K-State takes on a tough South Dakota State squad in Bramlage

No off nights on this schedule.

No, Bellarmine wasn’t a great team...though maybe tougher than the young Wildcats had anticipated. No, we’re already looking at tonight’s opponent, who should put real fear into a Kansas State squad that has yet to put together something even close to a full 40 minutes of good basketball.

South Dakota State comes into Bramlage tonight as the preseason Summit League favorites, picked first among a solid group of schools and the favorite to earn the league’s auto-bid to the NCAA Tournament next March. Though despite being a veteran and talented team, the Jackrabbits aren’t without their own flaws and they did drop their home opener to Akron — though the Zips were picked to win the Mac and are also a good veteran team.

The Jacks should put up a good fight tonight in Bramlage, and this is not a game the Wildcats can afford to look past. A win tonight will be good for the resume and for creating momentum headed into the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship this weekend. A loss does the opposite in both areas, and ruins K-State’s 10-game non-con home winning streak that actually goes back to Bruce Weber’s last season in Manhattan.

Jerome Tang wanted a tougher schedule, and he’s certainly gotten a tougher schedule.

Tonight’s matchup is scheduled for a 7pm CT tip at Bramlage Colisuem and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with Ben Boyle (play-by-play), Stan Weber (analyst), and Hannah Whetstone (sideline reporter) on the call. You’ll also be able to hear the game online at K-StateSports.com (and via the Varsity Network app), plus parts of the K-State Sports Radio Network and on SiriusXM 375 with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Matt Walters (analyst) calling the action over there.

Go Cats!