The Wildcats start their march journey as the 5-seed, looking to make it out of the first weekend for the first time in forever.
Your Kansas State Wildcats begin their journey into the madness of March today, looking to get out of the first weekend of action in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002.
Of course, it would have likely been easier had the MittieCats (26-7, 13-5 Big 12) not crumbled down the stretch, and had earned a 4-seed or higher and gotten the right to host the opening round games like last year. But struggle they did, but only fell to a 5-seed, which means that they still have a very tough 4-seed (and host squad) waiting for them on Sunday should they make it out of today’s game victorious.
And while the women’s tournament sees far fewer first-round upsets than the men’s tournament, it’s still a possibility. Today’s opponent is 12-seed Fairfield, who went 28-4 overall this season and 19-1 in the MAAC, including winning the conference tournament to claim the auto-bid. Three of their four losses came in the non-conference, including a 64-62 loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. They have had just one loss in 2025, as they lost their regular season finale at rival Quinnipiac, before winning three straight in the MAAC tournament capped by beating the Bobcats in the championship game.
The Stags will be a tough team to beat, and K-State will need to play better than they have in a month if the want to advance to the Round of 32.
The bright spot for K-State is the possible return of Ayoka Lee. She’s been practicing, and the recently-crowned three-time All-American could be available today. But if she does play today, expect limited minutes in the hopes that she can dust off the cobwebs before playing more minutes on Sunday.
Regardless, K-State needs to hope they’ve re-found their early-season mojo. A win today is expected. Anything less would be abject disappointment.
We’ve got an 1:30pm CT tipoff for the NCAA Tournament game today at the Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, KY, and you can catch the action on ESPNews with Sam Gore (play-by-play) and Tamika Catchings (analyst) on the call.
If you don’t get ESPNews or 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 Kristin Waller (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!