Is Wichita State a championship caliber team?

[Mr. Obvious]

Just like we will have every right to be a 1 seed this year! If the BSC b****** don't want us to be a 1 seed they could always schedule us and try to give us an L.

That's great thinking!

[KC Shox]

Any top 20 team is capable of winning the championship. The NCAA Tourney is all about the match ups. A few upsets along the way that may give set a team up for a better match up helps too.

That said, is WSU capable of winning the who shebang, certainly. IMO, if this team runs up against a team like UK or KU who have game changers down low like Randle and Embid, those type of guys pose huge match up problems for us may be the difference.

[ShockerPrez]

I guess you could say we have not been consistently tested for 40 minutes by top teams. We have been tested multiple times for 20 minutes but only a handful of times for 40 minutes.

Not only that, but we are playing in front of everyone's best crowd, which, in turn is giving every team we play a little oomph when they play us. We are also playing with a huge target on our back, especially against the ankle biters we have to play. It truly is everyone's super bowl.

Now, the KU's of the world get this treatment as well, but not the 2nd, 3rd and 4th place teams of the big conferences. Those teams go on the road when they play the last place team and the place has no energy at all.

I would rather play great teams overall, but at least we are going up against average teams giving 100% effort as opposed to playing good to great teams going through the motions against us. Come tourney time, we'll be used to playing the teams giving 100% in a win or go home situation.

[CBB_Fan]

Some have asked how we stacked up last year. We came close on the 20/20 requirement, finishing 30/25. Like this year, our 3PT% was too low at 33.9%. Obviously we did qualify for the sharing the ball and frontcourt requirements, and our defense did a good job defending the paint. Our free throw rate was way too high though, and we didn't have an All-America player or win our conference.

However, the question is how we were playing at the time of the tournament. The team that was played our last 8 games was not the same team that played through our OCC and conference schedules, and college basketball has always been a sport of three seasons. Getting Baker back and having Hall healthy completely changed the way the team operated, which is not reflected in seasonal stats. Our 3PT shooting went north in a big way, and we fouled significantly less. Our numbers across the board went up, and I'd argue that Armstead or Early elevated their game to an All-American level.

So while our seasonal averages were not as good as they were this year, I'd say the team that was on the court came close to meeting most of the requirements.

[jocoshock]

Looks like you left Iowa out of the totals even they qualified in almost all categories. What is their total score?

[jocoshock]

Any top 20 team is capable of winning the championship. The NCAA Tourney is all about the match ups. A few upsets along the way that may give set a team up for a better match up helps too.

That said, is WSU capable of winning the who shebang, certainly. IMO, if this team runs up against a team like UK or KU who have game changers down low like Randle and Embid, those type of guys pose huge match up problems for us may be the difference.

True but:
Wilt Chamberlain, Patrick Ewing, Ralph Sampson, and Hakeem Alajuwon were all game changers down low and never won championships, so all HCGM has to do is keep our team focused and not put the subs in too early and we should be fine.

:~)

[ShockerPrez]

I've always heard that guards win championships.

We have great guards.

[wsushockerdude]

The last 7 minutes of the SLU game sure seemed like a Battle.

The end of the BYU game was a battle.

Coming back against MSU was a battle.

We're battle tested.

As much as I want to agree, I just don't think that's going to count for much.

Michigan State holding Iowa to no FG for 14 minutes and winning on the road in OT? That's a battle.

Arizona beating Duke? Battle.

They've just got better wins. However, my main point is this: Don't we LOVE being the underdog? I sure do. I sure like going into a game with a chip on our shoulder. Look at us playing against teams in the Valley that we care about (ISU red/blue) and look at the intensity when compared to SIU and Loyola. Arizona, Cuse, MSU, KU...these teams will have been in many more dogfights than us. We proved last year that we can knock the best programs in the NCAA down a few pegs, but in my opinion, we are not as battle-tested as I would like us to be heading into the tournament.

[molly jabali]

As much as I want to agree, I just don't think that's going to count for much.

Michigan State holding Iowa to no FG for 14 minutes and winning on the road in OT? That's a battle.

Arizona beating Duke? Battle.

They've just got better wins. However, my main point is this: Don't we LOVE being the underdog? I sure do. I sure like going into a game with a chip on our shoulder. Look at us playing against teams in the Valley that we care about (ISU red/blue) and look at the intensity when compared to SIU and Loyola. Arizona, Cuse, MSU, KU...these teams will have been in many more dogfights than us. We proved last year that we can knock the best programs in the NCAA down a few pegs, but in my opinion, we are not as battle-tested as I would like us to be heading into the tournament.

I think one of the biggest issues for many current fans is the ability to give credit where it is due to other teams, because maybe it seems like that is a slight to the Shiockers...it's not. Anyone with any hoops IQ can see a MSU win AT Iowa is very significant, and that having to play 5-7 good teams in a league consistently means no matter how good you are, you'll lose more often.

WSU is VERY good...worthy of any and all praise coming their way. Gregg is a fantastic coach. But are there other great teams as well? yes...yes there are.

[CBB_Fan]

Looks like you left Iowa out of the totals even they qualified in almost all categories. What is their total score?

Same as Iowa State at 11.

[asiseeit]

I will answer the caliber question with more questions. Can Fred continue his level of play?
Can CE continue his recent level? Can RB get healthy? Can NW contribute
consistently? If the answer to these questions are yes then we will make it to at
least the final eight, if not, then sweet 16 if we play well in game two.