By at least one metric, the Wichita State Shockers are projected to be the top team in college basketball next season.
ESPN released a summer update to its Basketball Power Index (BPI) on Thursday featuring the Wichita State Shockers in the No. 1 spot ahead of perennial powerhouses like the Louisville Cardinals and Villanova Wildcats. According to ESPN, “BPI is a predictive rating system for college basketball that’s designed to measure team strength and project performance.”
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the metric is so high on Wichita State. The Shockers return nearly every significant contributor on a team that won 31 games last season and finished 15th in the BPI. Their lineup is also filled with talent. Point guard Landry Shamet is a legitimate NBA prospect who could have a breakout sophomore season and the team’s roster is well constructed with several 3-and-D wings like Markis McDuffie and Zach Brown helping out on the perimeter.
Of course, BPI has its limitations. The system heavily values roster continuity, so a team like the Oklahoma Sooners ranks No. 8 in the summer update despite finishing 65th last season because they return most of their relevant pieces. It also doesn’t factor in transfers yet. That could be a boon for a team like the Kansas Jayhawks who have former top-10 recruit Malik Newman joining their squad this season after sitting out in 2016-17. The Jayhawks currently sit at No. 10 in the rankings.
Next: College basketball's way too early top 25
Still, Wichita State projects to be a force next season. The program should be the favorite to win the American Athletic Conference title in its first season in the league and will likely enter March with dreams of heading back to the Final Four for the first time since 2013. We had the Shockers ranked No. 3 in our way too early top 25 in the spring. ESPN’s BPI update helps explain why.