# Wichita State Shockers men's basketball
The Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team is the [NCAA Division I](https://www.edgepedia.org/ncaa-division-i) intercollegiate basketball program of [Wichita State University](https://www.edgepedia.org/wichita-state-university) in Wichita, Kansas, currently competing in the American Conference and playing its home games at the 10,506-seat Charles Koch Arena.[1](https://catalog.wichita.edu/undergraduate/wichita-state-resources/campus-resources/sports-recreation/) The program has reached the NCAA Tournament Final Four twice, in 1965 and 2013, and in 2014 took a 34-0 record into the tournament, the best record any major college team had carried into the event.[2](https://storage.googleapis.com/hurricanesports-com/2018/10/ab763b08-35_miami_notes_web.pdf) • [3](https://time.com/19766/wichita-state-march-madness/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Conference | American Conference, joined in 2017-18 after a long Missouri Valley Conference history[4](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx) |
| Home arena | Charles Koch Arena, 10,506 seats, known as "the Roundhouse" for its circular shape[1](https://catalog.wichita.edu/undergraduate/wichita-state-resources/campus-resources/sports-recreation/) • [5](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2023/2/28/mbkb_Wichita_State_Notes_03022023.pdf) |
| Final Fours | Two: 1965 and 2013; the 2013 team was the first 9-seed to reach the Final Four in the 64-team era[2](https://storage.googleapis.com/hurricanesports-com/2018/10/ab763b08-35_miami_notes_web.pdf) • [6](https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-05-11/2013-ncaa-tournament-bracket-scores-stats-records) |
| 2013-14 season | 34-0 regular season and MVC title; top ten nationally at both ends of the court[3](https://time.com/19766/wichita-state-march-madness/) |
| Current coach | Paul Mills, extended through June 30, 2031 after a 24-win season[4](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx) |
| Attendance | Crowds averaged 10,000-plus for 17 straight seasons, 2003-04 through 2019-20[7](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/2/10/mens-basketball-rh-wsu-climbs-into-american-conference-race-with-hot-streak.aspx) |
## Early history and the Ralph Miller era
The name "Shockers" is said to have first appeared in 1904 on a poster advertising a football game involving the school, then known as Fairmount College.[8](https://wkusports.com/documents/download/2024/11/3/1_WKU.pdf) The basketball program's first national splash came with a 1954 NIT appearance, and the team returned to the NIT in 1962 and 1963, an era when the NCAA Tournament took only conference champions and a few independents.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx)
**Ralph Miller** built the program into a power. He coached the Shockers for 13 seasons from 1952 to 1964, compiling a 353-220 record (.623).[10](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/wichita-state/men/coaches.html) In his final season, 1963-64, Wichita State won its first [Missouri Valley Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/missouri-valley-conference) title and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance, led by forward Dave Stallworth.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx) • [11](https://goshockers.com/news/2018/12/1/mens-basketball-dave-stallworth-statue-unveiled.aspx) That success, along with the star players on the roster, caused crowds at the present-day Charles Koch Arena to surge: home attendance averaged 4,162 in 1959-60, then climbed to 9,866 in 1963-64 and 10,218 the following year.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx)
## The 1965 Final Four
Under coach Gary Thompson, who took over when Miller left for Iowa, the 1964-65 Shockers started the season 4-0 and rose to No. 1 in the AP and UPI national rankings for the first time.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx) The program achieved another first that year, rising to No. 1 in the national polls.[11](https://goshockers.com/news/2018/12/1/mens-basketball-dave-stallworth-statue-unveiled.aspx) Stallworth, a two-time All-American, exhausted his eligibility after the first semester, and center Nate Bowman became academically ineligible after 14 games, leaving the Shockers without a starter over 6-foot-5.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx) Five Kansas products started the season's final 14 games and carried the team to a second straight MVC title and the Final Four in [Portland, Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/portland-oregon).[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx) In the NCAA regional at Kansas State's Ahearn Field House, Wichita State beat SMU 86-81 behind Kelly Pete's 31 points and 12 rebounds, then defeated Oklahoma State 54-46 in the regional final.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx) In the Final Four, eventual champion UCLA routed the Shockers 108-89, and Princeton's Bill Bradley scored 58 points in a 118-82 win in the consolation game.[9](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx) Stallworth was selected third overall in the 1965 NBA Draft and played eight professional seasons.[11](https://goshockers.com/news/2018/12/1/mens-basketball-dave-stallworth-statue-unveiled.aspx)
## Later NCAA runs and the 2013 Final Four
The Shockers reached the Elite Eight in 1981, defeating Kansas 66-65 in the Superdome on [Mike Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-jones)' shot with five seconds remaining.[12](https://goshockers.com/news/2013/4/5/207067877.aspx) The 2010-11 team won 29 games and the NIT Postseason Championship with a 5-0 record.[12](https://goshockers.com/news/2013/4/5/207067877.aspx)
