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In a season that’s as off-the-rails as this one has been, it’s going to be pretty hard to find a “must win” game on the schedule. But for the Kansas State Wildcats, tonight’s game against the Oklahoma Sooners may be just that.
Sure, post-season hopes are all but destroyed, but there are still potential bright spots on the horizon. But those bright spots only come if the Wildcats can pick up a few more wins, and tonight is going to be one of the few good opportunities remaining on the schedule. Tonight, as well as home games against Iowa State and Oklahoma State, are probably the three most-winnable games left on the schedule, and a team that is essentially building for next year needs to win all three to avoid a total loss on the season.
Though don’t mistake this being a “winnable” game to mean that the Sooners are a bad team. Certainly they have a loss to Iowa State on their resume, but even great teams have dropped games in Ames. Their other two Big 12 losses are to Baylor and KU, number 1 and 2 (respectively) in the conference right now. They also beat a common non-con opponent, Mississippi State, just this past weekend. But the Sooners have struggled on the road this year, with five of their six losses coming away from Norman.
Something else to consider: Lon Kruger is still winless in Bramlage against Bruce Weber. So, that streak is on the line tonight too. Maybe it will be just enough to push the Wildcats back towards .500.
We’re got a normal tip-off tonight from Bramlage, with the start time set for 7:02pm CST. Tonight’s game can be see on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Lance Blanks (analyst) on the call.
If you haven’t signed up for ESPN+ yet (and you can do so right here), you can listen to Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) call the game on much of the K-State Sports Radio Network,on satellite on XM 386, and also available online via the TuneIn App and at K-StateSports.com.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State Wildcats (8-11)
G: #4 David Sloan
G: #3 DaJuan Gordon
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #23 Montavious Murphy
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Oklahoma Sooners (13-6)
G: #2 Kira Lewis Jr.
G: #23 John Petty Jr.
G: #5 Jaden Shackelford
G: #1 Herbert Jones
F: #3 Alex Reese
Go Cats!