The 5-seed Purple Wildcats take on the 4-seed Blue Wildcats to earn a trip to the Sweet 16.
Here we are again, the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.
For your Kansas State Wildcats, this has been the round of horrors for the past 23 years. For 10 of the past twelve trips to the Big Dance, the Wildcats have advanced to the second day of the tournament, but no further. The last time the Wildcats won game two was 2002, and even some really good teams have not made it past that mark since.
So the MittieCats will give it a go today, looking to bust through the second-round ceiling. K-State, the 5-seed in the Spokane Regional, will face off against 4-seed Kentucky. While the K-State and Kentucky men’s teams have a long history, the women’s teams have played just once before, during the Covid-impacted 2020-2021 season. The blue Wildcats overcame a two-point halftime deficit to post a 60-49 win in Bramlage over the host purple Wildcats. That game, the MittieCats lost Ayoka Lee in the first quarter, and eventually it became too much to overcome.
Ayoka Lee is back today, starting the game against Fairfield on Friday and playing 15 minutes — putting up an absurd 17 points during her limited court time. K-State will need just as much, or more, today against a very good Kentucky squad if they want to make it out of the first weekend.
K-State has the ability and roster to win this game, the question is now can they put it all together and get over the hump? Can K-State be Sweet this year?
We’ve got an 1:00pm CT tipoff for the NCAA Tournament game today at the Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, KY, and you can catch the action on ESPN with Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Tamika Catchings (analyst) on the call.
If you don’t get ESPN or can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Kristin Waller (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateWBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!