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Kansas State fans are used to bringing back a bevy of talent yet having their favorite written off in the preseason and watching the Wildcats gradually ascend the rankings. In an absolute role reversal, K-State currently finds itself having lost almost every starter from last year’s defense, a quarterback that finished third in Heisman voting, and a wide receiver that was taken in the fourth round of the NFL draft (in fact, 13 members of the 2012 squad were drafted or signed as undrafted free agents over the weekend). That’s why it was a pleasant surprise to find the Wildcats at #20 in ESPN’s way too early preseason rankings yesterday.

It’s obviously not all doom and gloom in Manhattan. One of the conference’s best rushers – John Hubert – returns for his senior season behind the most formidable line in the Big 12. Stepping in for Collin Klein will be either Jake Waters or Daniel Sams, each of whom appear extremely competent replacements. And the linebacking corps looks to be another three-man wrecking ball similar to past K-State units.

Interestingly, an SEC school was not the top-ranked institution – that accolade went to Ohio State. Texas was the top Big 12 school at #13, with Oklahoma State at #15, Oklahoma at #17, TCU at #18 and K-State at #20. Tells that 1. Mark Schlabach is an idiot because Texas will not win the Big 12 this year; and 2. this conference is going to be an absolute beast with half its teams ranked in the top 20. Looks like there’s some good football to look forward to this fall, with the Wildcats right in the thick of it. EMAW!

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It’s not even a week since the 2012-13 college basketball officially ended, and K-State’s 2013-14 campaign has already been written off. In USA Today’s installment of way too early rankings, the Wildcats are expected to be among others receiving consideration. Sitting nine deep behind the top 25, the authors project a spot around 34th in the nation last year. In the age where every conference winner receives an automatic bid and the Big 12 is dismissed on the national stage (only four teams received NCAA bids this year), #34 in the nation puts the team a bit closer to the bubble than fans would appreciate. Here’s why you shouldn’t be surprised by this ranking:

• Rodney McGruder’s eligibility is up. The team’s leading scorer and likely first round NBA draft selection did a little bit of everything for the Wildcats and leaves a tremendous hole in the starting line up.
• Also out are Jordan Henriquez and Martavious Irving. Henriquez was the team’s sole starting forward and swatted balls like Obama swats flies. Irving was arguably the team’s most important backup, and filled in over the last third of the season when Will Spradling was alternatively out and severely limited due to a chest injury.
• This team lost in the first round to La Salle. La Salle!
• People love to hate on this team. Picked to finish sixth in football. Picked to finish fifth in basketball. Coaches and the media don’t even believe in this program’s ability to compete in the Big 12, so why should we expect any love on the national level?

So that’s why no one should be offended when writers proclaim this team doesn’t deserve to be ranked (or at least not taken aback). And here’s why you should buy the fact that the ‘Cats will be back:

• Losing those three seniors hurts, but most teams would kill to return the cast that Bruce Weber will have to work with. Will Spradling was lighting it up before breaking his nose and bruising his sternum this year. Hell, he came back the same game he broke his nose in and lit it up. Also overlooked was that Angel Rodriguez was playing hurt – he underwent surgery the Friday after the NCAA tournament loss to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.
• Henriquez was unquestionably valuable, but still averaged less than 20 minutes a game (just under 16 this year, and never played more than 30). The bigger role went to Thomas Gipson this year, who returns. Additionally, K-State has some talented bigs in Nino Williams and D.J. Johnson. Interior players typically need more time to adjust to the collegiate level than guards, and these two underclassmen should continue improving after demonstrating positive growth throughout the year. With the amount of turnover and reliance on freshman seen in teams expected to be better than K-State, this squad should be way more reliable and mature.
• This team did lose to La Salle. However, I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a team shoot lights out like the Explorers did in the first half. They shot 58.1 percent from the floor and 54.5 percent from three-point range in the first 20 minutes en route to 44 points. I wonder if The Explorers hit over 50 percent of their threes in practice. The second half, when K-State outscored La Salle 35-19, was much more like the game you would expect to see, and no one would doubt the Wildcats’ ability to still take a five game series here despite a 0-1 hole.
• I could copy/paste the bullet from the first list again here. I’m sure the football and basketball teams will be picked to have a hard time replicating last season’s successes again. The squads took that doubt and turned it into top 15 finishes this year, no reason they can’t do it again. K-State has been bringing some talented underclassmen along the last couple years, and now it’s time for these kids to shine. Shane Southwell is gonna drop 30 on somebody next year, and K-State will be a top-five seed again in next year’s tournament.

