Before Saturday, Wichita State hadn’t lost a game at home since Trey Burke was the best player in college basketball and the world had never heard of Tinder.
However, the Shockers lost to Northern Iowa, 53-50, at Charles Koch Arena on Saturday, snapping a 43-game home winning streak that dated back to February 27, 2013, and stood as the longest such streak in Division I.
https://twitter.com/ESPNCBB/status/698581556202446848
Wichita State shot only 30.3 percent from the field in the loss, with star guards Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker combining to convert only eight of their 31 attempts. Northern Iowa also didn’t burn it up on offense, shooting 41.7%, but pulled out the win despite not scoring in the game’s last three minutes. The Panthers are only 16-11 on the season but have now upset two top-five teams in North Carolina and Iowa State. They also ended the nation’s longest home winning streak.
Saturday’s loss continued a somewhat disappointing season for the Shockers, who are 18-7 and out of the Top 25 despite a 12-2 Missouri Valley Conference record.
After the loss, several analysts began to wonder if Wichita State’s resume would land an NCAA Tournament at-large bid if the Shockers don’t win their conference tournament.
Huge win for N. Iowa at Wichita State. Shockers have high power ratings (11 Pom, 23 Sag, 35 RPI) but playing themselves into bubble trouble
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) February 13, 2016
Wichita State has one win over a team ranked in the top 90 of the RPI.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 13, 2016
Getting harder to make an at-large case for Wichita State
— Jerry Palm (@jppalmCBS) February 13, 2016
The Shockers have reached the NCAA Tournament in four consecutive seasons, winning at least a game each of the past three trips. Wichita State’s best postseason performance during this streak? That was 2013, the last season the Shockers lost a home game, when they reached the Final Four.
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