Kansas State at Oklahoma: Open Game Thread

Welcome to 2022 and welcome back to Kansas State basketball.

It’s been less than two weeks since the last time the Wildcats took the court against an opponent, but it feels like it’s been much longer than that. Of course, the Cats were slated to play against Morgan State, and then North Florida, last Wednesday, but both games ended up being cancelled due to COVID issues with those teams. Thankfully, it appears the Wildcats have managed to avoid any issues to this point (*knocks on wood*), and are ready to get back to action tonight.

One more tune-up game would have been nice, especially after the break for Christmas, before the Wildcats start Big 12 play, but alas, here we are, and the Cats will face to Sooners tonight without a chance to blow off the dust first.

And the Wildcats are going to need all the help they can get. These aren’t Lon Kruger’s Sooners, who had some sort of mystical block when playing the Wildcats. Porter Mosier is now at the helm in Norman, and the last time a Bruce Weber-coached team and a Porter Mosier-coached team met on the hardwood, it was not exactly a pretty finish for the Wildcats. Of course, the Sooners don’t have the backing of a wizardly nun, but Moser likely won’t have the same mental block that Kruger did when leading the Sooners against the Wildcats, and that would normally be enough in most years.

Oh, and you remember the Arkansas team that beat K-State 72-64? Yeah, OU destroyed them 88-66 a few weeks ago. In Tulsa. This game could get ugly for the Wildcats. Consider yourself warned.

This evening’s game from the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman tips at 7:05pm CT and can be seen on ESPNU with Mike Corey (play-by-play) and King McClure (analyst) on the call. The game should also be available streaming via WatchESPN, if you already have the correct TV subscription.

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 on XM channel 383 and online on the The Varsity Network app and at K-StateSports.com.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (8-3, 0-0 Big 12)

G: #1 Markquis Nowell
G: #13 Mark Smith
G: #24 Nijel Pack
F: #25 Ismael [Ish] Massoud
F: #20 Kaosi Ezeagu

Oklahoma Sooners (10-2, 0-0 Big 12)

G: #0 Jordan Goldwire
G: #2 Umoja Gibson
G: #55 Elijah Harkless
F: #1 Jalen Hill
F: #35 Tanner Groves

Go Cats!