The surprising Wildcats head back out on the road, looking to stay hot against a good BYU squad.
For the first time since December 30th, 2024, your Kansas State Wildcats are both above .500 overall and above .500 in Big 12 play, thanks to a 6-game winning streak with the most recent highlight a 73-70 win over #13 Arizona in Bramlage on Tuesday evening. The TangCats now sit at 13-11 overall and 7-6 in Big 12, and have improbably put themselves back into contention for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
But if they want to stay in that spot, the need to keep winning. And that continues tonight against a good BYU squad in Provo. The Cougars enter tonight’s contest at 16-8 overall and 7-5 in Big 12 play, and are coming off a solid win over West Virginia in Morgantown. They aren’t perfect at home, falling to Texas Tech and Arizona in Provo, but both schools are in the Top 10 of the NET, and neither were bad losses. They’ve also beaten Baylor at home, taking the Bears in overtime to end January.
The loss to Arizona was the first of a two-game slide that also included a loss at Concinnati before the win in Morgantown on Tuesday, so the Cougars are by no means playing their best basketball right now. But they are still very good at a very hostile Marriott Center, and this will be the most hostile environment the Cats have faced since the trip to Ames two weeks ago. The Cats passed that test well, but will be hard-pressed to do it again.
This is another two-game road trip, with a contest against Utah on Monday. Of the two, a loss to BYU (NET 39) wouldn’t be terrible to their chances at the NCAA Tournament, as a Q1 loss on the road in a larger win streak wouldn’t be a black mark. But a win tonight would be huge, and would push K-State to an incredible 7-game win streak in conference play.
If the Cats can continue to play with the energy and effort they’ve shown during the current 6-game win streak, they’ll have a great chance to steal this one. But anything less will lead to an end to this run.
We’ve got a 8:00pm CT tipoff for the game tonight from the Marriott Center in Provo, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ with Ted Emrich (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (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. 388. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!