Slate: Sunflower Sweep

Previously

Yesterday at BotC, Luke Thompson dropped the latest Bring on the PodCats featuring Bart Keeler from The Smoking Musket and our own BracketCat.

Also, yesterday was the opening day of the early signing period for all sports but football (of course all the “talking heads” care about is basketball, but we’ve got your non-revenue covered too). K-State men’s basketball signed one, women’s basketball signed four (including the #22-ranked player in the country, MHK’s own Chrissy Carr), baseball signed four, and men’s golf signed two. There may be more in the coming week, as the early period is open until Wednesday, Nov. 15th.

Volleyball

K-State volleyball was in action last night in Lawrence. The Cats started hot, taking the first set from KU, but could not hold on against the No. 11 team in the country, losing in four sets to the host Jayhawks 25-14, 21-25, 15-25, 22-25. The loss continues the Cats now 7-game losing skid, puts the Cats at 0-9 against ranked teams this season. K-State also lost senior Byrna Vogel during the match to a leg injury.

It wasn’t all bad news out of Lawrence, however, as K-State junior Kylee Zumach recorded her 1,000th kill during the match.

Football

K-State kicker Matt McCrane has been kicking himself into the record books this season, and now sits just one FG behind K-State legend Martin Gramatica’s career record mark of 54. For his part, McCrane is just taking it one game, one field goal at a time and is trying not to listen to the hype (Robinett, Eagle).

Kevin Haskin at the Topeka Capital-Journal brings up an interesting stat. If K-State freshman Skylar Thompson starts on Saturday, he’ll become just the fourth freshman to start at QB for K-State since 1979. The other three: Josh Freeman (2006), Allan Evridge (2005), and Darrell Ray Dickey in 1979.

30 years ago a game was played that lived up to it’s billing. That would be The Toilet Bowl, the Nov. 7th, 1987 matchup between K-State and KU that ended in a 17-17 tie (Haskin, C-J)

Basketball

With returning starting point guard Karyla Middlebrook currently out with an injury, Jeff Mittie had to turn to another guard to get the job done. Kayla Goth stepped into that role, one that she played in high school but hasn’t for K-State, but she is re-adapting to the role (Corbitt, C-J).

Bruce Weber calls the newest signee, another St. Louis product and former HS teammate of Xavier Sneed, “a complete point guard”. Shaun Williams, a 3-star PG by Rivals, averaged 18.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists as a junior last season for Hazelwood Central.

An AP story by Dave Skretta (via the Register-Guard in Eugene, OR): Kansas features two Top-10 teams, and K-State (and all three made the NCAA Tournament last year), and it’s entirely possible that one of the roads to the Final Four runs through the Sunflower State.

Other

Based on recent events in and around the K-State campus and Manhattan community, K-State is cancelling classes next Tuesday afternoon for a campus-wide “unity walk”. K-State said the walk is a symbolic introduction to “KSUnite”, a community wide program for diversity, inclusion and equity.