The MittieCats start off at 2pm CT, while the TangCats get underway at 4:30pm CT
After taking the end of the week off, your #9 Kansas State Wildcats are back in action this afternoon at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas (well, Henderson, but close enough). Today they take on the #13 Duke Blue Devils in the first of what should be several ranked matchups for the Cats this season.
K-State has opened the season 5-0, including an impressive 86-68 win over a good Creighton team a couple weeks ago, as well as flattening poor Milwaukee last week 111-46 — just a few points shy of the school record for a game. Ayoke Lee saw her most action yet of the season on Wednesday, scoring 25 points in 20 minutes of action to lead all scorers. But that’s not even her season-high, as she dropped 28 points in just 15 minutes in the win over Creighton.
Duke is 5-1 on the season, but their lone loss came at the hands of current-#10 Maryland in College Park, MD, and the Blue Devils didn’t go quietly, falling 85-80. The Cats and Blue Devils do have a common opponent already, as both played Belmont at home. K-State took their meeting 82-56, while Duke beat the Bruins 79-47 this past Thursday. So Duke will be a very tough challenge for K-State, and yet this strong match-up will mostly be lost thanks to being stuck on FloSports. Awesome.
K-State is a slight favorite according to the sports books, and with a slightly higher ranking that is to be expected. But as this will be the toughest game yet for the Cats, it could get interesting. But it’s win-win for both teams: winner gets a huge early season resume boost, loser just has a Q1 loss that won’t look bad come March. Also, winner plays the winner of the Oklahoma/DePaul game that follows this one.
Time for the MittieCats to show that this dream season is for real.
We’ve got a 2:00pm CT tipoff for the game this afternoon from Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, NV, and you’d like to shell out some extra cash ($30 for a month), you can catch the action on FloCollege with…presumably somebody on the call.
If you don’t want to sign up for FloCollege, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Jake Eisenberg (play-by-play) and Randy Peterson (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. 162 or 198. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateWBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!
There was a basketball game last night that K-State participated in. It was ugly, and the Cats lost to an average Liberty squad, quickly losing any goodwill and momentum they had created by beating George Washington on Friday.
The third-place game of the 25th Paradise Jam is this afternoon, and the Cats will participate again. It remains to be seen if they will actually compete or not, but some dudes wearing jerseys that say “K-State” on the front should be on the court.
Today’s opponent is Longwood, who fell to McNeese State for their first loss of the season. This is the first-ever match-up between the Wildcats and Lancers, and they are a solid mid-major program from the Big South who fell to Houston 86-46 in the NCAA Tournament last March.
This is another game that, on paper, the TangCats should win. But they would actually need to show up to do so. Let’s see if these Cats have any fight left.
We’ve got a 4:30pm CT tipoff for the 3rd Place game of the Paradise Jam from the UVI Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., and you can catch the action on ESPN+ / WatchESPN with Brad Wells (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) on the call.
If you don’t 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 Ben Boyle (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 (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!