbearable on Monday with the anticipation for the title game.

[ShockerEngineer]

I just recognized that I likely saw the greatest college basketball game that I will probably ever see.

I totally agree and have been saying this ever since as well. It was heartbreaking watching Fred's final shot clank off the rim, but it was an absolutely incredible game. I also recall that Kentucky team didn't have a single starter shorter than 6'6".

[WuShock Reaper]

Friday, 03/27/20 - 2014–15 Season


2014 Wichita State Men's Basketball Intro Video

When the Preseason AP Men's Basketball Poll was released in October, the Shockers would be at #11. In addition, the WSU men will be frequent faces on national television. Added to the eight non-conference games already booked on ESPN platforms, were at least seven additional MVC contests. All of those matchups are scheduled for air on ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU or online via ESPN3. That number could still climb, with three additional ESPN Family wildcard games up for grabs.

Wildcard! WILDCARD! WHERE TALK’N WILDCARD? Yep, Wildcard. Because of the prior success of the Shockers, they were selected for the potential additional TV games, particularly Saturday games on the Flagship channel ESPN. So I had an idea and started a couple of Shockernet.net threads about WSU being on “ESPN College Gameday” this season.

Well, you would have thought I had committed heresy or needed to be committed to a mental institution. Fellow ‘net’ers were telling me to “shut up” “go away”, “you’re an idiot”, “that’s never going to happen”, etc. But to borrow a phrase from Shocker Lore, “but if we dream we deserve it, it can happen. If we dream we belong that this is our time, it’s going to happen. DREAM ANGRY, LETS GO!”

and so the season would begin…

[WuShock Reaper]

November 18, 2014 – Memphis vs #11 Wichita state

The game would be held at Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and would air on ESPN as part of the network's 24-hour tip-off marathon,

This will be the first meeting between the teams since Feb. 7, 1983… The upper hand has typically gone to the home team, with WSU posting a 7-2 record in Wichita compared to a 2-8 mark in Memphis. This, however, will be the first-ever neutral court game in the series. The teams battled regularly between 1968 and 1974, while the Tigers were members of the Missouri Valley Conference… WSU won seven of the first nine meetings on record between 1959 and 1971, but Memphis has taken eight the past 10…In the last game played (Feb. 7, 1983), Memphis (led by Keith Lee and Andre Turner), downed WSU (led by Antoine Carr and Xavier McDaniel), 85-73 in Memphis. That was the final loss of the season for WSU, which finished 25-3 but was ineligible for postseason play.

[WuShock Reaper]

December 4, 2014 - #8 Wichita State at #25 Utah

The Shockers would take their 4-0 record and 35-game regular season winning streak on the road.

2014 Wichita State at Utah.jpg

[chitown_shocker]

I didn't see this posted anywhere (sorry if it was and I missed), great read from The Athletic (Also check out Joe Pos Top 100 Baseball Player Series):

The Best NCAA Tournament Game I Ever Saw: A ridiculous 1-8 clash that delivered

"John Calipari thinks everybody is out to get him. Gregg Marshall knows that’s wrong, though, because everybody is out to get him. They agree on this: The Midwest Region of the 2014 tournament was deliberately designed to take out one of them."

[WuShock Reaper]

December 16, 2014 – Alabama at #11 Wichita state

Wichita State will have a special visitor for its Tuesday, Dec. 16 contest against Alabama. The Hall of Fame broadcaster will work the ESPN2 broadcast, alongside play-by-play voice Rich Hollenberg. ESPN announced Wednesday that college basketball analyst Vitale will be calling the game. Vitale – a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and one of basketball's most influential and recognizable personalities – was in his 36th season calling games for ESPN.

KAKE News Highlights

The Shockers would set a school-record with their 23rd consecutive home victory against Alabama.