K-State Slate: 3.10.14

Previously on BotC: Things happened. Deb Patterson's gone, the Big 12 announced its men's basketball awards, and one Nebraska prospect seems impressed by K-State, but hasn't committed.

Men's Basketball:

For various reasons, including bad shooting, bad ball-handling, timidity, and a ridiculous streak of consecutive free throws made by one guy, the 'Cats fell in their season finale. K-State's official recap, Ahearn's post-game analysis, game stories from Kellis Robinett at The Star and Ken Corbitt at The Capital-Journal.

Corbin McGuire at the C-J reflects on Marcus Foster and his heroic effort in the final five minutes which just wasn't enough. Kevin Haskin thinks it's going to be rough playing away from Bramlage for the rest of the season and brings up the ugly spectre of how the Wildcats may not have to do that. And Corbitt reports that the team's just going to have to put it behind them and focus on Kansas City. Lastly, in his post-game notebook, Robinett laments the disappearance of the seniors on Saturday. (He also noted that not one of them spoke to the press after the game, leaving Thomas Gipson to serve as the team's mouthpiece.)

Some Big 12 Tournament previews courtesy of Barking Carnival and Chuck Carlton at The Dallas Morning News.

Women's Basketball:

Yeah, then that happened. You can read the full transcript of Currie's press conference, and stories on Deb Patterson's departure from Robinett (expanded greatly from yesterday evening's article), Corbin McGuire, John Zetmeir at The Collegian, our friend Chuck Chaney at SB Nation's Swish Appeal, and Arne Green at the Garden City Telegram, who reports that Salina Central forward Shaelyn Martin, a 2014 signee, is a little non-plussed at hearing about the firing via the media. Green, in fact, is the only writer in this paragraph who went beyond Currie's quotes for background, so be sure to read his piece.

Baseball:

The BatCats are at .500 now, which seemed preposterous six games ago when they were 1-7. If you want to be particularly cheeky about it, K-State is undefeated outside the Pacific Time Zone. Friday, the Wildcats plated three runs in the first inning -- two as a result of a bases-loaded walk followed by a HBP -- and Levi MaVorhis (2-1) compensated for a lack of offense the rest of the afternoon by holding Iowa to a pair of runs over six innings. Ethan Landon, Jordan Floyd, and Jake Matthys combined for three innings of one-hit relief to preserve the win.

Saturday, Jared Moore (3-1) allowed two runs in five innings and the Cats slapped nine hits, beating Iowa 5-2. Again, the bullpen was key, allowing four baserunners in four innings, but none scored. Sunday, however, was another story. Landon Busch allowed four runs in just an inning and a third, and the bullpen allowed another four over the last six. Going into the bottom of the sixth, Iowa had a 7-2 lead. But the BatCats unloaded for ten runs over the next three innings to claim a 12-8 win. The middle of the order sprung to life as Austin Fisher, R.J. Santigate, Mitch Meyer, and Tanner DeVinny all had two-hit days, and DeVinny and Alex Bee had three RBI each. It was K-State's first come-from-behind win of the season, and secured a sweep of an Iowa team which came into Manhattan with a 9-1 record.

Tennis:

K-State got back over .500, at 6-5, and snapped a four-match losing streak with a 4-3 upset win over 32nd-ranked Wichita State on Saturday.

Equestrian:

The sixth-ranked Wildcats completed their home schedule with a 10-9 win over ninth-ranked TCU on Saturday. Next up, on March 28-29, is the Big 12 championship in Waco. The 'Cats are the fourth seed, based on overall pointspread, because all four teams finished with identical 3-3 records and split their meetings. K-State, however, has the best overall record of the four teams, and is only bettered by third-ranked Oklahoma State in the national poll, so the championship should be a heck of a show.

This week:

Other:

The Kansas high school basketball tournaments are this week, with the elite eight on Wednesday and the final four on Friday and Saturday. Brackets and stuff are here.