Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12/SEC Challenge pairings were released on Tuesday and the Kansas State Wildcats will face the Rebels of Ole Miss in Manhattan on December 5th later this year. The inaugural event will remind many fans of the Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Challenge that was discontinued after the 2010-11 season, although remains overshadowed by the ever popular Big 10/ACC Challenge.

Kansas State is coming off of a regular season Big 12 co-championship in which the Wildcats finished 27-8 with a 14-4 league record before exiting the NCAA tournament way too early against La Salle – a common thread they share with Ole Miss. The Rebels surprised #5 Wisconsin in their first game of the tournament before meeting the La Salle Explorers in their second match up. And just like their game against K-State, La Salle was able to escape with a two point win on its way to the Sweet Sixteen.

Ole Miss was one of the SEC’s best team’s last year, finishing 27-9 and 12-6 in the conference (a lot of similarities to K-State’s trajectory this past season). The team finished second in the regular season but defeated Florida to claim the SEC tournament championship. They are led by soon-to-be senior guard Marshall Henderson, whose on-court antics have gotten him in hot water during his time at Ole Miss. Some of those were forgiven as he averaged 20.1 points for the team. Senior F Murphy Holloway – the team’s second leading scorer and top rebounder – will have to be replaced.

Only ten of the SEC’s 14 teams will participate this year, with each Big 12 team playing one SEC opponent. And although Missouri will be part of the party, the leagues came to a pretty lame agreement by matching the Tigers against Big 12 newcomer West Virginia. Texas A&M will also participate, finishing off the Challenge with a neutral site game against Oklahoma in Houston, TX. Other notable match ups are Baylor against Kentucky and KU against Florida.

Full Schedule 

Thursday, November 14

Texas Tech at Alabama

Monday, December 2

Vanderbilt at Texas

Auburn at Iowa State

Thursday, December 5

TCU at Mississippi State

Ole Miss at Kansas State

West Virginia at Missouri

Friday, December 6

South Carolina at Oklahoma State

Kentucky vs. Baylor (in Arlington, Texas)

Tuesday, December 10

Kansas at Florida

Saturday, December 21

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma (in Houston, Texas)

John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

In what has become a banner year for athletics at Kansas State, the Wildcat baseball mounted a sensational comeback over the weekend to defeat the Jayhawks 9-6 on Saturday to retain sole possession of first place in the Big 12. After giving up the first six runs of the game to the Jayhawks, K-State scored nine straight – including three in the ninth inning – to down KU and retain sole possession of first place tie in the conference. They completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory in Lawrence on Sunday after winning the first game of the series 4-3 on Friday.

With a four game win streak and 14-7 conference record, K-State has cracked open tight race for first place over Oklahoma and West Virginia, who both stand two games back at 12-9. They did so after falling behind early to KU (12-12 in conference) on Saturday by giving up six runs in the first three innings while being blanked themselves. However, they were able to get some late game heroics against KU reliever Jordan Piche (6-3). Piche leads the Big 12 with a 0.71 ERA and had not allowed more than one run in 25 previous outings. However, the Wildcats were able to secure two runs in the seventh to tie the game, and then hit two home runs to score three in the ninth inning.

Completing the sweep Sunday afternoon required fewer dramatics. The Wildcats scored two runs in the top of the first inning and started off with a 5-1 lead before pulling out a 7-3 victory. Second baseman Ross Kivett had three hits in five at bats, scoring two of the teams runs. Blake McFadden (5-2) went five innings for the victory. Facing 17 batters, he allowed three hits, two runs, walked three, and struck out one.

K-State will look to lock up a regular season championship this weekend with a three game series against Oklahoma. The games will be in Manhattan, where the Wildcats are 7-2 in conference play. Oklahoma is 12-9 in the Big 12 but only 4-5 on the road.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State had hoped to reverse its regular season fortune by finally beating KU, taking home a Big 12 tournament championship and shot at a #2 seed in the process. Instead, the Wildcats returned home after suffering its third straight loss to Kansas this year, falling 70-54 in Kansas City.

The Wildcats struggled to find consistency in the first half while overlooking holes that developed in KU’s defense while swarming to the ball handler. The basketball often drew four defenders to one side of the court, but the offense failed to establish/find open players when this scenario developed. After a season of lauding Bruce Weber’s motion offense approach of “pass, pass, pass, shoot,” the approach left fans begging for set plays. The Wildcats finished with a season worst 16 points in the first half.

