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.
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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.
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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About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.