The 2012-13 Shockers, seeded ninth, beat eighth-seeded [Pittsburgh](https://www.edgepedia.org/pittsburgh) 73-55, upset No. 1 seed Gonzaga 76-70, defeated 13th-seeded La Salle 72-58, and then beat No. 2 seed Ohio State 70-66 for the program's 30th win, a school record at the time.[12](https://goshockers.com/news/2013/4/5/207067877.aspx) Malcolm Armstead averaged 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.75 assists, and 2.0 steals in the four tournament games and was named West Regional Most Outstanding Player.[12](https://goshockers.com/news/2013/4/5/207067877.aspx) Wichita State became the tournament's first 9-seed to make the Final Four in the 64-team era, falling to top-seeded Louisville in the national semifinal.[6](https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-05-11/2013-ncaa-tournament-bracket-scores-stats-records) • [12](https://goshockers.com/news/2013/4/5/207067877.aspx) As of the 2015-16 season notes, the program had made 13 NCAA Tournament trips with a 17-13 all-time record, six Regional Semifinal appearances, four Regional Finals, and two Final Fours.[2](https://storage.googleapis.com/hurricanesports-com/2018/10/ab763b08-35_miami_notes_web.pdf)
## The 34-0 season
The 2013-14 Shockers returned a half-dozen key players from the Final Four team and opened the season with 34 consecutive wins, claiming the Missouri Valley Conference title.[3](https://time.com/19766/wichita-state-march-madness/) No major college team had ever taken a better record into the NCAA tournament.[3](https://time.com/19766/wichita-state-march-madness/) The team ranked in the top ten nationally at both ends of the court, though critics argued its schedule was weaker than those of power-conference rivals.[3](https://time.com/19766/wichita-state-march-madness/)
## Charles Koch Arena and attendance
Wichita State played a final season in Henry Levitt Arena in 2001-02, spent one season at the Kansas Coliseum, and returned to campus at the rebuilt Charles Koch Arena in 2003-04; a $25 million construction project turned the aging Henry Levitt Arena into the circular venue fans call "the Roundhouse."[7](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/2/10/mens-basketball-rh-wsu-climbs-into-american-conference-race-with-hot-streak.aspx) • [8](https://wkusports.com/documents/download/2024/11/3/1_WKU.pdf) From the 2000-01 season until 2021-22, crowds averaged 8,000 or more, and they averaged 10,000-plus for 17 straight seasons from 2003-04 through 2019-20.[7](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/2/10/mens-basketball-rh-wsu-climbs-into-american-conference-race-with-hot-streak.aspx) In 2017-18 the Shockers led the [American Athletic Conference](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-athletic-conference) and ranked 34th nationally in men's basketball attendance, playing 15 home games in front of capacity crowds.[13](https://goshockers.com/news/2018/8/9/mens-basketball-hoops-attendance-tops-american-conference-leaderboard?path=athletics) [CBS Sports](https://www.edgepedia.org/cbs-sports) named the arena one of the 10-best environments in college basketball in its 2022 Candid Coaches series.[5](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2023/2/28/mbkb_Wichita_State_Notes_03022023.pdf)
## The Paul Mills era
Paul Mills took over as head coach and has improved the Shockers' win total every season, from 15 to 19 to 24.[4](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx) His 58 wins through three seasons are the second most of any head coach in program history, trailing only Eddie Fogler's 61 from 1986-89.[4](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx) After back-to-back postseason appearances and the 24-win season, Wichita State signed Mills to a three-year contract extension running through June 30, 2031.[4](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx) The program finished second in the American Conference and made its first American Conference Championship game appearance since joining the league in 2017-18, with First Team All-Conference selections in consecutive seasons (Xavier Bell in 2025, Kenyon Giles in 2026).[4](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx)
## References
1. [Sports and Recreation, Wichita State University Catalog](https://catalog.wichita.edu/undergraduate/wichita-state-resources/campus-resources/sports-recreation/)
2. [2015-16 Wichita State Men's Basketball Postseason Notes](https://storage.googleapis.com/hurricanesports-com/2018/10/ab763b08-35_miami_notes_web.pdf)
3. [Wichita Can't Get No Respect, TIME](https://time.com/19766/wichita-state-march-madness/)
4. [Wichita State Signs Mills to Contract Extension, Wichita State Athletics](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/7/31/mens-basketball-wichita-state-signs-mills-to-contract-extension.aspx)
5. [@GoShockersMBB Game Notes, University of Houston](https://uhcougars.com/documents/download/2023/2/28/mbkb_Wichita_State_Notes_03022023.pdf)
6. [2013 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records, NCAA.com](https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-05-11/2013-ncaa-tournament-bracket-scores-stats-records)
7. [RH: WSU Climbs Into American Conference Race with Hot Streak, Wichita State Athletics](https://goshockers.com/news/2026/2/10/mens-basketball-rh-wsu-climbs-into-american-conference-race-with-hot-streak.aspx)
8. [@GoShockersMBB Game Notes, Western Kentucky](https://wkusports.com/documents/download/2024/11/3/1_WKU.pdf)
9. [RH: 1965 Shockers Celebrate Reunion This Weekend, Wichita State Athletics](https://goshockers.com/news/2025/2/14/mens-basketball-rh-1965-shockers-celebrate-reunion-this-weekend.aspx)
10. [Wichita State Men's Basketball Coaches, Sports-Reference](https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/wichita-state/men/coaches.html)
11. [Dave Stallworth Statue Unveiled, Wichita State Athletics](https://goshockers.com/news/2018/12/1/mens-basketball-dave-stallworth-statue-unveiled.aspx)
12. [MBB: Final Four Game Notes, Wichita State Athletics](https://goshockers.com/news/2013/4/5/207067877.aspx)
13. [Hoops Attendance Tops American Conference Leaderboard, Wichita State Athletics](https://goshockers.com/news/2018/8/9/mens-basketball-hoops-attendance-tops-american-conference-leaderboard?path=athletics)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Basketball and court team sports › US college basketball (NCAA, NAIA) › Men's team programs › Titles L to X*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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