The 2014–15 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

in the

2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November with the 2K Sports Classic and ended with the Final Four in Indianapolis April 4–6. Practices officially began on October 3. Season headlines * May 14 – The NCAA a ...

. They played their home games at

Charles Koch Arena Charles Koch Arena is a 10,506-seat multi-purpose arena in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is located on the southeast corner of 21st and Hillside on the campus of Wichita State University in northeast Wichita. The arena is home of the Wichi ...

, which has a capacity of 10,506. They were playing their 70th season as a member of the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

, and were led by eighth-year head coach

Gregg Marshall Michael Gregg Marshall (born February 27, 1963) is an American college basketball coach whose most recent position was head coach at Wichita State University. Marshall has coached his teams to appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball ...

. They finished the season 30–5, 17–1 in MVC play to win the regular season Missouri Valley championship. They advanced to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley tournament where they lost to Illinois State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Indiana in the second round and Kansas in the third round before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Notre Dame.

Previous season

The 2013–14 season was arguably the greatest season in Wichita State's 108-year basketball history. After defeating

Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

on March 1, 2014, Wichita State became the first Division I men's team ever to finish the regular season 31–0, the first team to finish 18–0 in conference play in the Missouri Valley Conference since the 1985–86 Bradley Braves, as well as the first to finish the regular season undefeated since Saint Joseph's in 2003–04. The team's 35–0 start is the best Division I start ever, beating the 1990–91 UNLV Runnin' Rebels who began the season 34–0 and the best Missouri Valley Conference start ever, beating the 1978–79 Indiana State Sycamores, who went 33–0 to start the season. They spent most of the season in the top 10 of both major polls, rising as high as #2 in late February. They continued their run by winning their first MVC tournament title since 1987, and were ranked second in both final major media polls—the highest final national ranking in school history. They entered the

2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 18, 2014, and concluded with the ...

undefeated at 34–0. The Shockers beat Cal Poly, 64–37 for their NCAA-record 35–game winning streak to start a season. Two days later, and playing their 5th and final straight game at

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Scottrade Center The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, NCA ...

Fred VanVleet Fredderick Edmund VanVleet Sr. (born February 25, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A point guard, VanVleet played college basketball for Wichita State Un ...

's three-point attempt at the end-of-game buzzer against

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

bounced harmlessly off the rim, and so went their attempt to become the first men's team in 38 years to win the title undefeated. The Shockers finished with the third-most wins in Division I history, and the second-most for a school not in a power conference.

Departures

In addition to the departing players, assistant

Chris Jans Christopher Paul Jans (born April 12, 1969) is the American college basketball head coach for Mississippi State. Jans previously coached at New Mexico State, where he led the Aggies from 2017 to 2022. Jans is a graduate of Loras College, and hails ...

left the Shockers immediately after the season to take the head coaching vacancy at

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

Incoming transfers

*Player will redshirt during the season
†Junior College transfer

Class of 2014 recruits

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2014-15 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team Wichita State Shockers men's basketball seasons

Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

Wichita State Shockers men's basketball The Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I college basketball program representing Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. The Shockers have made 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Final Four ...