While we try to refrain from talking about non-K-State sports around here, there was one thing that happened last night that is worth mentioning, because it affects everyone in the Big 12 conference. With Oklahoma’s dominating 81-68 victory over Kansas in Norman last night, the Jayhawks are officially eliminated from the Big 12 title race, which means that “The Streak” finally ends at 14. Now, only K-State or Texas Tech (or both) can win the Big 12 title. Rejoice Big 12, the beast is slain!
Football
Basketball takes a back seat in Manhattan today, as there is a football thing happening. The annual Kansas State Pro Day is today, and for the first time ever, it will be open to media to cover. This means that we’ll get to hear, officially, how Dalton Risner, Alex Barnes, Duke Shelley, Kendall Adams, Eli Walker, Justin Silmon, Abdul Beecham, Osvelt Joseph, Dalton Harman , and David Tullis performed in front of NFL scouts. And you may wonder why I listed all the participants; well until this year we were never completely certain who all was at the Pro Day. It’s a new day at Kansas State, and we’re all still trying to figure out how to deal with this new openness.
It’s not just Pro Day in MHK, the Wildcats also open spring football practices today. It’s an incredibly important spring session for the new coaching staff, and new coach Chris Klieman is ready to “leverage” change into growth. In the same vein of the open Pro Day, there will be more media availability this spring, and open practices, so we’ll all get an actual glimpse at how the Wildcats are progressing during their spring session. Let’s get wild.
Basketball
K-State freshman Chrissy Carr picked up more honors this week; in addition to her second Big 12 Freshman of the Week honor, she picked up her second USBWA National Freshman of the Week as well, as announced Tuesday, becoming the only player in the country to earn the honor twice this season. Carr, who is among the favorites to win the Big 12 Freshman of the Year honor, will look to continue her strong play as the Wildcats head into the Big 12 Tournament, which begins for the Wildcats on Saturday, March 9th, with an 11am match-up against West Virginia in the 4/5 game in Oklahoma City.
And so begins Championship Week(s) 2019. Many of the smaller conferences have already begun their tournaments, while the major conferences begin action this time next week; and SB Nation has everything you need to keep you up-to-date on the goings-on around the country. Over at Blogging the Bracket, Chris Dobbertean has a his conference tournament central for a one-stop shop for all 32 conference brackets, plus scores and updates. And a the mothership, Mike Rutherford has comprehensive guide to the tournaments, focusing heavily on the non-”major” conferences.
Golf
Behind a 7th-place finish by Jacob Eklund and an 8th-place finish by Roland Massimino, the Wildcats golf team finished 3rd overall at the Colleton River Collegiate, played on the Pete Dye Course at the Colleton River Club in Bluffton, South Carolina. The Cats entered Tuesday’s final round in fifth, but posted the best team score of the round, topping all 14 teams at the event on the final day, to improve the final two spots.