K-State Basketball
Now, don't take this the wrong way. I'm not saying there is any comparison between Bruce Weber and Frank Haith beyond the overwhelmingly negative initial reaction of the fanbases to the hires. But a year ago, Bill did an excellent job of showing Missouri fans what to expect from Haith. We're going to try and do the same thing in the next week or so here.
Over the weekend, K-State announced that fired Illinois coach Bruce Weber will replace Frank Martin in Manhattan. Weber will be paid $8.5 million over five years.
John Currie's first coaching search at K-State lasted four days and featured no media leaks. That's no small feat these days.
The hiring was met with decidedly negative reaction from K-State fans, but Weber hopes to win over the skeptics. Wins will do the job.
Tom Izzo and Lon Kruger are hoping for the best for Weber in Manhattan, although you have to think Kruger isn't hoping for too much success.
Weber may be close to hiring former Southern Illinois head coach Chris Lowery as an assistant in Manhattan. While Lowery wasn't particularly successful at SIU, I'm OK with giving him a shot as an assistant.
You know who really wasn't a fan of the Weber hire? Jacob Pullen, K-State's all-time leading scorer, who took to Twitter and pointed out that Weber didn't think Pullen was good enough to play at Illinois. Twitter being what it is, Pullen was immediately ripped for speaking his mind (the last one is the best).
K-State Baseball
After splitting the Friday and Saturday games, K-State entered the ninth inning Sunday against Oklahoma with a 3-2 lead and a chance to win its first Big 12 series this season. But the Sooners scored two runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to steal the game and the series. The Bats Cats are now sixth in the Big 12 standings, a full game behind Oklahoma. K-State gets a visit from Nebraska on Tuesday before a non-conference weekend series next weekend against Sacred Heart.
Big 12 Basketball
KU did the Big 12 proud by knocking off Ohio State and ensuring that the Big 10 would not be represented in the national title game. That school down the river takes on heavy favorite Kentucky tonight in the national title game.