Can the Wildcats end the skid tonight against the Red Raiders?
It’s becoming harder and harder to generate any sort of excitement for Kansas State men’s basketball these days. That’s what happens when the squad is 7-8 overall and 1-3 in conference play — in a down year for the Big 12 no less.
And there’s no good news on the horizon. This team isn’t waiting for someone to get healthy. We aren’t waiting for the schedule to lighten up. No, this team is complete and just not good at the thing they are getting paid for, and nothing is easy in the Big 12 — yes, even in a down year.
But they’ll still put on the jerseys that bear the name “K-State” tonight and attempt to beat another good team with sub-par basketball. That team tonight are the Red Raiders of Texas Tech. Tech is 11-4, 2-2 in Grant McCasland’s second year out on the Llano Estacado, and are coming off an emotional 85-84 overtime loss at home to No. 3 Iowa State on Saturday. They also dropped a surprise to UCF to open conference play back in December, but their two-game trip to Utah resulted in wins over Utah and BYU. The Red Raiders are led by transfer forward JT Toppin, who is averaging a near double-double with over 17 points per game and 9 rebounds per game. He, along with fellow forward Darrion Williams and guard Chance McMillian will be a problem for K-State’s leaky defense to handle.
So what are we looking for tonight? A win is probably out, and even a close loss is in jeopardy as Texas Tech is a 7-point favorite on the road and the Cats have been abysmal against the spread so far this season. But these same Cats beat Cincinnati on this floor a couple weeks ago, so I guess anything is possible. But really, we’re looking to see if there is any fight left after the 30-point drubbing on Saturday. Do they have what it takes to get up off the mat and remain at least competitive?
If not, might be time to cut your losses and shut it down now, play the freshman and anyone you want to keep for next year, and move on with life. It just really sucks to be David N’Guessan right now.
We’ve got an 8:00pm CT tipoff for the game this evening from Bramlage Coliseum, and you can catch the action on CBS Sports Network with Jordan Kent (play-by-play) and Mike O’Donnell (analyst) on the call.
If you don’t have that in your provider package, 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. 383. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!