SLATE: Basketball starts off with a W in exhibition

Basketball

It wasn’t exactly pretty, and Kansas State got off to a very slow start, but in the end the WeberCats pulled away from Pitt State to post a 78-59 victory over the visiting Gorillas Thursday night. Selton Miguel led all scorers with 18 points off the bench, and was joined in double-figures by freshman forward Logan Landers with 11 points and transfer forward Ismael Massoud with 10. All nine available scholarship players saw at least 12 minutes of game action, while the team’s three walk-ons got a few minutes at the end of the game (Drew Honas even got a rebound). The game was the sole exhibition game for the Wildcats this season, and “real” action starts next Wednesday when K-State hosts Florida A&M.

One of the bright points on the night was transfer guard Markquis Nowell, who is going to be fun to watch as the season goes along. Plus, Weber’s strategy in the offseason to add scoring seems to have worked, and the Wildcats can actually make shots (when they aren’t turning the ball over...).

Football

Hey, there’s a football game this weekend. “It’s a big week”, especially for the kids from Kansas, and to Kansas State fans. The Sunflower Showdown, lopsided as it may be on the football field, is still an important game to perception and bragging rights in the Sunflower State.

The two coordinators met with the media on Thursday to talk about the upcoming game in Lawrence, and they are certainly saying to right things to avoid any bulletin-board material ahead of the rivalry game. For it’s part, the offense learned some valuables lessons after surrendering a safety against TCU last weekend.

The Jayhawks may not have given K-State any bulletin-board material this week (LOL: “Who is K-State?”), but something else interesting popped out of KU’s media availability this week: the last time the Jayhawks beat the Wildcats, way back in 2008, KU’s star running back Devin Neal was 5 years old. It’s been a long time.

Tennis

Her trip to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Fall Championships didn’t last terribly long, as senior Karine-Marion Job fell to the No. 1 player in the field on Thursday. But it’s still better than not being there at all, as Job was the first Wildcat in program history to compete in the ITA National Fall Championships.

But the early loss does mean she’ll have time to return to her team for the Big 12 Fall Championships, which get underway today in Stillwater. The Wildcats will look to build on their strong performance at the ITA Central Regional back from in October, including besting several Big 12 foes.

Baseball

K-State baseball released their 2022 schedule, and it features 29 home games at Tointon Family Stadium, with the first of those coming on March 8th with a visit from old conference foe Nebraska, and features a visit from Wichita State on May 3rd. The BatCats begin their season on February 18th with a protracted road trip, that features 10 games in four different locales (Arlington, TX, and Bakersfield, Fullterton, and Los Angeles, CA), before returning for that Tuesday game with the Cornhuskers. The first three games in Arlington are part of the 2022 State Farm College Baseball Showdown.