wsu basketball celebration

WSU players and coaches celebrate in the locker room following their 78-65 victory over the Kansas Jayhawks in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.

Shockers whip KU en route to third straight 30-win season

Wichita State continued to cement its place as a national power in NCAA men’s basketball in 2015.

The Shockers, lead by Head Coach Gregg Marshall, won its second-consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and defeated traditional national powers Indiana and Kansas in the NCAA Tournament to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in three seasons.

The Kansas game, dubbed the “Battle of Omaha,” saw WSU go on a 7-0 run early in the second half to open up an insurmountable double-digit lead over the Jayhawks. Five Shockers scored in double figures in the 78-65 victory, led by 19 points from senior guard Tekele Cotton.

One week later, the Shockers fell to a hot-shooting Notre Dame squad 81-70 in Cleveland to finish the season with a 30-5 record. That marked WSU’s third consecutive 30-win season.