The 10-seed Wildcats take on the 7-seed Longhorns in Kansas City
It’s win and advance, lose and go home time. Welcome to the postseason.
Your Kansas State Wildcats picked up a much-needed win on Saturday over the then No. 6 Cyclones at home on Senior Day to finish the regular season at 18-13 and 8-10 in Big 12 play. The win also gave the TangCats another big Quad 1 win to boost their chances from near-nonexistent to ever-so-slim hopes for NCAA Tournament.
But the work doesn’t end there. At sub-.500 in Big 12 play, even the strength of the Big 12 isn’t going to get them over the hump without a couple wins here in Kansas City at the 2024 Big 12 Championships. And that starts tonight for the Wildcats as the 10-seed Wildcats take on the 7-seed Texas Longhorns, who finished the regular season at 20-11 and 9-9 in Big 12 play, and are just on the positive side of the bubble themselves.
Not quite a month ago, these two teams squared off in a game that was heavy on defense, as the Longhorns managed to hang on for a 62-56 win in Austin. The Cats had closed the gap to just 4 with less than a minute remaining, but missed opportunities on offense, and made free throws by Texas sunk K-State’s attempt at a comeback.
K-State is going to need to operate much more effectively on offense if they want to upset the Longhorns in KC and keep playing. And if they want a trip to the NCAA Tournament, and not just a NIT bid, they need this win. Hopefully a friendly crowd in KC can help. The Wildcats did beat Wichita State in this building back in December, so at least they know what it’s going to feel like.
Just win, Cats. Please, just win.
This evening’s tipoff in the Big 12 Championships is at 6:00pm CT from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst), and Kris Budden (reporter) on the call. You’ll also be able to hear the game online at K-StateSports.com (and via the Varsity Network app), plus much of the K-State Sports Radio Network and on SiriusXM 139 or 199 with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) calling the action over there.
Go Cats!