K-State also had one of its worst shooting halves all year en route to 16 points. The team completed only six of 27 shots for 22.2 percent shooting. It also committed a highly uncharacteristic eight turnovers – a number this squad typically sees at the end of the game. Rodney McGruder and Shane Southwell led the Wildcats with four points apiece at the half. Four.

The sloppy play of the first half was just as evident in the second. However, K-State managed to turn steals into points and scored the first five points of the period to pull within 24-21. However, Jeff Withey continued making life difficult for K-State. Withey made both free throws on one possession, and Henriguez fouled Withey on the next to allow KU to extend the lead. KU exploited the help defense of K-State with the tandem of Withey and Kevin Young all night. When one would get the ball under the basket, they would typically pull K-State’s defenders away from the other, leading to easy assists.

The Jayhawks went more than seven minutes before collecting their first foul in the second half and K-State had already collected six. The foul differential made the crowd on hand unhappy, as the announcers tried a little too hard to express their confidence in the officiating after two instances in which they verbally observed KU got away with missed calls – one that sent Henriquez to the bench for fouling Withey on a shot after Withey shoved Henriquez to collect a rebound.

The Wildcats started shooting better as the game wore on, but failed to get stops in the second half. Kansas shot 55.2 percent in the second half as fast break points, mental lapses, and sheer athleticism were on display that K-State struggled to limit. In addition, the Jayhawks recorded six blocks on the night by six different players as K-State failed to successfully penetrate the lane like it did against Oklahoma State. The most positive aspect of the second half was K-State only turned the ball over once after giving it up eight times in the first half. However, the Wildcats were out-rebounded (35-29), had half as many assists (17-8), and hit only 25 percent of their threes (6-24) while the Jayhawks knocked down an even 50 percent (7-14).

Rodney McGruder led all scorers with 18 points, and Angel Rodiriguez had 10. Will Spradling had zero points for the second night in a row on two shots, one from deep downtown. Once again he lasted fewer than 20 minutes and is obviously still battling a bruised sternum. He will undoubtedly enjoy the rest the next six days will offer. In his place, Martavious Irving saw 31 minutes of action and netted five points on two-of-nine shooting. Withey scored 17 for the Jayhawks and pulled down nine rebounds. The senior forward found himself attempting ten free throws, knocking down seven of them. Perry Ellis came off the bench to contribute 12 points on just six shots in 14 minutes for KU.

K-State was a dark horse contender for a #2 seed, and a #3 seed was likely with a win tonight. As the #11 ranked team in the media polls and #16 in the RPI, the Wildcats will likely be looking at a #4 seed – but the hope of playing their first two rounds in Kansas City where they defeated #5 Florida earlier this season have largely evaporated. Now there’s nothing left to do but what for the selection committee to make its determination tomorrow night.

Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

The Big 12 Conference tournament is always a grind, and first round byes are valued not only because they ensure matchups against lower seeds, but players are more rested should one’s team travel deep into the bracket. Teams play every night until they lose, and assessing the likelihood of success often hinges on how fresh a team’s legs are. Nowhere was that more evident than the 2009-2010 team’s NCAA run. The Wildcats earned a #2 seed that year and swept aside North Texas and BYU in the first two games. Then, in the Sweet Sixteen, the Wildcats were forced into a draining contest against Xavier that required two overtimes and led CBS Sports to dub it “one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16.” The game began at 8:30 and ended around midnight. Jacob Pullen logged 40 minutes in that game, Curtis Kelly had 43, and Denis Clemente 48 – only allowed two minutes of rest the entire night. 36 hours later, K-State lost to Butler in a game the Wildcats struggled to run down lose balls and fight for rebounds. Butler went on to face Duke in the National Championship, while K-State fans were left to wonder what if… following the Elite Eight loss.

For the University of Kansas, the semifinals got ugly as a 62-40 over Texas Tech lead with 10 minutes left ballooned to 91-63 by the end of the game. Only two KU players saw more than 30 minutes of action (Ben McLemore – 32 – and Travis Releford – 31). 14 players saw playing time, and 11 saw at least five minutes. Iowa State had a more difficult dispatching Oklahoma, winning 73-66. The Cyclones’ key players all logged more playing time.

On the other side of the bracket, Kansas State easily downed Texas 66-49, and had a solid rotation of big men with D.J. Johnson and Thomas Gipson each playing for 15 minutes and Jordan Henriquez 10. Gipson likely would have received more playing time, but was saddled with early foul trouble and finished with four on the night in limited minutes, opening the door for Johnson to see enhanced time while scoring a season high eight points. Johnson is still raw and it would be unwise to expect that sort of contribution on both ends of the court from him every night, but limiting Gipson’s playing time is a good thing if it doesn’t put the team in jeapordy. Henriquez was limited due to back problems, and his status going forward is shaky.

