Basketball wins!

We start today’s Slate with basketball, because Kansas State finally tipped off on the men’s and women’s side, but mostly because there’s no Kansas State football today.

Basketball

We don’t care about the whole state of Illinois!

Kansas State destroyed Chicago State 83-33 in the women’s first game of the season. So dominant were the Wildcats that they went 42-10 in the paint and never trailed once in the entire game.

Four players managed double digit scoring, with Kayla Goth getting a team-leading 23 points along with eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Freshman Peyton Williams had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds and became the first Wildcat to earn a double-double in her first game since Kendra Wecker.

Kindred Wesemann and Kaylee Page rounded out the double digit Wildcats with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Goth was far-and-way the star of the night, not only outscoring everyone on both teams, but also going on a 12-3 run early in the third quarter and generally playing like her hair was on fire.

All these fireworks, and Breanna Lewis hardly played and Eternati Williams didn’t take the floor at all.

Up next, the Wildcats host Tulsa at Bramlage Coliseum on Monday at 7 PM.

On the men’s side, there were fewer fireworks, but a strong second-half effort helped Kansas State to a 82-55 win over Western Illinois.

Freshman Xavier Sneed got his Kansas State career off to a great start, coming off the bench to score 17 points along with 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc. Wesley Iwundu had a near-double-double, with 17 points and nine boards, and Barry Brown led all scorers with 18 points including two three-point shots, plus six rebounds.

Although the team was slow out of the gate, Kansas State shot 62.5 percent from the field and was a perfect 7-of-7 beyond the arc in the second half. The defense allowed only 36.5% shooting from Western Illinois while forcing 14 turnovers.

Football

It’s a slow news week for the football team. Disappointment and bye weeks will do that.

There is plenty of non-Kansas State football on the dial today though. Jon Morse brings you up to speed with the Week 11 College Football TV Schedule.

It’s also mostly a good news week. Jordan Willis is one of 24 players in the nation on the midseason watch list for the 2016 Hendricks Award. The award is given annually to college football’s best defensive end. Willis is currently leading the Big 12 in sacks, and is third in all of college football. He is second in the league for tackles-for-loss, ninth overall. In two weeks, the midseason list will be a trimmed to a final list from which the ultimate awardee will be chosen and announced on December 7.

The news is mostly good for Jerry Kill as well. Since retiring from coaching last October and leaving Minnesota, he’s found a home at Kansas State and is slowly settling into a role that keeps him busy but also leaves time to relax just enough to help with his epilepsy (Kellis Robinett, Wichita Eagle).

(Although he’s not supposed to be coaching, the article notes that he “doubles as an assistant football coach,” at least informally. Take from that what you will, but I’m not convinced this is a good thing for any of the involved parties).

Finally, some good news for Jesse Ertz and his family as his sister fights against cancer:

Have a happy day, all!

GO GOPHERS!

GO CYCLONES!!