The 2020–21 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team represented Wichita State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas and were led by interim head coach Isaac Brown who took over as interim coach after Gregg Marshall resigned before the start of the season. Brown was promoted to full-time head coach during the season. They are members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 16–6, 11–2 in AAC Play to finish in 1st place. They defeated South Florida in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to Cincinnati. They received an at large-bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the First Four to Drake.
Previous season The Shockers finished the 2019–20 season 23–8, 11–7 in AAC play and finished in fourth place. They entered as the No. 4 seed in the AAC tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Departures NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason 2 G 6'3" 200 Charlotte, North Carolina Transferred to Texas Tech 3 F 6'7" 210 Mobile, Alabama Transferred to Northwest Mississippi CC 10 G 6'3" 198 Lacey, Washington Transferred to Washington 11 G 5'11" 172 Mattapoisett, Massachusetts Transferred to UMass 21 C 6'11" 258 Barranquilla, Colombia Graduated 32 G 6'2" 185 St. Francis, Kansas Walk–on; transferred to MSU Denver 33 C 7'0" 267 Helsingør, Denmark Transferred to Grand Canyon 52 G 6'2" 189 Wichita, Kansas Transferred to Nevada
Morris Udeze initially entered the transfer portal in March before deciding in late April to remain with the Shockers.
2020 recruiting class
Incoming transfers NamePos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious school G6'0"180Atlanta, GA Transferred from UConn after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. G6'1"165Terre Haute, IN Junior college transferred from Vincennes University. F6'6"185Dublin, GA Junior college transferred from Polk State. G5'11"166Marietta, GA Junior college transferred from Georgia Highlands. Brother of forward Trey Wade. G6'2"183Baton Rouge, LA Walk–on; junior college transferred from State College of Florida.
Preseason
AAC preseason media poll
On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards.
Coaches Poll 1 Houston 99 (2) 2 Memphis 90 (2) 3 SMU 80 4 Cincinnati 77 5 South Florida 61 6 Tulsa 50 7 Wichita State 44 8 UCF 37 9 East Carolina 34 10 Temple 18 11 Tulane 15
Roster
Schedule and results
COVID-19 impact
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Shockers' schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.
The Shockers were scheduled to participate in the 2020 Crossover Classic, but withdrew after multiple players tested positive for COVID-19. After the East Carolina game was postponed, December 30 was filled with a non-conference game vs. Newman. The game at East Carolina scheduled for February 21 was moved to Wichita.
Schedule
!colspan=12 style=| Regular season
!colspan=12 style=| American Conference tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Awards and honors
American Athletic Conference honors
All-AAC Awards Player of the Year: Tyson Etienne Coach of the Year: Isaac Brown
All-AAC First Team Tyson Etienne
All-AAC Third Team Alterique Gilbert
All-AAC Freshman Team Ricky Council IV
Source
References