SLATE: Happy Valentine’s Day?

Basketball

Since we last brought you a Slate, the Wildcats got bombed by Baylor (both teams) on Wednesday night, and then the WeberCats picked up a much-needed come-from-behind victory on Saturday while the MittieCats dropped a rare one in Lawrence to the Jayhawks.

In Saturday’s 75-69 victory by Kansas State over the Cyclones, the Wildcats came back from a 15-point deficit to force overtime and then eventually pick up the victory. It was ugly early, but the Cats finally got rolling, and ended up with four scorers in double figures led by (of course) Nijel Pack. The biggest surprise might have been Ish Massoud, who dropped in 11 points and had his best overall game since the loss at West Virginia in early January.

Speaking of West Virginia, the Mountaineers are headed to Manhattan for a game tonight, and the Cats will be looking to end a 4-game skid against WVU. The ‘Eers looked strong early in the season, and were at 13-2, 2-1 after a win over Oklahoma State in their third conference game. But the wheels have fallen off, and WVU is 1-7 since that time, with their lone win over Iowa State last week. Tonight’s game tips at 6pm CST, and can be seen on ESPN2.

There are poor shooting nights, then there is going 1-22 from 3pt range. One make in twenty two attempts. 4.5%. :shudder: Deep shooting, or lack thereof, ultimately doomed the MittieCats on Saturday evening, as they fell to the Jayhawks 63-51 in Allen Fieldhouse. KU jumped out early, but the Cats were actually able to regain the lead before halftime. Then things got bad, and a 21-10 3rd quarter by the Hawks created a huge hole, and the Cats fought hard to catch back up and tie things up at 45-45, thanks in part to K-State’s lone 3pt make, before KU surged ahead for the last time. Ayoka Lee got back on track with 18 points and 13 rebounds, but as with most of K-State’s losses this season, she received very little help from the supporting cast. Serena Sundell, playing on an injured ankle, managed 10 points, but only 6 from the field.

Thankfully, the MittieCats are off this week, as they desperately need some time to rest and recover, and gear back up for a closing stretch that includes three home games in their final five. Next action is Sunday, Feb. 20th as the Cats host Oklahoma State to start a two-game homestand.

Tennis

We haven’t talked about them yet this year, but the Wildcats racket squad has quietly started the year 4-1, with their lone loss a 3-4 decision against Memphis on Friday. But they bounced back with a nice 4-0 win over Florida Atlantic on Saturday in their final game of their opening homestand. The Wildcats are led by Karine-Marion Job, and the senior from France is currently ranked #68 in the nation in the latest ITA women’s singles poll, which is a big deal for K-State. Next up is a trip to Tempe to face Arizona State on Saturday.

Golf

The Wildcats men’s golf team will finally get underway in the spring session after having to miss out on a tournament last week due to travel complications (bad weather). They are in Moblie, AL today and tomorrow for the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate, where they finished 7th last spring. No video (and probably no beer cans being thrown for a hole-in-one), but you can keep track of the scoring if you are so inclined.