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The Week 18 USA Today Coaches Poll came out today, and K-State is ranked #10 in the country. Even better, the AP has the Wildcats at #9. That would put Kansas State in line for a three seed in the NCAA tournament. With games against TCU and at Oklahoma State to finish up the season, plus the conference tournament, this is no time to let up on the gas pedal. However, it appears as though things are starting to come together for a K-State squad sitting at 24-5 overall with a 13-3 conference record and poised to take home a share of the regular season title.

If it’s not clear by now, this is where the voters want Kansas State. Period. Any other team would likely garner more volatile swings with the way this team has played. In week 14, the Wildcats were #13. Then they climbed to number ten. A 20 point loss to KU should have dropped them, but Bruce Weber’s team only dropped to #13. And the next week, it was #13 again. Now we’re back to #10. It’s hard to imagine a team ever holding that steady in the middle of the polls. Also, remember that in week seven this team wasn’t even receiving votes – that’s a pretty incredible climb.

This team has won nine of ten. That includes five straight. The schedule hasn’t been a gauntlet of giants – the only game against a ranked team was a loss to KU. But the Big 12 is still the Big 12. Oklahoma and Iowa State, both with 19 wins, were two of those victims. Plus two victories against 17-12 Baylor.

It’s important to note that there are no ‘bad losses’ with this team. Gonzaga? The AP’s number one team in the nation this week. Michigan? Fresh off a victory over Michigan State and sitting at #3. Kansas? Number five. And yes, the loss in Lawrence was embarrassing, but the RPI only recognizes losses, not margins. The fourth team K-State lost to – Iowa State in Ames – isn’t something to be proud of. But that Cyclone team took KU to overtime in both games, and should have won the second one. That’s four losses against top five teams, plus Iowa State.

Kansas State doesn’t fare quite as well in the RPI, sitting at #18 with the 64th ranked strength of schedule. However, the RPI has New Mexico as the nation’s number two team and the Mountain West as the #1 conference. These rankings are a guide – not a rule for the selection committee. They’re also probably inaccurate. Joe Lunardi had K-State as a three seed before Saturday’s win at Baylor, and that victory should keep the ‘Cats even at the three seed. Short of a dramatic upset in the Big 12 tournament or vicious run to the tournament title with wins over KU and Oklahoma State, three is looking like where this team will land.

As stated, KU is sitting at number five in the most recent polls, while Oklahoma State checks in at K-State’s old spot, #13. No other Big 12 teams received any votes.

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While Kansas State and KU both pulled off dominating performances last night, Oklahoma State was able to top Oklahoma in overtime to stay in the race for the regular season league championship. And while the three-way logjam remains at the top, another three teams are tied at 7-5 for fourth place in the conference. The Big 12 usually sorts itself out at some point, but it looks ready to go down to wire in determining order in 2012-13.

10. TCU (10-15, 1-11)
The fact that TCU’s lone win was at KU’s expense remains one of the most inexplicable of the season. In fact, according to Ken Pomeroy’s standings, it was the biggest upset of the season. David soon returned to form by incurring a 13-point loss to West Virginia, 27-point loss to Oklahoma, and 34-point loss to Iowa State yesterday. There really is no way to explain that victory over the Jayhawks.

9. Texas Tech (9-14, 2-10)
With the head-to-head win over TCU, the Red Raiders avoid a last place ranking. They haven’t done much else this season. The Red Raiders are last place in turnovers, which has led them to last in turnover differential (-2.6). Tech did show up yesterday against West Virginia, going on the road and playing the Mountaineers to 66-64. You know your team has problems when bragging rights are relegated to almost beating a mediocre team.

