Kansas State vs 14/16 Texas: Open Game Thread

Last time out was not pretty for the Wildcats. If not for Mark Smith having the best game of his career, K-State would not have been in a position for a heartbreaking loss at the end of the game. Early holes have been a big problem for the Cats all season, and as we get into conference play it’s only going to be a bigger problem.

We’ll get our first chance to see if they used the last couple days to figure out how to avoid that early malaise, and get out of the gate with enough fire to avoid needing to come back from double-digits just to make a game of it. Because against the Longhorns, they will likely not have the chance to dig themselves out of that big of a hole.

The Longhorns have a new look this season, but it will be very familiar in many ways. Shaka Smart is gone, left for Marquette, but he was replaced by Chris Beard who led Texas Tech to the NCAA Championship game in 2019. The Red Raiders were good but not great last season, but Beard is undoubtedly a good coach, and with the talent that Smart left for him in Austin, he’s already made the Longhorns a Big 12 contender.

It’s going to be a tough night for the Wildcats. Lets just hope it doesn’t get too out of hand.

Tonight’s game from Bramlage Coliseum tips at 6:00pm CST and can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Lowell Galindo (play-by-play) and Lance Blanks (analyst) on the call.

If you haven’t subscribed to ESPN+, or just don’t want to, you can listen to (presumably) Brian Smoller (play-by-play) call the game on much of the K-State Sports Radio Network, and also available online on the The Varsity Network app and at K-StateSports.com.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (8-4)

G: #3 Selton Miguel
G: #13 Mark Smith
G: #24 Nijel Pack
F: #25 Ismael [Ish] Massoud
F: #20 Kaosi Ezeagu

Texas Longhorns (11-2)

G: #1 Andrew Jones
G: #2 Marcus Carr
G: #3 Courtney Ramey
F: #0 Timmy Allen
F: #33 Tre Mitchell

Go Cats!