Kansas State vs Oklahoma: Open Game Thread

What a difference a game makes. This time last week, we were hoping that strong showings against Texas and Oklahoma State would lead to a closer-than-expected loss in Bramlage to a struggling Kansas team. Boy, were we wrong.

But last Saturday we had a breakthrough. The WeberCats finally won a game in the disastrous 2021 year, beating an inconsistent TCU team on the road. The Wildcats played solid, stable basketball. They didn’t give up when TCU pulled ahead briefly late in the second half. And they got contributions from around the court.

But that also means that the Wildcats still haven’t won a home conference game this season. And history aside, that’s not likely to happen tonight. The Sooners come in on a three-game win streak, but two of those wins have come in closer-than-expected fashion to a really bad Iowa State squad. The other was an overtime win on the road at West Virginia, so these Sooners are still legit.

But the Sooners haven’t won in Manhattan since Bruce Weber has taken the reins, including the incredible win by the Wildcats in 2016 over then-No. 1 OU (of course, those Wildcats had Wesley Iwundu, currently with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks). Even last year’s struggling squad managed to beat OU in Manhattan, though that OU team was wildly inconsistent.

History may be on the Wildcats’ side, but as we’ve seen this year, history is being broken all over the place this year. So be prepared for this home winning streak over OU to come to an end.

We’ve got a change from the original schedule, with a 8:05pm CT start from Bramlage Coliseum that can be seen on ESPN2 with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) (again) on the call. You might be able to stream the game via WatchESPN if the game isn’t blocked in your area.

If you don’t get ESPN2, 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 383.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (6-18)

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

Oklahoma Sooners (14-5)

G: #2 Umoja Gibson
G: #11 De’Vion Harmon
G: #12 Austin Reaves
G: #24 Elijah Harkless
F: #35 Brady Manek

Go Cats!