Cats fall short against Marquette

Kansas State lost to Marquette 73-65 in Manhattan last night. A furious second-half rally from the Wildcats helped keep the game close, but a victory was not on the cards. The loss ended a 33-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents.

The game was close at times, but also not that close, as Luke Sobba notes in his recap. Marquette had more offensive talent on the floor, but Kansas State did itself no favors with its inconsistent offense and poor free throw shooting.

Afterwards, Bruce Weber noted that the Wildcats had done a pretty good job defending Markus Howard, but they didn’t account for the excellent work of Howard’s teammates. As Cartier Diarra said after the game, “[t]hey had players that stepped up.”

The women’s team actually fared worse yesterday, losing 81-72 to #23 Arkansas in a game that was not as close as the score would suggest. The loss ended a five-game road winning streak.

In the first true road game of the season, the Wildcats struggled to contain the Razorbacks’ offense, often having to come back from huge deficits. Despite this, Kansas State actually led briefly in the third quarter before Arkansas pulled away.

Peyton Williams had her 26th career double-double in this game, with 19 points and 13 rebounds. She’s now fourth on the school’s all-time double-double list and also moved up the careers rebound ladder with a total of 749 boards.

On the football end of the sports spectrum, the Wildcats should learn their bowl destination today. With Oklahoma headed to the playoffs, and Baylor probably getting the Big 12’s slot in the Sugar Bowl, it will be interesting to see where the Wildcats end up. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a game against Notre Dame in Orlando. That bowl location and opponent would be a much-welcomed first for Kansas State.