Kansas State vs Iowa State: Open Game Thread

Well, that four day stretch really sucked. A week ago the Wildcats went to Stillwater and couldn’t put together enough defensive stops to keep the Cowboys at bay in overtime. Then the game in Lawrence happened, one of K-State’s best offensive efforts coupled with one of their worst defensive efforts resulted in a 19-point blowout.

Something has got to change if these Wildcats truly want to keep playing after the Big 12 Tournament is complete. And that starts today, with a visit from Iowa State.

The Cyclones started the season strong, then went through a significant lull in Big 12 play but have stormed back with three straight wins to put themselves back on solid footing for a potential NCAA Tournament bid. In fact the last time the Clones lost was two weeks ago, when they gave up a big early lead in Ames to fall to K-State in overtime. With Iowa State playing well of late, the Cats cannot afford to get down big again.

Of course there’s a lot of things the Wildcats can’t afford right now, but primarily they cannot afford to lose this game. The loss in Stillwater stung, the loss at KU was accounted for, but no realistic path for the Wildcats into the Dance doesn’t include beating Iowa State in Bramlage.

K-State needs to win today, or they might as well resign themselves to staying home in March.

Today’s game from Bramlage tips at 1:05pm CST and can be seen on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf (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 380 and online on the The Varsity Network app and at K-StateSports.com.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (14-13, 6-9 Big 12)

G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #1 Markquis Nowell
G: #13 Mark Smith
G: #24 Nijel Pack
C: #21 Davion Bradford

Iowa State Cyclones (19-9, 6-9 Big 12)

G: #1 Izaiah Brockington
G: #11 Tyrese Hunter
G: #22 Gabe Kalscheur
F: #5 Aljaz Kunc
F: #4 George Conditt IV