Riding a six-game winning streak, Wichita State enters the 2026 American Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship as the No. 2 seed.
The Shockers finished the regular season 13-5 in conference play, tying Tulsa in the standings but securing the higher seed through a tiebreaker. The No. 2 seed gives Wichita State a triple bye directly into the semifinals.
Wichita State will play its first tournament game Saturday, March 14 at 4 p.m. on KEYN Radio in Birmingham, Alabama.
The Shockers will face either No. 3 Tulsa, No. 6 North Texas, No. 7 Florida Atlantic or No. 10 Temple for a spot in the championship game.
It marks Wichita State’s highest seed in the conference tournament since 2021, when the Shockers were the No. 1 seed. The program has yet to reach the American Conference title game.
Wichita State is 8-7 all-time in the conference tournament and has won at least one game in every year except 2022.
South Florida claimed the regular-season title with a 15-3 conference record and enters the tournament as the top seed. Tulsa and UAB earned double byes into the quarterfinals.
UTSA, East Carolina and Rice finished at the bottom of the standings and did not qualify for the tournament.