Holy hell, it's almost March. Sorry for the posting interruptus, life has been a little wild and fast the last couple days. I'm back on track now, so let's get caught up on the news.
I was walking across campus yesterday when one of my buddies remarked that "K-State is a bubble team now." This statement was met with disagreement by me and a neutral observer (read: Texas A&M fan), but the fact is the Wildcats have not yet done enough to ensure a spot in the Dance. Currently, we own only eight conference wins. Unless we intend to make a deep run in Kansas City, we're going to need more than that.
Right now, ESPN's Bubble Watch has us in the "Work Left to Do" category, which I think is probably right. K-State is probably a bit of a special case this year, as it was considered a lock until recently but is playing its way into uncertain status. Bracketology still has us listed as a six seed, but I'm guessing the hold on that high of a seed is getting tenuous.
Jason Whitlock thinks K-Staters are a bunch of whining losers. I guess you write columns like that when you get booed by the crowd at the game you're attending.
Now that I have my obligatory jab at Whitlock out of the way, I was disappointed in the crowd at the Texas game Monday night. Party puck mentioned in the comments that he thought the game was poorly officiated, and maybe it was, but booing every single call that goes against K-State drives me up the wall. Just because you don't like a call does not mean it needs to be booed. But even worse than the booing were the few objects thrown on the floor late in the game. That crap has to stop.
I realize that things like this happen everywhere on occasion, but that's no excuse for it happening at K-State.
(On the bright side, at least neither Bill's House nor Bramlage Coliseum will ever be confused with libraries)
Good news from Bramlage last night as the Wildcat women managed a win over Nebraska, 69-65. BOTC favorite Shalee Lehning scored the go-ahead basket late, and the win stops a two-game losing streak and keeps alive the women's conference title hopes with two games remaining. Next up is a Saturday home date with Missouri, followed by a trip down the river.
In men's action in the Big 12 this week...Nebraska extended Oklahoma's miserable offensive run with a 63-45 win in Lincoln...Texas A&M finally remembered how to score points and drilled Texas Tech, 98-54...the school down the river overcame Hilton Magic last night and posted a 75-54 win over Iowa State...and on Tuesday, Oklahoma State continued its incredible run with a 75-73 win over Missouri.
Here's a quick look at what's going on around the Big 12 blogosphere this week:
- Burnt Orange Nation looks at the potential number one seeds in the Dance
- Up at Corn Nation, there is trouble in Husker volleyball land. Corn blight also has his weekly Big 12 baseball review posted. For the record, the student journalists who did that Sarah Pavan story were well within their rights to pursue that story. And John Cook sounds like a real bully in the second linked story. Sad.
- Iowa State's new kicker cranks dat...Lion King? See Clone Chronicles for more.
- The boys over at Rock'M Nation are trying to decide who the best Missouri athlete of the last 25 years is.
- Seth over at Double T Nation looks at the complicated story of the first black scholarship athlete at Texas Tech.
ESPN has a chat with Bill Walker that starts in about 10 minutes. Get your questions in quick. I have submitted a question for him, if he answers it I'll post the link in the notes.