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. 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 to the Wic ...

, 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 fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

, 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 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 that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2013-14 ...

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 ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Scottrade Center The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in Downtown St. Louis, 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 ...

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

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

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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 and American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball, Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team. Jans previously coached at ...

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 ...

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 university, 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 ...

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 Division I men's basketball tournament ...