SLATE: Kansas State, the team everyone hates now

It’s a strange day here at Bring on the Cats. We’re obviously excited that the Wildcats are moving on to the Sweet Sixteen, and we’re anxious to start talking about Kentucky.

But the power of Good Boys cannot be denied. Had the UMBC Retrievers been playing literally anyone else, we’d all have been just as in the bag for them as the rest of the country was. So you’ll forgive us if today’s Slate actually leans heavily toward the vanquished Cinderella, a school and a team which truly won over the hearts of America.

Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster Kansas State Wildcats didn’t lose last night, though. Whew.

Local media:

• K-State’s official recap, and Corbin McGuire’s Sports Extra this morning focuses on Xavier Sneed ‘s big-time performance late in the game.
• Kellis Robinett at the Star and Eagle checks in with his usual cornucopia. The Wildcats keep winning with defense, Dean Wade is “98% sure” he’ll be in the lineup against Kentucky Wildcats.
• Also at the Star, Vahe Gregorian writes a Bruce Weber apologia. We’ll allow it.
• Still at the Star, Pete Grathoff recounts the friendly exchange between K-State and UMBC’s Twitter accounts before the game.

National media:

• Our pals at Mid-Major Madness recap the Retrievers’ heartbreak.
• Scott Gleeson of USA Today says what everyone is thinking: K-State is Darth Vader. Meanwhile, the nation’s paper’s Dan Wolken recaps, sort of, but he’s all over UMBC on this one.
• The Charlotte Observer’s Scott Fowler says UMBC is gone, but not forgotten. He’s right. His colleague Brendan Marks has some observations about the contest.
• ESPN’s Ryan McGee opines about the game, but most importantly tells the world about Isaiah Rogers, the Retriever who made the final basket of the night — his first and last bucket as a collegiate player. Good story.
• Yahoo’s Pete Thamel says you should never watch that game again because it was awful. He’s probably not wrong. (He gives Barry Brown a lot of credit for jamming up Jairus Lyles. He’s still not wrong.)
• Via Yahoo, Scott Phillips of NBC recaps the game and notes the financial implications of UMBC’s run.
• Cindy Boren and Des Bieler of the Washington Post note that six top-four seeds played yesterday, and only one won. They also have some words about K-State/UMBC, naturally.
• Roger Rubin of the Athletic runs down the South, including this game. Again, a paysite, but we’re bending our rules here. Rubin’s focus: Barry Brown bugging the coaching staff at 1:00am Saturday morning for game film.
• Mike DeCourcey of The Sporting News ranks the chances of each Sweet Sixteen team making the Final Four, and he can [expletives deleted].
• AP story via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
• Reuters story via, well, Reuters.
• And finally, Fletcher Page of the Louisville Courier-Journal is already moving on to next weekend as he offers Kentucky fans a what to expect piece on the purple Wildcats.

Women’s Basketball

The men weren’t the only Wildcat squad to survive and advance yesterday. Peyton Williams led the way with 24 points and seven rebounds while Kayla Goth added 23 and four assists as the Cats (18-15, 7-11 Big 12) knocked off Utah (18-14, 8-10 Pac-12) 74-57 at Bramlage in the second round of the WNIT.

Goth’s four assists moved her to a tie for 11th all-time in Big 12 single-season assists, and she’s nine short of Shalee Lehning’s school record of 229. Kaylee Page joined Williams and Goth in double figures with 11 points.

The Wildcats will play in the round of 16 on Friday (which is at least not in conflict with the men’s Sweet 16 game on Thursday), again at Bramlage. Their opponent: Cal-Davis (27-6, 14-2 Big West). The Aggies have knocked off Idaho and Wyoming to get to Manhattan.

Baseball

Four RBI from catcher T.K. McWhertor sparked the Batcats (11-8, 0-0 Big 12) to a 7-3 win over College of Charleston (15-6, 0-0 Colonial) yesterday, preventing the Cougars from sweeping the three game series at Tointon.

Tuesday and Wednesday, the Cats host a two-game midweek set with the Austin Peay Governors, which will amuse Luke Thompson while he waits for Kentucky.

Tennis

The 40th-ranked Wildcats (11-4, 1-1 Big 12) played two on Sunday, dropping a 4-0 decision to 21st-ranked Texas (11-4, 2-0 Big 12) but sweeping Missouri State (5-6, 0-0 Valley) 7-0.

Rowing

The spring season started this weekend at Lake Natoma in Sacramento, Calif., as K-State took eight first place medals in 12 races at the Hornet Invitational. The Wildcats swept 1v8, 1v8, and v4 races from Saint Mary’s, beat Gonzaga in a 3v8, split four races with hosts Sacramento State, and took one of four from San Diego State.