Will the “good” Wildcats show back up on the road against the Knights?
After picking up six straight wins in what was arguably the toughest stretch of games in the Big 12 slate, the Kansas State Wildcats have fallen flat on their face during what should’ve been the easiest stretch of basketball. BYU was no gimme, but Utah has since fired their head coach and Arizona State has been a mess this season. The Wildcats looked lost and defeated in the loss to the Sun Devils last Sunday, so the real question is, do these Cats have any fight left?
There are certainly still things to play for. The expanded NIT might still be in play if the Cats (13-14, 7-9 Big 12) can get back above (and stay above) .500 overall. And an extra day of rest for the Big 12 Tournament is available if they can get into 6th place in the conference standings. Both of those are doable, but requires the team, outside of David N’Guessan, to actually play like these games matter.
UCF isn’t a world-beater, and K-State should be able to win this game comfortably. But like the Cats, the Knights (14-13, 5-11 Big 12) have been able to win some surprising games, while also lose some surprising games. So the Wildcats will still need to play with effort they’ve lacked the last three games if they want to leave Orlando with a victory.
And they need to put in the effort to win, because a loss would all-but end what little hope the Wildcats have for the postseason.
We’ve got a 6:00pm CT tipoff for the game this evening from Addition Financial Arena in Orlando, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ with Drew Fellios (play-by-play) and B.J. Taylor (analyst) on the call.
If you can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app, as well as on satellite radio on SiriusXM Ch. 382. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!