Men’s Basketball
Kansas State plays #15/11 West Virginia in Morgantown this afternoon. Tipoff is set for 3 PM and the game will be on ESPN2.
At 5-4, the Wildcats are currently tied for fourth place in the Big 12 with the Mountaineers. But Kansas State usually has not played well against West Virginia. The ‘Eers lead the series 9-5 and have won eight of the last nine contests in the series.
This is the first of two road games for the Wildcats. The team is 2-2 in Big 12 road games, although 0-2 against ranked teams on the road.
Today’s game may also see the return of Kamau Stokes. What impact this will have on current team chemistry remains to be seen, although that isn’t a particular source of concern for Bruce Weber.
The bigger concern with Stokes is that he’s not quite 100% yet. Stokes has been practicing well but hasn’t played in an actual game since he injured his foot against Texas Tech on January 6th.
Stokes’ presence may be more important for reasons of depth. Xavier Sneed struggled with cramps against Kansas and noted that it would have been helpful to have Stokes ready to step in just to spell some of the other players.
Let’s hope that Stokes’ presence, however limited, can spark victory for Kansas State.
Women’s Basketball
Kansas State hosts Iowa State tonight. The game is set for 7 PM at Bramlage Coliseum, and the game can be seen on ESPN3.
The Wildcats are coming off a bad loss to Oklahoma, in which Kansas State set season lows for points scored (49) and field goal percentage (.306). Team scoring leader Kayla Goth only managed 10 points in the game with teammate Kaylee Page adding nine points.
Luckily for the Wildcats, Iowa State is struggling too. The Cyclones have lost four of the last five games and are coming off a blowout loss to TCU.
Although February is usually rough on Kansas State, the Wildcats have been tough at home, with winning records at home for the last three seasons.
More of the same tonight, hopefully.
Track and Field
The track teams are back on home turf at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational event, along with Oklahoma State, Washburn, and Oklahoma Baptist. The first day of competition brought the Wildcats a new school and meet record in weight throw and some big numbers in the women’s pentathlon.
Mitch Dixon has won every weight throw competition he’s been in this season, and yesterday, he did it again. His mark 21.68m was not only good enough to win the event, but also set a new school record and a new meet record.
In the Austra Skujyte women’s pentathlon, Lauren Taubert took first place with a total of 3,811 points and a first-place finish in the 800m race. Teammate Ariel Okorie finished second 3,723 points and had a career best mark in women’s shot put and won the long jump. If you’re wondering what happened to Nina Schultz, she set career marks while taking first in the 60H and high jump before withdrawing from the event.
In the Steve Fritz men’s heptathlon, Max Estill is currently in second place while teammate Antuane Dennard is in fifth place. Leading the event is former Kansas State athlete Reinis Kegers who is competing unattached and has taken first in nearly all the events so far.
Emma Wren won the women’s 800m event, while Kurt Lowenstein took first in the men’s event. Kansas State also swept the 400m race for men and women, with Justin Davis and Akia Guerrier taking first place.
Helene Ingvaldsen finished first in the women’s weight throw, an event where Kansas State took the top four spots.
The event continues today with men’s high jump and the rest of the men’s heptathlon events. You can follow the results live HERE.