Another question mark is Will Spradling, who played 24 minutes while attempting to work back into the rhythm of the game following a bruised sternum suffered against Texas in late February. The injury has made breathing so painful Spradling had to miss two games, only played five minutes of a third, and was unable to practice. Although he was able to contribute 24 minutes Thursday night, fatigue may be an issue Friday and Saturday as his body is not used to being forced to recover. Atrophy sucks when your opponents are in prime shape.

Facing the Wildcats will be an Oklahoma State team that should have rested its starters early but failed to maintain a huge halftime lead against Baylor and ended up squeaking by, 74-72. In addition to minutes, time of game may be an issue here as well. Oklahoma State’s game did not conclude until around 10:45, meaning the Cowboy players probably got back to their hotel rooms around midnight – later if they ate somewhere other than the hotel after the game. This isn’t a pity party for OSU – K-State played a night game as well, and the Cowboys narrowly avoided overtime (largely due to a bad foul call against Baylor with 2.6 seconds left, but that’s an article for someone else to write). However, should Oklahoma State advance to the finals and be expected to play a KU squad that was already hydrating and resting their legs before the sun even went down Thursday, there’s an undeniable advantage built into the equation. Of course, that’s the advantage of being the #1 seed. If you don’t like it, win the conference next year.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

K-State wanted it more. KU was the more talented team. It’s a story Wildcat fans are becoming accustomed to hearing, and played out again Tuesday night as Kansas was able to escape the Octagon of Doom, 59-55. It actually wasn’t that the Jayhawks were that much more physically dominant, faster, or flashier – tonight, they were just better shooters. K-State’s constant ball movement opened up several nice looks throughout the game but couldn’t seem to get the shots to fall. They finished the game with 35 percent shooting, hitting 30 percent from behind the arc.

I was jotting notes during the first half, and went into halftime with the following:

Rodriguez taking charges, creating fast breaks. Hit a layup over the 7 foot Withey by tossing the ball in a crazy loop about 15 feet into the air. He’s doing everything tonight.

K-State hustling way more – diving for loose balls. Several nice open shots given all the ball movement, they just won’t fall. 

Withey is a beast, K-State still doing a good job of neutralizing him. Jordan Henriquez is showing up tonight.

McGruder off to a very slow start. He’s also spent some time on the bench resting. Hopefully he’ll be fresh and ready 2nd half.

KU definitely forcing K-State to be a perimeter team. Seeing some drives by the guards, but most possessions there’s just too much size to attack. Gipson not very athletic, but size issues make him a valuable commodity tonight. K-State starting four guards is tough in this match up.

KU’s Kevin Young seems like the most versatile defender on the team. I’d never heard of him before this game. I also don’t follow KU basketball.

K-State has 12 transition points – KU has 2.

K-State has taken three charges I’ve seen. Nasty. Hustle. They want it more, willing to sacrifice for the win.

Did they seriously miss 12 threes in the first half? That’s gotta change.

These notes applied to the entire game, but with an addendum: Rodney McGruder finally hit shots in the second half. He went 1-4 in the first half, as the 12 points from Angel Rodriguez and nine from Shane Southwell carried the team to open the game. There’s no question that K-State was outhustling KU. And they exhibited incredible ball control, only turning it over three times in the first 20 minutes. But one key stat tells everything: ten minutes into the second half, both teams had made five shots. KU had taken six, K-State 17. The Wildcats simply couldn’t find the net.

Jordan Henriguez performed admirably, logging 24 minutes while keeping Jeff Withey in check. KU’s center was also flustered the entire night, turning the ball over three times and committing three fouls while not recording a block for the first time all season (he was averaging almost five per game). Shane Southwell led the Wildcats in scoring, netting 19 while securing seven rebounds. He finished the night 5-11 from three point range while the rest of his time only hit 4-19. K-State falls to 4-1 in conference play and 15-3 overall, with a chance to exact revenge February 11 in the rematch against the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse.

Pretty self explanatory

If you can’t beat ‘em, make fun of them. Tonight is going to be an absolute thrashing. KU is going to do whatever they desire on the court and I would be happy to see the final score within 20 points. So rather than make up some long list of lies strategies that K-State could employ to win, I devoted time to making fun of that hippie loving school to the east. During the first Sunflower Showdown, I noticed a few KU players have uncanny resemblances to some famous actors and starting thinking how a movie about that team would be cast. Continue reading to see who steps in to play the lead roles in “Brokeback Program” which of course would be directed by Michael Moore.

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