Judging by the cheers Sunday at Shocker Sports Grill and Lanes, every person seemed to be a die-hard Wichita State fan.

But that wasn’t the case for a group of about 10 German students visiting Wichita this week.

“We’re having a blast,” Sebastian Bachmann said.

Students from the Berlin School of Economics arrived in Wichita Saturday night for an exchange program through the Barton School of Business’ Master of Business Administration. It’s the 11th year of the “Berlin Experience,” in which WSU and Berlin students travel to each others’ campuses for a consulting project.

“Exposure to other cultures, other students, other societies … is very critical,” said Khawaja Asjad Saeed, associate dean of Graduate Studies in Business.

“They’re just totally engrossed in it,” he said of the game. “That’s part of the American culture.”

The game against the University of Kansas was broadcast live in the basement of the Rhatigan Student Center for those Shocker fans not lucky enough to make the trip to Omaha to root for the men’s basketball team in the NCAA Tournament.

And the Berlin students are in town just in time.

Bachmann said sports are organized differently back home.

“We don’t have that where the whole school is cheering for the one team,” Bachmann said. “We’re really surprised that the people from the university know all the players.”

With every rebound, steal and basket — and there were several in WSU’s favor — the place erupted. Even though the group arrived just the night before, each of the Berlin students already donned Shocker gear.

“We got all dressed up for the game today,” said Bachmann, who wore a “Shockers On the Court” T-shirt.

Sven Ripsas, though, said he isn’t a newbie to Shocker basketball.

“We watched them play in the Final Four two years ago and get eliminated last year,” said Sven, professor of the International Consulting Project at the Berlin School of Economics. “I’m a Shocker fan now.”

The WSU students planned a welcome party for 5:30 p.m. Sunday, but with the game at 4:15 p.m., they rescheduled it.

“When they were coming to the United States, every TV in the airport had college basketball,” WSU graduate student Rathana Schroeder said. “One of them was kind of asking, ‘Is college basketball that important here?’ and I said, ‘Well, college basketball is in the month of March.’

“I think it’s really awesome that they’re supporting us.”

The group from Germany hooped and hollered just as loud as the native Shocker fans as Wichita State dominated the second half against KU.

Bachmann and the other Berlin students said they are Shocker fans, at least “for now.”

“I believe this experience is something they’ll cherish for the rest of their life,” Asjad Saeed said.