Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Wichita State Shockers had one heck of a Cinderella story this past season, making it all of the way to the Final Four in the 2013 NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. Luckily for Wichita State fans, the Shockers will be good again in the 2013-14 college basketball season and could crack the top 10.
First off, losing Carl Hall and Malcolm Armstead will definitely hurt this team, but there will still be plenty of talent coming back, like leading scorer Cleanthony Early, who scored 13.9 points per game. He could be even better in his senior year, which means bad news for any team that Wichita State plays.
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Some players will have to step up, but there is enough talent coming back to make the Shockers a force in college basketball. It’s also a huge confidence booster when you made the Final Four just a season ago. When you go on a run like that, it should almost be a given that you dance the next season, but that is not always the case.
For better or worse, the Creighton Bluejays will no longer be part of the MVC, so Wichita State could very easily run away with a conference title in the upcoming season, which will help that ranking out even more.
The Shockers may play in a mid major conference, but there will be nothing mid major about them in the upcoming season. If this team starts the season off hot–as it should–it could easily crack the top 10. Wichita State will likely start the season by being ranked in the top 15 to begin with.
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