OPEN GAME THREAD: Sunflower Beatdown

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (24-1, 9-1) AT Kansas State Wildcats (16-9, 4-6)

Bramlage Coliseum a.k.a. The Hawktagon of Doom — Manhattan, Kan.
Monday, Feb. 14, 2011 — 8 PM CST

ESPN | ESPN3.com

Take cover, fellow Wildcats — it's almost time for the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Manhattan.

I keep hearing certain people (Danny Clinkscale, my boss, folks in Las Vegas, etc.) predict the Cats will keep it close.

No offense, but you're all smoking pure crack rocks. This team is done, people.

This athletic year already has seen the failed fourth-down attempt against Nebraska; Carson Coffman's fumble on the 1-yard line in Columbia; Daniel Thomas' freak fumble in Boulder; "The Salute"; the Dillard's spree; and now the cavalcade of whimsy in Boulder that included the six-point swing of Curtis Kelly's elbows, the worst Jacob Pullen dribble-off-foot yet and the Rodney McGruder shot that wasn't.

It's clear now: Even God Himself is against our athletic programs. It's the only explanation.

That means it's time to shovel some dirt on this corpse and read an epitaph, and the No. 1 Jayhawks should be all too happy to officiate tonight's services and slam shut our eight-sided coffin.

Mother have mercy, this lost season is about to come to an end.

P.S. Yes, I'm laying it on pretty thick, but I'm out of fracking ideas at this point. My only hope is to be so excessively pessimistic that karma comes full circle and the Cats make me eat my words. I'd be glad to do so, believe me.

You can read my preview of Kansas here, revisit BOTC's anger during the first game here or submit to our Jayhawk overlords at Rock Chalk Talk.

Predictions:

• BracketCat: Kansas 78, Kansas State 72
  GAMER: Kansas 78, Kansas State 74
  Pomeroy: Kansas 77, Kansas State 69
  Sagarin: Kansas 80, Kansas State 74

From the K-State Sports Information Department:

Kansas State (16-9, 4-6 Big 12) will make a quick turnaround tonight for its second game in a three-day period, when the Wildcats host rival No. 1 Kansas (24-1, 9-1 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum at 8 p.m.

The squad, which is 3-13 all-time against the No. 1 team in the country, will be playing the Jayhawks as the nation’s top-ranked team for the eighth time, dating back to 1957.

Kansas has won seven of those eight match-ups, including a 72-64 decision in the title game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship last season.

The only win over a top-ranked Jayhawk team came in a Big Monday game Jan. 17, 1994, when Dana Altman’s Wildcats earned a 68-64 win at Allen Fieldhouse.

Monday’s game will be broadcast on ESPN, with Brent Musburger (play-by-play), legendary head coach Bob Knight (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) on the call.

It also will be available on the web at ESPN3.com.

Fans can listen to the "Voice of the Wildcats," Wyatt Thompson, and analyst Stan Weber throughout the 33-station K-State Sports Network, as well as free of charge online at www.k-statesports.com.

It will be the 272nd meeting between Kansas and K-State, in a series that dates back to 1907.

It is the sixth-most played series in Division I college basketball history and the longest involving members of the Big 12 Conference.

The two teams have met every season for 104 years, which represents the eighth-most continuously played series.

The Jayhawks own a 181-90 advantage in the series, including a 73-44 edge in Manhattan.

They have dominated the series since the start of the Big 12, winning 34 of 36 meetings, including 21 victories in the last 22 meetings at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Jayhawks have won seven in a row in the series, including two straight in Manhattan, since the Michael Beasley-led Wildcats earned the team’s first win in the series at Bramlage Colisem on Jan. 30, 2008.

Earlier this season, Kansas dominated the first meeting with a 90-66 win at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 29.

The Jayhawks shot 61.8 percent from the field, including 69.7 percent in the second half, while the Wildcats were just 33.8 percent from the field.