MBB tops Georgia; WBB faces Kansas

Basketball

Kansas State beat Georgia 56-51 yesterday at Bramlage Coliseum as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Wildcats are now 16-5 (5-3 Big 12) and riding a four-game winning streak.

In a departure from the offensive fireworks the Wildcats have shown in the last few games, it took a strong defensive effort from Kansas State to put away the Bulldogs. The Wildcats held Georgia to its lowest scoring output of the season. The Bulldogs only shot 37% from the field, and just 11% from beyond the arc. Yante Maten, currently the SEC’s scoring leader, only had 14 points.

Kansas State looked ugly but still won, thanks in no small part to Mr. Clutch. Dean Wade continued with the form that won him national and Big 12 player of the weak honors. Wade scored 20 points to lead the team, including a couple of shots made on the run in the final stretch, and also added eight rebounds. Carter Diarra added 12, and was 4-of-4 from the free throw line.

Overall, this was a team effort. As our own AMS notes in the official BotC recap, the Wildcats had to grit this one out, and it helped that the starting lineup (Wade, Diarra, Barry Brown, Makol Mawien, and Xavier Sneed) played over 90% of the total minutes Kansas State was on the court.

Up next for the Wildcats? The Sunflower Showdown, episode #288. Monday night. 8PM. ESPN.

Speaking of the Sunflower Showdown, the women’s basketball team will take on Kansas in Lawrence today. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 PM at Allen Fieldhouse. The game can be seen on FS1.

This is one of the longest-running rivalries in women’s basketball, with Kansas State holding an all-time 70-46 lead. The Wildcats have won the last seven contests in the series.

Both teams are currently 11-9 on the season, with Kansas State holding a one-game lead in Big 12 play. Both teams are struggling, with the Wildcats having dropped their last three games, and the Jayhawks on a six-game losing streak.

Junior Kayla Goth, an all-Big 12 player, leads the league in assists per game (6.7; 134 assists overall). For Kansas, Christalah Lyons leads the team in scoring.

Track and Field

At the Razorback Invitational, an event that includes several ranked teams, both Kansas State teams placed fifth. The women, currently ranked 24th, finished only behind Arkansas, USC, Georgia, and LSU, all current top 10 teams. The men, unranked, finished only 7.5 points out of third place, behind Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, and LSU.

For the Wildcats, the weekend produced a number of event victories, a couple of new school records, and several personal best marks. Overall, it was a competitive performance from Kansas State, considering the indoor season is barely a few weeks old.

On Friday, Terrell Smith won the 200m event with a time of 20.90 and beat his own school record in the process, while Mitch Dixon also took first in the men’s weight throw category. The Kansas State women (Erin Lee, Keiteyana Parks, Cailey Hume and Sydney Collins) took third in the distance medley relay, their first time competing in the event this season.

#HighJumpU didn’t quite set the world on fire in this event, though freshman Tejaswin Shankar took third with a leap of 2.19m, a new personal best indoor mark for him. Teammate Nate Gipson came in seventh with a mark of 2.16m. On the women’s side, Rhizlane Siba took second place with a jump of 1.78m,

Yesterday, Terrell Smith finished third in the 60m event, with a time of 6.70 while teammate Jullane Walker finished fifth with a time of 6.78, a new personal best.

Brett Neely took third in the shot put competition, hitting 18.71m, while teammate Kyle Mitchell finished sixth.

In the triple jump, Shardia Lawrence finished second with a jump of 13.08m, while Konstantina Romaiou finished fourth. The two combined for 13 of the women’s teams total points.

Up next, the track and field teams return home for the DeLoss Dodds Invitational.