Shockers to Compete in 2023 Myrtle Beach Invitational

By Wichita State Athletics Release May 11, 2023

The Wichita State men’s basketball team has signed on to compete in the 2023 Myrtle Beach Invitational, Nov. 16, 17 and 19 in Conway, S.C. at Coastal Carolina University’s HTC Center.

In addition to WSU, the eight-team field includes four schools that won conference regular season titles in 2022-23 — College of Charleston (Colonial), Furman (Southern), Liberty (Atlantic Sun) and Vermont (American East) – along with Saint Louis (Atlantic 10), Wyoming (Mountain West) and Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt).

All 12 tournament games will be televised on ESPN platforms.

Matchups will be released later this summer, however fans can sign up today for first access through a special pre-sale page. Visit www.myrtlebeachinvite.com for details.

This is WSU’s first appearance in the Myrtle Beach Invitational. The Shockers (17-15, 9-9 American) have appeared in eight of the last 11 NCAA tournaments. First-year head coach Paul Mills took Oral Roberts to a Sweet 16 in 2021 and to its first 30-win season in 2023 while winning the Summit League regular season and tournament titles.

Furman (a first-round winner over No. 4 seed Virginia), Vermont and College of Charleston are all coming off NCAA tournament appearances, while Liberty reached the second round of the NIT after downing Villanova.

This is the MBI’s fifth go-around. Past champions include UCF (2018), Baylor (2019), Utah State (2021) and UMass (2022).

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THE REST OF THE 2023 MYRTLE BEACH FIELD:

 

Coastal Carolina (11-20, 5-13 SBC, 295 NET)

  • CCU is led by Cliff Ellis, who ranks second among active coaches (10th all-time) with 828 Division I wins and has coached in more Division I games than any coach other than Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim.
  • This is the fifth year of the MBI and the second appearance for CCU.
  • The Shockers and Chanticleers have never met on the hardwood.

College of Charleston (31-4, 16-2 CAA, 52 NET)

  • CofC spent multiple weeks in the Associated Press Top 25 and swept the CAA’s regular season and tournament titles.
  • The 12th-seeded Cougars fell by six points to eventual Final Four participant San Diego State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
  • WSU won both previous meetings with CofC (both in Wichita), defeating the Cougars in the quarterfinals of the 2011 NIT and in a November 2017 non-conference matchup.

Furman (28-8, 15-3 SoCon, 88 NET)

  • Furman has topped the 20-win mark in six of the last seven seasons.
  • The Paladins shared the SoCon regular season title at 15-3 and won the league’s tournament title to advance to their first NCAA tournament in 43 years. A 68-67 first-round upset of No. 4 seed Virginia was the program’s first NCAA tourney victory since 1974
  • WSU won its lone meeting with Furman in the first round of the 2019 NIT, 76-70.

Liberty (27-9, 15-3 ASUN, 46 NET)

  • Liberty moves to Conference USA this season after winning or sharing the regular season conference and/or division title in each of its five seasons in the ASUN.
  • A potential MBI meeting with the Flames would be the first ever between the schools.

Saint Louis (21-12, 12-6 A10, 97 NET)

  • SLU has finished in the top four of the Atlantic 10 standings in three of the last four seasons, including a tie for second place last year.
  • 56 of the 64 meetings between WSU and SLU took place between 1946 and 1974 when the schools were both members of the MVC. The teams last played in 2016 when WSU swept the last of a four-game home-and-home series.

Vermont (23-11, 14-2 AEC, 112 NET)

  • The Catamounts have won or shared the America East regular season title in each of the last seven seasons, with four NCAA Tournament appearances during that span (the 2020 NCAA Tournament was cancelled).
  • WSU has never faced Vermont.

Wyoming (9-22, 4-14 MWC, 180 NET)

  • Wyoming earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
  • The Cowboys were picked second behind eventual Final Four participant San Diego State in the 2022-23 Mountain West preseason poll before a string of injuries throughout the season.
  • WSU is 10-3 all-time vs. Wyoming. The Shockers swept a home-and-home from the Cowboys in the most-recent matchups, winning in 2006 in Casper and 2007 in Wichita.