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

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Head coach Gregg Marshall of the Wichita State Shockers (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Prediction:

Overall I feel that the Shockers are primed to make a deep run into the NCAA tourney come March Madness time. The Shockers have their toughest non-conference schedule in years which should prepare them for their inaugural season into the American Athletic Conference. A late season peak should have them playing their best basketball at the right time of year to bring home the Shocker’s first Men’s Basketball National Championship!

In the early going I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Shockers slip from their #5 pre-season ranking after a couple of defeats during November & December in non-conference and pre-season tourney play. It will be a bumpy road early as starters get healthy, new players learn the system, and younger players step up to fill the void.

The first few conference games will be tough sledding as the Shockers try to impose their defensive will and playing style onto new conference opponents known more for offense and scoring. The Shockers’ relentless, high-pressure defense should win out, so expect low scoring games.

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By mid-season, the Shockers should be hitting on all cylinders with key players returning to their starting roles. Conference games will be much tougher as the season progresses, but will better prepare this team come tournament time.

I am predicting that the Shockers will go undefeated at home and will be in a tough race for the conference title with Cincinnati & SMU. With so many key players injured early, I look for WSU to peak late in the season to bring home their first regular season title in the AAC.

The Shockers will be primed to win their conference tournament, relying on their excellent guard play, strong forward rotation, deep bench, and experienced big men down low.

Now that the curse of weak conference affiliation is behind them, the Shockers should see a much better seed during tournament time, which will position them to make another strong run at a final four and a possible national championship appearance come March.

With players like Fred Van Vleet, Ron Baker, & Cleanthony Early paving the way, the next generation of NBA level players have landed at WSU and the time is now to put it all together.

Can this year’s team capture the magic & chemistry that have led to successful runs into the sweet sixteen and final four?

Next: All-Time Starting Five for KU

It is time again to hang a National Championship banner in the state of Kansas, but this time it’s home will be hanging from the rafters at the Roundhouse, just a couple of hours down the road of that “other” Kansas team.

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