The Wichita State Shockers (2) were already probably going to get a first round bye in the Missouri Valley tournament, but now they will do so as college basketball's only undefeated team.
Rob Baker, a sophomore guard, wears no. 31 for the Shockers, a number that now represents their win total. Ironically enough, teammate Chadrack Lufile, a senior forward, wears the no. 0, which represents their loss total.
"My teammates told me a couple weeks ago that my number was something special, because that's how many games we could potentially win," Baker told reporters after the win, according to the Associated Press. "I didn't put that together myself, but it's very special. It's going to be something I look back on forever."
Baker prompted a chant of "undefeated" from the sellout crowd in Wichita, Kan., when he headed to the bench towards the end of the game and brandished his jersey for all to see. The Missouri State Bears almost ended the Shockers' streak on Jan. 11. Wichita State came away with a 72-69 road win in overtime and one of handful of single-digit wins for the Shockers.
"It seems like the season started about three weeks ago as opposed to months ago," Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall said after the game, reported the AP. "It's been incredible. They've met every challenge."
The last two undefeated seasons ended in a loss in the title game. In 1991, UNLV went 34-0 before losing in the NCAA championship and Larry Bird's Indiana State team went 33-0 before losing to Michigan State in the 1979 title game.
The next step for Wichita State, one of the NCAA Tournament's pleasant surprises from last season, is to play for the MVC title and then this year's NCAA Tournament, most likely as a one-seed.
"There was a moment before the season, looking at the schedule, saying, 'Man, I don't think we'll lose any of these games,'" sophomore guard Fred VanVleet told reporters, according to the AP. "But we still have more games to play. And we won't celebrate how we should until we play our last, final game."
