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Your Kansas State Wildcats are in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals for the third-straight year.
One other team has also accomplished that feat or better, and while that team is in the late game tonight, it’s not the one you would expect. West Virginia, who toppled 2-seed Texas Tech last night, is actually in the semi-finals for the fourth-straight year. Wowza.
But back to the Wildcats, who looked sluggish early on without star forward Dean Wade, but rallied to overcome a double-digit mid-first-half deficit to pick up a comfortable-enough 70-61 Big 12 quarterfinal victory over TCU yesterday afternoon. Xavier Sneed stepped up in a big way, as the junior forward scored all 19 of his team-leading points in the final 20 minutes and 10 seconds of the game.
And the Wildcats will need a similar performance tonight to exact revenge on an Iowa State team that walked into Bramlage in mid February and managed to hit every piece of junk shot that they threw at the basket in a 78-64 victory, one of just two losses the Wildcats sustained at home all season. The other home loss came at the beginning of 2019 to Texas, and the Wildcats avenged that loss in Austin in early February. Now it’s time to see if the Wildcats have another one of those in them.
We’re in the first semifinal tonight, with the game scheduled for a 6:00pm CDT tip on ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play, )Fran Fraschilla (analyst), and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) on the call. You should also be able to access the game on WatchESPN.com/ESPN3.
You will also be able to listen to live audio across much of the K-State Sports Network with with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available streaming for free online via the TuneIn app/TuneIn.com and at www.kstatesports.com/watch. Satellite coverage is also available at Sirius 135 / XM 199. Live stats are available at big12statbroadcats.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage from K-State Athletics.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State Wildcats (25-7, 14-4 Big 12)
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown Jr.
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Iowa State Cyclones (21-11, 9-9 Big 12)
G: #1 Nick Weiler-Babb
G: #3 Marial Shayok
G: #22 Tyrese Haliburton
G: #11 Talen Horton-Tucker
F: #12 Michael Jacobson