Wichita State will play Memphis next season

[UofMemphis]

The more pressing matter is whether Memphis is going to beat Virginia like I have on my bracket. Thoughts?

I won't lie, I don't know jack about GW or UVA outside of the basics...looking at UVA, if the East TN hillbillies can beat em by 31...I would think we can take em :-)

That said, I'm not taking GW for granted.

[ShockerMas]

Detroit? What about security?

Don't worry, in Detroit they build their campuses with wall around the outside (the crazy part is I'm not even joking)

[1972Shocker]

Kind of ironic that they promote their Masters of Community Development as a strong suite and as a unique program (which it may very well be).

[Commish]

Maybe we can pay the guarantee (after getting this money from S.Dakota) and get out of a road game to Detroit that will bring down our SOS and RPI.

Hey Shocker fans, last checked in about 16 months ago before the Detroit-Wichita Bracketbusters game. Everyone here was bemoaning having to play that game, but I told you it would be a fun game, and it was, wasn't it? Fun to watch, and good for the Shockers RPI. Helped launch that Final 4 run, too.

Road game to Detroit actually should help RPI, assuming Shockers win (that should be the worry). The perfect game for RPI is a road win against a team with a good season ending W-L record that plays a respectable schedule.
1. Will Shockers win? They'll be favorites for sure.
2. Is it on the road? Yes.
3. How will Detroit do? After NCAA and NIT appearances in 2012 and 2013, Detroit lost its top 4 scorers, started a backcourt of two true freshmen, and slumped to 13-19 last year. Detroit lost little from last year's team, however, returns star Juwan Howard, Jr., and has a ton of incoming talent, including a pair of freshmen who were Michigan's first team all-state forwards, and 6-8 red-shirt freshman guard named Paris Bass who Detroit signed over Arkansas, Memphis, Connecticut and Iowa State. Also joining are Colorado transfer Chris Jenkins and 6-11 Penn State transfer Pat Ackerman. Detroit is likely to start slow but rack up a lot of wins in Horizon League play, where they are an early favorite. An 18-20 win season seems likely.
4. Detroit's schedule? Other non-conference games with Arizona State, South Florida, Villanova, Virginia Commonwealth, Rhode Island, MAC favorite Toledo. The Horizon conference is always respectable, consistently ranking 11-13 in conference RPI. Detroit's SOS will be fine - it will probably rank about #100 nationally when all is said and done.

In other words, this is potentially an excellent RPI game for the Shockers. Because the RPI formula gives a big boost for road wins, a road win at Detroit will do more for your RPI than a home win over, say, a 20 win Kansas State team, and you're less likely (I think) to lose.

The reason not to play this game isn't that it will hurt your RPI, it's that you might lose. You'll catch us early in the year before we've worked all the new guys in, and I think you will win, perhaps easily. But the Titans have always done well at Calihan Hall. We had a 38 game home win streak a decade or so ago, and just two years ago had a 17 game home win streak. So that's your mission - beat a solid mid-major on the road. Do that and this is a good RPI/SOS game for you.

If you come to Detroit, be assured the campus is safe (even pretty!). Calihan Hall (completed in 1952) is a truly historic building. It's got no frills - no luxury boxes, no fancy scoreboards, etc. But it is a great place to watch basketball, with parking at the doorstep and more importantly, all the seats up close with great views. When the Hall gets 5000 or 6000 people (all too rare these days) let alone the 8500 it routinely drew in the late 1970s (last year's best attended game drew 6976), the noise can be thunderous.

We Detroit fans get it - the Shockers are one of the top basketball programs in the country, and there's some resentment at the refusal of Kansas and others to play you at Wichita, not to mention having to play a road game at a mid-major as a the result of a defunct promotional gimmick for ESPN. But Detroit still plays a fun, up-tempo style, and this game, while not a big "marquee" game, should - if, as expected you win - enhance rather than detract from your RPI, and give your team good pre-conference play experience playing on the road against decent, fired up team. Be happy.

Good luck. We really want to see an undefeated Shocker team arrive at Calihan in December.

[Play Angry]

Thanks for stopping in- we will be rooting you guys on all season except for the game against yours truly.

Your assessment of UDM seems a tad optimistic for a team coming off a 234 RPI campaign, but hey, that's what we do as fans. Good luck this year.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I'm looking forward to the Detroit game. As you said, you play the fun, up-tempo style that makes for an entertaining game.

Beat VCU for us this year.

[WSUwatcher]

Good post, Commish -- thanks for visiting. We'll need a new thread for WSU at Detroit somewhere along the line.

The road RPI bonus has been key for WSU for a while, because WSU has been the best road team in the country the past several years. (Of course, going undefeated also helps the RPI -- as well as the ranking and national perception.) So they definitely won't be scared about the road trip. I just hope they make it to and from the nice campus without incident. Your city is not getting much good PR these days.

[AZ Shocker]

Hope this game gets on the ESPN networks!!!! My wife is from Michigan but this particular Shocker taught her well. She and the kids will be in FULL Shocker attire!!! Also....I really like this game as Commish laid it all out beautifully!!! This should be a GREAT fun game!!!! How 'bout a pair of undefeateds before the match-up???? Go Detroit!!!! Go SHOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Commish]

Your assessment of UDM seems a tad optimistic for a team coming off a 234 RPI campaign, but hey, that's what we do as fans. Good luck this year.

You're probably right. I should have suggested that 16-18 wins (a 3-5 win improvement) was likely, 18-20 possible. Early projections seem to have the Titans 3rd or 4th in the Horizon. Good luck to you too.