Kansas State vs Marquette: Open Game Thread

Well, it was an improvement — at least the Wildcats won the game.

While the Kansas State offense looked better thanks to shots falling, it still was not a great display of basketball from the hoopers wearing the purple and white. As Big E noted in the game recap, the Wildcats continually failed to value the basketball on offense, and while it didn’t cause a big problem against an obviously over-matched Florida A&M squad, it’s still a cause for concern overall. What’s worse, is that FAMU showcased a glaring problem for the Wildcats — the post players for the Wildcats are struggling, and the problem seems to be getting worse, not better. And that could be even more of a problem tonight against a potential NCAA Tournament team.

The 2019-20 version of the Golden Eagles doesn’t look much different than the squad that beat the Wildcats 83-71 last December in Milwaukee. And that starts at the top, with 2019 Big East Player of the Year Markus Howard, who dropped in 45 of those 83 points against the Cats. While dangerous, Marquette sports a similar record to the Wildcats so far in 2019, but it came against better competition. The Eagles have wins over Purdue, Davidson, and USC under their belts, and their two losses have come on the road, with a loss at Wisconsin and a loss to Top 5 Maryland in Florida in the championship game of the Orlando Invitational.

This game was previously scheduled as a return game as part of a home-and-home series, but was merged into the inaugural Big 12/Big East Battle series, that the Big East currently leads 2-0. The Wildcats will look to both help the Big 12 conference, as well as keep alive their current 33-game win streak against non-conference opponents in Bramlage. Oh, and it would be a marquee win when it comes to NCAA Tournament selection time. But if the current start to this season and last year’s match-up are any indication of how tonight’s game will go, things do not look very bright for this one.

Let’s just hope the good guys can keep it close and avoid a home blow-out.

Tonight’s game, scheduled for a 8:05pm CST tip, can be see on terrestrial TV via ESPN2 with Kevin Brown (play-by-play) and Sean Farnham (analyst) on the call. You might be able to stream the game via WatchESPN if you are in the correct market. If you don’t get ESPN2, or can’t access the stream, you can listen to Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Matt Walters (analyst) call the game on much of the K-State Sports Radio Network and also available online via the TuneIn App and at K-StateSports.com, and satellite radio on Sirius 113 and XM 199.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (5-2)

G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #11 Antonio Gordon
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Marquette Golden Eagles (6-2)

G: #0 Markus Howard
G: #25 Koby McEwen
F: #2 Sacar Anim
F: #1 Brendan Bailey
F: #4 Theo John

Go Cats!