In exactly one week, I look forward to being inside the Sprint Center, watching the No. 6 and No. 11 seeds in the Big 12 battle it out. Here's hoping plenty of you will be there with me.
Next week, look for "TB's Guide to the Big 12 Tournament." While I have lived in Kansas City for part of a summer, I'm certain some of you know KC better than I do. So if you have a tip regarding, well, anything related to the tournament that visiting fans would find worthwhile, send me an email at bringonthecats@gmail.com. Additionally, if you have any questions about my beloved City of Fountains, don't hesitate to email me with those, either.
Last night the K-State women clinched at least a share--as defined by the Big 12--of the regular-season conference championship by defeating that school down the river, 61-50. The win gives the women a 13-3 conference record, while Baylor stands 12-3 and is currently trailing Oklahoma State in Waco. If that score holds up, the women will be outright Big 12 championships.
As for the game last night, it wasn't pretty, but it worked. As usual, BOTC favorite Shalee Lehning had a big game for the Cats, scoring 29 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Yep, our point guard had 17 rebounds. Nice double-double.
The win also caps an amazing turnaround for Deb Patterson's team. Last season, the Cats finished in the Big 12 basement with the 'beakers at 4-12. This year, the Cats have gone from the basement to the penthouse, while the chickens have...well, stayed in the basement.
Regardless of the outcome of the Baylor game tonight, a hearty BOTC congratulations goes out to the K-State women for an outstanding conference season. Keep it up in the conference and NCAA tournaments!
Update: As I typed this, Oklahoma State pulled off the upset, defeating Baylor 72-68.
K-State: 2004 2008 Women's Big 12 Basketball Champions! Congratulations!
Sticking with the women's basketball team, the ladies have been doing an excellent job in the classroom as well as on the court. The Cats placed seven players on the Big 12 All-Conference Academic first-team, and one player on the second team.
First Team:
Shana Wheeler, Carolyn McCullough, Shalee Lehning, Marlies Gipson, Ashley Sweat, Danielle Zanotti and Kari Kincaid
Second Team:
Kimberly Dietz
I'm still working on the "Why Michael Beasley Got Snubbed by SI" post, but for now, let's be thankful for this.
At least it's Hansbrough and North Carolina who are now subject to the curse. In the Big 12, we've seen how well that works out this year...
San Antonio has been an unkind place to the K-State baseball team the last few days. The Bat Cats lost, 5-4, on Tuesday, then suffered a walk-off home run hit off Daniel Edwards on Wednesday to fall, 9-8. Let's hope that doesn't happen too often.
If you want to brave the weather, get out to Tointon Family Stadium this weekend to catch the Cats against LeMoyne. Due to weather considerations, the four-game series will be played in double-headers both Saturday and Sunday.
Here's the best of this week from the Big 12 blogosphere...
At the revamped 12th Manchild, Plunk interviews former Aggie basketballer and current Kentucky assistant of basketball operations Chris Walker. It's a good read, and the video at the end is worth the click-through by itself.
Down in Norman, the Crimson and Cream Machine has extensive coverage of last weekend's K-State/OU lacrosse matchup. I wasn't aware anyone in Manhattan even knew what lacrosse was.
The army over at Rock'M Nation are still trying to decide who is the "best, most influential, most likable Mizzou athlete." Surprisingly, this guy isn't included.
JJ up at Corn Nation is having nightmares about Kevin Cosgrove.
And finally, Husker Mike chronicles the student outrage up at Nebraska at Tom Osborne's decision to move the student section into the nosebleeds. My favorite from this post:
But by that same token, Nebraska's student section pales in comparison to many others. Kansas State's certainly puts the Nebraska students to shame.
Ahh, refreshing honesty.