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It’s been 18 years since the last time the Kansas State Wildcats opened the season with two straight losses. Jim Wooldridge was in his third season, and the Wildcats ended the year with Pervis Pasco walking away from a victory in the Big 12 Tournament.
Of course there are a couple big differences between that team and the 2020-21 Wildcats. For starters, the 02-03 team struggled even though it was lead by juniors and seniors. The current Wildcats are struggling because they don’t have juniors and seniors — only one Wildcat returns more than one season of Division 1 basketball experience. These Wildcats are young, but talented, and should be ready to get back on the right track.
That hopefully starts tonight, and the Kansas City (UMKC) Kangaroos are in Bramlage for the Wildcats third-straight home game to open the season. The Roos are 2-1, but those two wins have come over lower division schools, and their one loss came against former K-State assistant Brad Korn and the SEMO Redhawks. If the Wildcats are to get into the win column, their first best shot is tonight, and they need to take advantage. A third-straight loss would spell certain doom for an already struggling season.
Let’s just hope the Wildcats take care of business, so we have less to worry about.
We’ve got another prime-time tip-off from Bramlage today, with a 7:05pm CT start that can be seen on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (analyst) on the call. You might be able to stream the game via WatchESPN if the game isn’t blocked in your area. No fans will be in Bramlage today, just a limited number of player’s family and facility staff, so expect a weird-feeling atmosphere.
If you don’t get ESPNU, or can’t access the stream, 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, and also available online via the TuneIn App and at K-StateSports.com, and satellite radio on XM 375.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State Wildcats (0-2)
G: #24 Nijel Pack
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #3 DaJuan Gordon
F: #11 Antonio Gordon
F: #1 Kaosi Ezeagu
Kansas City Kangaroos (2-1)
G: #0 Zion Williams
G: #3 Brandon McKissic
G: #11 Franck Kamgain
G: #3 Marvin Nesbitt Jr.
F: #20 Josiah Allick
Go Cats!