The MittieCats take their show on the road, with a big test awaiting tonight in Salt Lake City against the Utes.
It’s been a great start to the season for your Kansas State Wildcats. Despite an early setback against a Top 15 Duke squad, the MittieCats are sitting at 15-1 and 3-0 in Big 12 play following a string of progressively larger wins to start conference play.
Last time out, the Wildcats shook off a tight first half from a pesky Texas Tech squad to blast off after halftime enroute to a 77-57 win in Bramlage that ended as an ice storm was starting to sweep through the Manhattan area. Tonight, the task gets a lot tougher. Utah enters tonight at 12-2 (3-0) and ranked #22 in the country, and will be the biggest test the Cats have faced since that Duke loss in late November.
And while the Cats have been mostly impressive since that loss, they also haven’t been pushed by a ranked squad during that run. Their best win over that stretch was a 74-48 win over Middle Tennessee State (NET 56) in a game in St. Joseph where the Cats actually trailed at halftime before a major second-half turn around. And that was at a very friendly neutral site. The MittieCats have played exactly two true road games so far this season, and neither the trips to College Station or Houston featured good teams or particularly raucous environments. Utah is good, and two top-25 teams duking it out should draw a crowd.
K-State needs to win to maintain their place at the top of the Big 12 standings as well as pick up a committee-impressing Quad 1 win. A loss doesn’t hurt a lot, as long as Utah keeps winning, but would put a serious damper in the lofty hopes for this season.
We’ve got a 8:00pm CT tipoff for the game this evening from the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ with Krista Blunk (play-by-play) and Angela 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 Brian Smoller (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. 199 or 211. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateWBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!