Wichita State Shockers: Expectations and concerns for 2017-2018 season

Number Three – Home Court Advantage

Few teams in the country are fortunate enough to enjoy the deafening home court advantage that Koch Arena offers, or more affectionately called “The Roundhouse” by the Shocker Faithful.

Easily one of the loudest arenas in all of college basketball, the Roundhouse is an intimidating spectacle to behold, cramming over 10,500 screaming fans into a dome that would more comfortably seat about 8000, which adds to the intensity of every game.

Wichita State is among the top five in the nation in home wins since 2009, going a stellar 122-10 for a winning percentage of 92% at the Roundhouse, according to Team Rankings. Only Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke boast better home records during that stretch. The Shockers are in excellent company anytime you can be mentioned in the same breath as those top five programs.

The atmosphere of the Roundhouse is at a fever pitch during important conference matchups and the crowd noise can be so loud at times that it is nearly indescribable.

Deafening is the only word that comes to mind, and if you’ve never been to a game … bring some earplugs. Combine this with the fact that Wichita State has now joined a conference with better opponents and even more on the line.

The Shockers should be able to go undefeated at home this year. There are some possible upsets coming from top contenders in the AAC like Cincy & SMU, who have the ability to give the Shockers all they can handle at home.