# 2014–15 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented Wichita State University in the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at Charles Koch Arena, which has a capacity of 10,506. They were playing their 70th season as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, and were led by eighth-year head coach Gregg Marshall. 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 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' Scottrade Center, Fred VanVleet's three-point attempt at the end-of-game buzzer against Kentucky 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

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason |
| Chadrack Lufile | 0 | F | 6'9" | 251 | Senior | Burlington, ON | Graduated |
| Derail Green | 1 | F | 6'7" | 199 | RS Freshman | Houston, TX | Transferred to Incarnate Word |
| Cleanthony Early | 11 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Senior | Middletown, NY | Graduated/2014 NBA draft |
| Nick Wiggins | 15 | G | 6'6" | 187 | Senior | Toronto, ON | Graduated |
| Kadeem Coleby | 20 | C | 6'9" | 251 | Senior | Nassau, BAH | Graduated |
| D. J. Bowles | 25 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Freshman | Cleveland, TN | Retired from basketball due a surgical procedure |
In addition to the departing players, assistant Chris Jans left the Shockers immediately after the season to take the head coaching vacancy at Bowling Green.

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Bush Wamukota† | 21 | C | 7'0" | 225 | Junior | Bungoma, Kenya | Kilgore College |
| Conner Frankamp* | 33 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Sophomore | Wichita, KS | Kansas |
| Tevin Glass† | 40 | F | 6'8" | 195 | Junior | Norcross, GA | Northwest Florida State College |
*Player will redshirt during the season †Junior College transfer

