Wichita State has grown used to being underestimated when the NCAA Tournament rolls around, but the way the Shockers were seeded this year is inexplicable. Despite entering The Dance with a 30-4 record and having won 15 straight, No. 20-ranked Wichita State has been given a 10 seed.
Huh?
After facing a flurry of questions about how the Shockers could be seeded so low, NCAA tournament chair Mark Hollis told ESPN’s Andy Katz the decision had to do with strength of schedule.
“[Wichita State] had high metrics,” Hollis said. “But that one win against the Summit League champion Jackrabbits was the only one against the NCAA tournament field. You look at the full résumé, like every team.”
Most would argue that the schedule could prevent Wichita State from being given a 5 seed or higher, but as low as 10? That seems like an egregious mistake, though Shockers coach Gregg Marshall said his program has grown used to it.
“Who knows. You’re No. 8 in the KenPom (rankings), a 10-seed, and No. 20 in the country,” Marshall said. “I think there’s four regions, is that correct? Somehow 20 divided by four doesn’t equal 10, but that’s OK. That’s the way it’s been for a long time.
“I don’t know what we’d do if we were a really good seed most of the time. We had the No. 1 seed (in 2014) but we got Kentucky as a No. 8, which was probably another mistake. But we’re in, and now we just have to go win. I’m not gonna focus on that.”
Wichita State was 35-1 and ranked No. 2 in the country when given a 1 seed three years ago, and they ended up getting knocked out by No. 8 Kentucky in the third round (their second game). Ironically, Kentucky is the No. 2 seed in South Region this year and may end up having to face Wichita State in its second game, so you could argue the seeding is equally unfair for the Wildcats.
The Shockers are highly ranked by advanced metrics. Ken Pomeroy’s rankings rate Wichita State as the 8th best team in the country and ESPN’s BPI isn’t far behind with the Shockers at 15th best. There’s a reason we had Wichita State’s 10 seed as one of our 10 biggest takeaways from the bracket reveal.
