Kansas State vs Oklahoma State: Open Game Thread

We’re on early today, because the K-State women’s basketball team plays first tonight, and we wanted to make sure you had a good place to discuss.

The MittieCats remained at the very bottom of the Top 25 rankings to begin the week after dropping a rough game on the road at Texas in the mid-week game, but beating a tough TCU team in Manhattan on Saturday.

After her 61-point outburst a bit over a week ago, Ayoka Lee has been held to just 20 & 21 points, and was without a double-double for just the third time during conference play in the win over TCU. But the real story for the Wildcats isn’t Ayoka Lee, who is steaming full-speed towards a consensus All-American nod. No, it’s who else is going to step up for the Wildcats on any given night and help Lee. In the loss at Texas, Serena Sundell helped on the scoring, but had six turnovers to just four assists, and just three players scored more than seven points individually. In the win over TCU, both Brylee and Jaelyn Glenn dropped double-figures, including key points in the 4th quarter surge to push the Cats ahead for good, and Sundell dished 8 assists to just three turnovers. And in the loss to Iowa State a few weeks ago, Lee had 38 points, but no one else had more than 7.

When multiple players contribute, the Wildcats are very good. When it’s just Lee and maybe one pal, the Wildcats are not nearly as good. And the Wildcats will need a team effort to knock off a very good Iowa State team tonight. One that already beat the Cats once this year, and did so in a rowdy Bramlage Coliseum.

Lee will get hers, but who else is going to contribute tonight? Because it’s going to take several.

This evening’s game from Hilton Coliseum in Ames tips at 6:30pm CST and can be seen on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with John Walters (play-by-play) and Molly Parrott (analyst) on the call.

If you haven’t subscribed to ESPN+, or just don’t want to, you can listen to Brain Smoller (play-by-play) and Randy Peterson (analyst) call the game on some 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

(25/RV) Kansas State Wildcats (16-5, 6-3 Big 12)

G: #3 Jaelyn Glenn
G: #4 Serena Sundell
G: #5 Brylee Glenn
F: #13 Laura Macke
C: #50 Ayoka Lee

(11/13) Iowa State Cyclones (18-3, 7-2 Big 12)

G: #11 Emily Ryan
G: #13 Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw
G: #21 Lexi Donarski
G/F: #24 Ashley Joens
F: #31 Morgan Kane

Go Cats!

The WeberCats are mired in a three-game losing streak that feels longer than that. Despite beating Texas Tech and Texas a couple weeks ago, losses to KU and Baylor sent the program spinning, culminating with hitting bottom against Ole Miss on Saturday.

I won’t say rock-bottom, because things could certainly get worse, but it’s definitely the bottom as far as any hope at the postseason is concerned. The Wildcats are currently at 10-10 overall, and have won just two conference games in eight tries. Not exactly a recipe for making it to postseason play.

But maybe that’s off the table now, despite the smidge of hope we got a couple weeks ago. Maybe it never really was and we were hoping for the best. Either way, it’s not a fun time to be a fan of the K-State men’s basketball team.

But we could get a brief respite from our woes tonight, or get another jarring slap in the face. The Oklahoma State Cowboys are in town, and they are also on a three-game losing streak, despite a huge upset win in Waco a couple weeks ago. Of course, the Cowboys are not eligible for the postseason, but if they were they’d be in about the same position as the Cats needing a win tonight to keep ever-so-slight hopes alive for the postseason.

This game could get ugly. At least this one isn’t on tv.....oh wait. This is the game ESPN decides to broadcast on a cable channel. Of course.

Tonight’s game from Bramlage tips at 8:05pm CST and can be seen on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play) and Bryndon Manzer (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 384 and online on the The Varsity Network app and at K-StateSports.com.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (10-10, 2-6 Big 12)

G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #1 Markquis Nowell
G: #13 Mark Smith
G: #24 Nijel Pack
C: #12 Carlton Linguard

Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-10, 3-5 Big 12)

G: #0 Avery Anderson III
G: #1 Bryce Thompson
G: #5 Rondel Walker
G: #13 Isaac Likekele
C: #33 Moussa Cisse

Go Cats!