Wichita State beat Missouri State today, much like they had beaten Indiana State, and Bradley, and Drake, and Loyola-Chicago, and Evansville, and every single other team they’ve played this year. They have successfully completed a perfect regular season, and are the first team ever to be 31-0 in regular season play.
Wichita State completes undefeated regular season with win over Missouri State
Wichita State is the first team since 2004 to go undefeated in the regular season. Get scared, world.
Peter Aiken
Must Reads
The game itself wasn’t notable: The Shockers were up 35-15 with two minutes left in the first half. They won 68-45. That’s all you need to know.
What is notable is that they lost zero dang games in the regular season, the first team since St. Joseph’s in 2004 to pull the undefeated season off. (Sorry, Delonte.) 25 teams have had undefeated regular seasons, with seven winning national titles, but it’s become a lot less common with the advent of parity and larger schedules.
It’s true: by playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, the Shockers did not play as rigorous a schedule as many other teams. Only seven of their games have been against Top 100 teams on Kenpom.
But saying Wichita State went 31-0 is like saying Liam Neeson was unfriendly to the Balkan dudes in that human trafficking ring. Of 18 conference games, Wichita State won 16 by ten points or more, 11 by 15 points or more. They’ve eviscerated everything in their way.
Road to the Title
Take a good look at your college basketball team, Mr. and/or Mrs. They Ain’t Played Anybody. If they played 18 games against relatively weak competition, how many would they win by double-digits? You’re going to say 18, but then you’re going to look at your team’s non-conference schedule, and then you’re gonna say BUT BUT BUT.
Long story short: Wichita State is better than they were last year, and last year, they went to the Final Four. If you ain’t scared, learn.
See More:
