Kansas State at TCU: Open Game Thread

After a brief peak at mediocrity, the Wildcats have fallen back into the depths of terrible. After two-straight losses by less than seven points, it appeared as though Kansas State might have turned a corner on the season. Maybe not enough to win games against teams above them, but at least stay close enough to be a challenge instead of getting rolled by 20 points every night.

And then, in the midst of the worst season ins school history, it got worse.

Losing by double-digits to KU is nothing really new, but losing by double-digits to the worst KU team in 30 years while similarly putting up the worst offensive showing in Bramlage Coliseum history (and nearly the worst all-time), puts the Wildcats into a whole new level of suck in a terrible season. With the loss to KU, these Wildcats have now set the single-season mark for futility with 13-straight losses, and only need two more to match the 15-straight mark that was set over two seasons from Feb. 28th, 1922 to Feb. 17th, 1923.

Something else that these 2021 Wildcats have in common with those 1922 Wildcats? Zero home conference wins. And unless the game in Bramlage against Iowa State gets rescheduled, that’s very likely to hold. E.C. Curtiss’ teams won five games in his two seasons, and three of them were over Grinnell (two in Iowa) (those were conference games, btw, back when Grinnell, Drake, and Washington (Mo.) were in the same “Missouri Valley” conference as KU, K-State, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, and OU).

And if that game against Iowa State isn’t rescheduled, then it’s very like that Curtiss’ worst teams in school history will still have more conference wins total (in fewer games) than the last two teams that Bruce Weber has put on the court in Manhattan. Gross.

Of course, all that could change with a win this afternoon. I mean, it’s not likely that it will happen, but it’s still a possibility. TCU is the last unranked team on the schedule as it stands at tip-off (no Iowa State, and extremely low likelyhood that OU or WVU drops out of the polls in the next week). If the Wildcats play like they did against Texas (or even Iowa State), then there’s a slim chance that K-State can head home without a losing streak. But based on the other 12 games the Wildcats have already played, it’s more likely that K-State drops yet another as the season comes to an end.

This sucks.

Today’s game from Schollmaier Arena in the frozen wastelands formerly known as Ft. Worth tips at 4:01pm CT and can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Ted Emrich (play-by-play) and Lance Blanks (analyst) on the call.

If you haven’t subscribed to ESPN+ (and you can do so right here) or just don’t want to, 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 385.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (5-18)

G: #21 Nijel Pack
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Selton Miguel
F: #11 Antonio Gordon
F: #21 Davion Bradford

TCU Horned Frogs (11-8)

G: #1 Mike Miles
G: #22 R.J. Nembhard
G: #4 P.J. Fuller
F: #5 Chuck O’Bannon
C: #21 Kevin Samuel

Go Cats!

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