## Class of 2014 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Zach Brown SF | Houston, TX | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 3, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Rashard Kelly PF | Fredericksburg, VA | Hargrave Military Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 3, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| Rauno Nurger PF | Keila, Estonia | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Jun 3, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 70 ||||||
| Corey Henderson Jr. SG | Dallas, TX | Episcopal School of Dallas | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Oct 13, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Eric Hamilton PF | Suwanee, GA | Duluth High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 20, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Top 20 Rivals: Not Ranked Top 25 ESPN: Not Ranked Top 25 ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2014 Wichita State Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 25, 2014. "2014 Wichita State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 25, 2014. "2014 Wichita State Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 25, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 25, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 25, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/08/2014* 2:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 11 | Northwood (FL) | W 112–55 | | 22 – Baker | 6 – Kelly | 6 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/14/2014* 8:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 11 | New Mexico State | W 71–54 | 1–0 | 17 – Cotton | 5 – Tied | 4 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 11/18/2014* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | vs. Memphis ESPN College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon | W 71–56 | 2–0 | 21 – Baker | 4 – Tied | 6 – Baker | Sanford Pentagon (3,250) Sioux Falls, SD |
| 11/23/2014* 2:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 11 | Newman | W 105–57 | 3–0 | 18 – Baker | 6 – Tied | 4 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 11/29/2014* 2:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 9 | Tulsa Rivalry | W 75–55 | 4–0 | 21 – VanVleet | 7 – Cotton | 9 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 12/03/2014* 10:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at No. 25 Utah | L 68–69 $^{OT}$ | 4–1 | 15 – Baker | 9 – Wessel | 4 – VanVleet | Jon M. Huntsman Center (14,319) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 12/06/2014* 5:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 8 | Saint Louis | W 81–52 | 5–1 | 18 – Baker | 7 – Kelly | 7 – Cotton | Intrust Bank Arena (15,004) Wichita, KS |
| 12/09/2014* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | Seton Hall | W 77–68 | 6–1 | 22 – Baker | 12 – Carter | 8 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 12/13/2014* 11:00 am, ESPNU | No. 11 | at Detroit | W 77–68 | 7–1 | 19 – Baker | 11 – Carter | 7 – VanVleet | Calihan Hall (4,110) Detroit, MI |
| 12/16/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | Alabama | W 53–52 | 8–1 | 8 – Baker | 5 – Carter | 3 – Cotton | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 12/22/2014* 10:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | vs. Loyola Marymount Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | W 80–53 | 9–1 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Carter | 7 – VanVleet | Stan Sheriff Center (8,448) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/23/2014* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | vs. Hawaii Diamond Head Classic semifinals | W 80–79 $^{OT}$ | 10–1 | 17 – Baker | 6 – Tied | 5 – VanVleet | Stan Sheriff Center (7,140) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/25/2014* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | vs. George Washington Diamond Head Classic championship | L 54–60 | 10–2 | 11 – VanVleet | 9 – Carter | 5 – Tied | Stan Sheriff Center (5,125) Honolulu, HI |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season |||||||||
| 12/31/2014 5:05 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 16 | at Drake | W 66–58 | 11–2 (1–0) | 23 – Baker | 7 – Carter | 4 – Tied | Knapp Center (4,170) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/04/2015 4:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 16 | Illinois State | W 70–62 | 12–2 (2–0) | 15 – Baker | 6 – VanVleet | 6 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/07/2015 7:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 15 | Bradley | W 63–43 | 13–2 (3–0) | 19 – Carter | 7 – Tied | 9 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/11/2015 4:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | at Loyola (IL) | W 67–53 | 14–2 (4–0) | 16 – Cotton | 8 – Carter | 10 – VanVleet | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,058) Chicago, IL |
| 01/14/2015 7:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 13 | Southern Illinois | W 67–55 | 15–2 (5–0) | 25 – Carter | 4 – Tied | 5 – Tied | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/17/2015 1:00 pm, FSKC | No. 13 | at Evansville | W 61–41 | 16–2 (6–0) | 18 – Tied | 11 – Carter | 4 – Cotton | Ford Center (7,015) Evansville, IN |
| 01/21/2015 7:05 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 14 | at Missouri State Rivalry | W 76–53 | 17–2 (7–0) | 15 – Tied | 6 – Cotton | 7 – VanVleet | JQH Arena (8,674) Springfield, MO |
| 01/25/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 14 | Drake | W 74–40 | 18–2 (8–0) | 15 – Baker | 4 – Tied | 6 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/28/2015 7:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 12 | Loyola (IL) | W 58–47 | 19–2 (9–0) | 27 – VanVleet | 7 – Cotton | 5 – Cotton | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/31/2015 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | at No. 18 Northern Iowa | L 54–70 | 19–3 (9–1) | 18 – VanVleet | 8 – Cotton | 3 – Tied | McLeod Center (7,050) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 02/04/2015 7:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 16 | at Bradley | W 62–59 | 20–3 (10–1) | 14 – Baker | 7 – Cotton | 5 – Baker | Peoria Civic Center (6,707) Peoria, IL |
| 02/07/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | Missouri State Rivalry | W 78–35 | 21–3 (11–1) | 17 – Baker | 10 – VanVleet | 11 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 02/11/2015 7:00 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 15 | Indiana State | W 74-57 | 22–3 (12–1) | 21 – VanVleet | 7 – Carter | 4 – VanVleet | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 02/14/2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 15 | at Illinois State | W 68–62 | 23–3 (13–1) | 19 – Baker | 10 – Cotton | 3 – VanVleet | Redbird Arena (9,345) Normal, IL |
| 02/17/2015 7:05 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 13 | at Southern Illinois | W 84–62 | 24–3 (14–1) | 17 – Morris | 7 – Tied | 5 – Cotton | SIU Arena (5,358) Carbondale, IL |
| 02/22/2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 13 | Evansville | W 62–43 | 25–3 (15–1) | 22 – VanVleet | 15 – Baker | 7 – Cotton | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 02/25/2015 6:05 pm, Cox Kansas | No. 11 | at Indiana State | W 63–53 | 26–3 (16–1) | 20 – Carter | 11 – Carter | 5 – VanVleet | Hulman Center (6,169) Terre Haute, IN |
| 02/28/2015 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | No. 10 Northern Iowa ESPN College GameDay | W 74–60 | 27–3 (17–1) | 17 – Baker | 8 – Cotton | 7 – Tied | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| Missouri Valley tournament |||||||||
| 03/06/2015 12:05 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | (1) No. 8 | vs. (9) Southern Illinois Quarterfinals | W 56–45 | 28–3 | 13 – VanVleet | 5 – Wessel | 4 – VanVleet | Scottrade Center (9,015) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/07/2015 1:35 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | (1) No. 8 | vs. (4) Illinois State Semifinals | L 62–65 | 28–4 | 19 – VanVleet | 7 – VanVleet | 7 – Baker | Scottrade Center (13,898) St. Louis, MO |
| NCAA men's basketball tournament |||||||||
| 03/20/2015* 1:45 pm, CBS | (7 MW) No. 14 | vs. (10 MW) Indiana Second round | W 81–76 | 29–4 | 27 – VanVleet | 8 – Brown | 4 – VanVleet | CenturyLink Center (16,907) Omaha, NE |
| 03/22/2015* 4:15 pm, CBS | (7 MW) No. 14 | vs. (2 MW) No. 10 Kansas Third round | W 78–65 | 30–4 | 19 – Cotton | 9 – Wessel | 6 – VanVleet | CenturyLink Center (17,563) Omaha, NE |
| 03/26/2015* 6:15 pm, CBS | (7 MW) No. 14 | vs. (3 MW) No. 8 Notre Dame Sweet Sixteen | L 70–81 | 30–5 | 25 – VanVleet | 8 – Carter | 3 – Tied | Quicken Loans Arena (19,465) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | 11 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 14 | n/a |
| Coaches | 11 | 13 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 11 |