Nowadays, college basketball mid-majors emerge from all over the country. Not too long ago, the Wichita State Shockers were one of those programs to burst onto the national stage. It seemed like only yesterday that cheap Wichita State basketball tickets were available for anybody who wanted them. But the Shockers have come a long way in a short period of time. They’ve reached heights most programs can only dream about. More importantly, the Shockers appear to be here to stay, making last-minute Wichita State basketball tickets a treat for any college basketball fan.

The Sweet 60s

Wichita State basketball got its first taste of the spotlight in the 1960s under head coach Ralph Miller. Before moving onto bigger things at Iowa and Wichita State State, Miller slowly but surely built up the program, culminating in the Shockers reaching the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1964, which was Miller’s final season at the school. The Shockers got to the Elite Eight in 1964, only to take things one step further the following season under Gary Thompson, reaching the Final Four for the first time in program history.

The Marshall Plan

Wichita State’s 21st-century resurgence started under head coach Mark Turgeon, who led the Shockers to the NCAA Tournament in 2006, snapping an 18-year drought. With wins over Seton Hall and Tennessee, Wichita State reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 25 years. Two years later, Gregg Marshall succeeded Turgeon and took the Shockers to another level.

After an NIT championship in 2011, Wichita State began a stretch of seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances. That stretch included a surprise run to the Final Four in 2013 and a magical 2013-14 season in which the Shockers went undefeated until a crushing loss to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite the loss, Wichita State has remained one of the most notable mid-majors in college basketball and is a program worth following every year.