I was born in 1975. 5 months later, Bobby Knight's Indiana Hooisers capped off an undefeated season and won the General's 1st title. Since that time, Larry Bird's Indiana State and 1991's UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the only other two teams to enter March madness with no losses.
Oh, we've been close since. St. Joe's made it to the A-10 tournament in 2004 before losing. Illinois made it to the last game of the 2005 regular season before losing. Memphis won 26 straight games in 2008 before losing to Tennessee in late February and then not losing until the national title game.
In other words, what Wichita State is doing and trying to do, is quite special. It's historical and spending time arguing about "worthiness" or "how good" is quite silly. Going undefeated in this era would qualify as one of the most remarkable things we have witnessed.
As for knocking Wichita, let's take a look at how they've reached 30 wins.
The Shockers entered the season coming off a mgical run to the Final Four in 2013. They beat Pittsburgh in convincing fashion before knocking off the 1-seed Gonzaga Bulldogs. Before you criticize Gonzaga of 2013, let me remind you they finished 5th in KenPom in 2013 and had all of 3 losses. Wichita beat a 13 seed, LaSalle, their "only" break as they marched to a Final 4. They beat Ohio State to reach the Final 4 before losing to eventual champ Louisville in the national semi-finals. To get to that point, they beat 3 of KenPom's top 11 teams. That's impressive.
Wichita State lost key players Carl Hall and Malcolm Armstead from last season's team but were still expected to win the Missouri Valley Conference this season. But they returned their best player Cleanthony Early and two backcourt studs Ron Baker and Fred Van Vleet. These are three guys that could play anywhere and for anyone in this country. They have talent that will compete with you. They entered the season with great players coming off great success.
In non-conference, the Shockers handled BYU on a neutral court, at Alabama and on a neutral court over Tennessee. Their best win was at St. Louis. The Billikens currently reside in the Top-10 and top-20 in KP. They have 2 losses. That's harldy imposing, no doubt but like most teams in a mid-major, scheduling isn't easy, especially when you've had recent success. Kansas doesn't want anything to do with them. Where's the upside for the Jayhawks? Such is the life of the successful mid-major. Sadly, rumors of the A-10 approaching Wichita don't surprise me.
The Valley has been arguably the worst it's been in some time. Creighton would have been a great foil for the Shockers but they're busy leading the Big East. Indiana State is a talented team that has probably underperformed. This is the truth and part of why people knock Wichita State. But ask yourself this, how many teams go undefeated in conference play?
Well, here's who is undefeated thus far in conference play this season:
- St. Louis, 12-0, A-10
- Stephen F. Austin, 14-0, Southland
It's not easy winning in conference. There's a variety of reasons. Travel, familiarity, bad luck, bad night, etc. Why is Michigan needing a buzzer beater to win at Purdue? Virginia is a few seconds from beating Duke. Things happen.
To get to 30-0 is amazing anyway you slice it. They might lose at Arch Madness. Some will rejoice so someone who "truly deserves" a 1-seed will/may get it. That's fine. As for me, I'll be rooting for Wichita State to go as long as they can as an undefeated team. I've never seen it at this level and this would be no fluke. The Shockers are for real and a great team we should all appreciate.
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