Can the Wildcats handle success?

Basketball

Kansas State finds itself in mostly uncharted waters right now. The Wildcats are in sole possession of the top spot in the Big 12 standings, a situation that will be tested when Kansas State travels to Waco to take on Baylor in what is now effectively a two-horse race for the conference title.

Any win over Kansas basketball is a thing to be celebrated, but when that win is your seventh-straight Big 12 win and catapults you into leading the league, it can go to your head. This week, therefore, the team has been focused on taking it one game at a time and continuing their outstanding play on defense.

In this week’s K-State Q&A, Kellis Robinett makes his best impression of the dark cloud in front of that silver lining. He notes that Kansas State is in the Big 12 lead but also has the toughest schedule for the back half of the season. In handicapping the league, he thinks Iowa State has the inside edge, but the Wildcats could potentially end up sharing the conference crown with the Cyclones.

Whatever else happens this weekend, the Wildcats are practically a lock to make The Dance. Luke Thompson breaks it all down in this week’s Tournament Thursday feature.

Football

National Signing Day is over, and Kansas State’s new head coach Chris Klieman seems satisfied with the 23 players who make up his first recruiting class in Manhattan. ESPN rated this class at 55, which is generally respectable. The recruiting process appears to have prioritized speed and fit, as our JT VanGilder noted in our NSD summary.

Klieman also joked that his rousing halftime speech during the basketball game against Kansas was the difference maker in the game.

Track

Kansas State’s men’s and women’s track and field teams are in Lubbock this weekend for the Texas Tech Shootout. The men’s team is currently ranked No. 18 in the country, while the women—not at their usual lofty heights—are currently at 39.

Other teams include host and top-ranked Texas Tech, Texas, BYU, Abilene Christian, Air Force, Arizona, New Mexico State, Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, University of Pennsylvania, UTA and Wyoming.

Miscellany

From the annals of facts often being stranger than fiction, Bob Stoops is returning to the ranks of active football coaches. This time, he’ll be walking the sidelines for the new XFL’s Dallas franchise. If this seems like a weird transition for a highly successful former college football coach to make, it’s worth considering that Stoops may enjoy starting out at the bottom more than he ever enjoyed being king of the hill.