Big 12 Basketball: 3 underrated candidates to add in expansion

Wichita State

A program that some Big 12 fans have likely considered purely in terms of what the men’s hoops program could bring to the table in the expansion conversation is the Wichita State Shockers. A natural geographic rival of both the Kansas Jayhawks and Kansas State Wildcats, Wichita State could be an interesting fit in the Big 12 from a men’s basketball perspective.

Wichita State would take a borderline miraculous level of investment and development in the football program to reach the level it would need to even reach the FBS level. But since this is purely a Big 12 hoops expansion conversation, it’s valid to include the Shockers as an underrated candidate in the mix.

Although Wichita State wouldn’t have the actual viability of getting added to the Big 12 compared to the other two schools on this list, it is a fun thought to ponder. The Shockers are also back on the up and up coming off a season where the program claimed an American Athletic Conference regular season title under head coach Isaac Brown.

Wichita State is definitely a men’s basketball program with one of the most loyal fan bases of any in the AAC. And the consistent level of program success and player development would also make Wichita State an appealing option in the conference expansion conversation if the school had a football program to speak of.