Wichita State men’s basketball team releases non-conference schedule for 2023-24 season

The Wichita State men’s basketball team released its non-conference schedule for the 2023-24 season on Friday.

Only six regular-season games will be played at Koch Arena with all of the Shockers’ marquee games coming on the road or at neutral sites.

WSU will travel to Kansas City on back-to-back weeks to play in-state rivals Kansas State (Thursday, Dec. 21) and Kansas (Saturday, Dec. 30) at the T-Mobile Center, while the Shockers play a third high-major team with a road trip to Missouri on Sunday, Dec. 3.

South Dakota State, a team projected as the early favorite in the Summit League, will come to Wichita for WSU’s annual Intrust Bank Arena game on Saturday, Dec. 9. Thanks to paperwork submitted by WSU athletic director Kevin Saal, the game at downtown arena will now be considered a neutral-site game for WSU in the NCAA’s NET formula.

Wichita State will open the season with four straight games in the Roundhouse, beginning with the team’s lone exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 29 against Rogers State. The regular-season opener is slated for Monday, Nov. 6 against Lipscomb, while WSU will also play Western Kentucky on Thursday, Nov. 9 and Friends on Sunday, Nov. 12. It will be the first meeting between WSU and the local NAIA school since 1943.

The Shockers will then head to Myrtle Beach for their in-season tournament with games being played on Thursday, Nov. 16, Friday, Nov. 17 and Sunday, Nov. 19. The bracket has yet to be released, but the field includes Coastal Carolina, College of Charleston, Furman, Liberty, Saint Louis, Vermont and Wyoming.

Two more home games against Norfolk State (Saturday, Nov. 25) and Richmond (Wednesday, No. 29) wrap up the November schedule, while the lone surprise of the non-conference slate was the addition of a home game on Saturday, Nov. 16 against former Missouri Valley rival Southern Illinois — the only game at Koch Arena in the month of December.

Season tickets to Wichita State basketball games are available by calling 316-978-3267 or by visiting the Shocker ticket office at Koch Arena.

Start times and television assignments will be announced when the American Athletic Conference releases its 18-game league slate in September.

The AAC released the conference pairings earlier this month, which saw WSU draw home-only dates against North Texas, Rice, SMU and UTSA and road-only games at UAB, Charlotte, South Florida and Tulane. The Shockers will play East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, Temple and Tulsa both home and away.

WSU also recently announced its three-game schedule for its upcoming exhibition tour overseas in Greece. The Shockers’ first game comes against the Thessaloniki All-Stars in Thessaloniki on Friday, Aug. 4 at 10 a.m. Central time. WSU will also play the University of Calgary, which finished 16-15 in Canada last season, twice in Zografou — the first game at noon on Monday, Aug. 7 and the second game at noon on Wednesday, Aug. 9.

The Greek club — which Giannis Antetokounmpo played for before becoming a MVP and world champion in the NBA — plays in the same gym that the Shockers will play in Zografou. The gym has since been renamed “AnteokounBros.”

Wichita State men’s basketball 2023-24 season schedule

Sunday, Oct. 29 — Rogers State (exhibition)

Monday, Nov. 6 — Lipscomb

Thursday, Nov. 9 — Western Kentucky

Sunday, Nov. 12 — Friends

Thursday, Nov. 16 — Myrtle Beach Invitational

Friday, Nov. 17 — Myrtle Beach Invitational

Sunday, Nov. 19 — Myrtle Beach Invitational

Saturday, Nov. 25 — Norfolk State

Wednesday, Nov. 29 — Richmond

Sunday, Dec. 3 — at Missouri

Saturday, Dec. 9 — South Dakota State (at Intrust Bank Arena)

Saturday, Dec. 16 — Southern Illinois

Thursday, Dec. 21 — vs. Kansas State (at T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.)

Saturday, Dec. 30 — vs. Kansas (at T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.)