The MittieCats are down the river, looking to beat the Jayhawks in their house for the first time since 2020.
Hot on the heels of a very important rebound win over Iowa State in Manhattan, your Kansas State Wildcats have headed east on I-70 looking to end a slump in Lawrence.
The Wildcats (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) needed overtime to take care of the Cyclones 87-79 on Thursday night, but some very important things came out of that big win. First, the Wildcats are capable of winning big games without Ayoka Lee, even against some of the other big posts in the Big 12. Second, they showed the resilience to win big games, even coming off a very disappointing loss last weekend. The Cats let a big lead slip late and allowed the Cyclones to force overtime, but bounced back strong in the extra period.
Today, the Wildcats will look to re-assert their dominance in the Sunflower Showdown, as the face a KU team that they haven’t beaten in Lawrence since 2020. The Jayhawks (14-7, 4-6 Big 12) are not great this year, but as the trip to Boulder showed, anybody can be deadly once — especially as they face a top team and rival on their home court. The Hawks are led by sophomore guard S’Mya Nichols, a Kansan who is averaging over 20 points per game. This will be a big matchup for the K-State guards, who managed to handle the tough guards from Iowa State through aggressive defense and good ball movement on offense.
KU managed to surprise Oklahoma State in Stillwater back at the beginning of January, but otherwise have really struggled against the top-half of the Big 12. This is definitely a game the Wildcats should win. But they are going to have to survive the hostile crowd in Lawrence and avoid self-inflicted mistakes — especially struggling with the latter in Boulder — to head back to Manhattan with another victory.
Time to take back over our rightful place in the Sunflower Showdown. Time to go win.
We’ve got a 2:00pm CT tipoff for the game this afternoon from Allen Fieldhouse, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ with Josh Klingler (play-by-play) and Wayne Simien (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. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateWBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!