Wichita State is ranked No. 72 in KenPom’s preseason rankings.

The Shockers finished No. 21 in KenPom’s rankings last season.

WSU is the fifth-best American Athletic Conference team in KenPom’s rankings. Southern Methodist (37), Cincinnati (44), Houston (45), and Central Florida (72), all were ranked ahead of the Shockers. The University of Kansas is No. 1 in the rankings.

KenPom’s scouting report has WSU playing five Tier A games. A game in Tier A represents a top-50 opponent with adjustments for the location of the game. KenPom predicts scores for all games. The projections have WSU losing all Tier A games.

KenPom predicts WSU to finish with an 18-10 record, winning 11 of 18 conference games. WSU has won at least 25 games for the last nine seasons. If WSU were to finish with less than 20 wins, it would be the first time since 2008-09 when WSU finished with a 17-17 record.

WSU was picked last week to finish No. 8 in the conference, as decided by AAC coaches. The Shockers finished second in the conference a season ago.