8. Texas (11-14, 3-9)
Sure, the Longhorns have three wins in the conference, but Saturday almost made The Jug drop UT to last after the dropped a 73-47 decision to KU. Between Texas, Texas Tech, and TCU, there is no state playing worse basketball than Texas (Big 12 traitor Texas A&M has a losing record in an awful SEC conference to boot). Texas is tied with Kansas for most offensive rebounds/game in conference play, but all those rebounds are coming from the extreme bounces of missed threes. Texas is last in the league with an awful .245 percentage from behind the arc.

7. West Virginia (13-12, 6-6)
Bob THuggins probably expected an easy transition from the Big East to the Big 12. While UConn, Syracuse, and the rest of those teams knock each other around, the Big 12 was supposed to be a collection of second-tier competitors. So it makes The Jug smile to see Huggins struggling to navigate the league in his first year. West Virginia got to six wins by beating TCU, Tech, and Texas twice apiece. With no wins against any other teams and no games left against the basement dwellers, the chances of this team entering the tournament conversation are absolutely toast. Not a single player averages over ten points on this team.

6. Iowa State (17-8, 7-5)
This is where picking an order becomes akin to throwing darts. The Cyclones are tied with Baylor and Oklahoma at 7-5, have played each team once, and won both games. They should be in the number four spot, but a double overtime loss to Texas last Wednesday wins you no love on this page. A trip to Baylor this Wednesday will help provide some clarity to these rankings – at least temporarily. Iowa State does lead the Big 12 with 75.7 points per conference game.

5. Baylor (16-9, 7-5)
Baylor has been a mildly pleasant surprise in the Big 12 given their lackluster out-of-conference. The Bears have done it with defense, and rank second in the league in several categories (scoring defense, opponent FG percentage, blocks, defensive rebounds). They’re also third in the conference with a +7.1 average scoring margin. Baylor has a tough remaining schedule to navigate that will either legitimize this team or expose it as a pretender.

4. Oklahoma (16-8, 7-5)
The Sooners had a shot at the number three spot by going into Stillwater and taking Oklahoma State into overtime yesterday afternoon. But almost doesn’t count, and OU remains tied for fourth overall. However, the Sooners have the easiest remaining schedule of the three 7-5 teams. ISU, Baylor, and Oklahoma place each other once more, but beyond those game OU has to play teams 7-10 once more apiece. This is the surest bet for a fourth-place finish you’ll see this early in the season for a long time.

3. #17 Oklahoma State (19-5, 9-3)
The Cowboys beat KU, lost to K-State, and one game left against each to prove they belong in the contention conversation. Markel Brown and Marcus Smart offer one of the best 1-2 punches in the Big 12, with both averaging over 16 points/game  in league play, good enough for second and fourth overall. In fact, OSU has four the top 12 scorers in the league, with Le’Bryan Nash at number 12 and Phil Forte at 15th. Everyone on this team is a threat, as the Cowboys have been infuriating defenses with their scoring options.

2. #10 Kansas State (20-5, 9-3)
It was a great ride. After several picked this team to be an NIT representative, the Wildcats rose to sole possession of the conference during KU’s three game losing streak. It all came crashing down with a bad loss in Lawrence. Bruce Weber’s team bounced back by beating Baylor last night by the almost same score as it lost to KU, winning 81-61. Jordan Henriquez, who had all but faded out of the equation, had one of his best games of the year with a line of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. This team is by no means going away, but with two losses against KU, the opportunities on the path to winning the regular season are limited. West Virginia visits next, so expect this team to sit at 10-3 when it goes down to Austin and knocks around Texas next Saturday.

1. #14 Kansas (21-5, 9-3)
Rarely does a team record both the best win and worst loss of the conference in the same season. Giving up TCU’s lone win has to be the Big 12′s worst loss. Beating K-State by 83-62 has to be the best win. Taking down Texas with a 73-47 win last night was also impressive. Yes, the Longhorns are down this year. Really down. But that’s an impressive margin by any definition. Oklahoma State hosts KU Wednesday night. Hold on to your hats, because this has the makings of an epic to determine which team keeps pace with K-State.

Kansas State used a blow out of Texas and a squeaker over Oklahoma to break back into the top 15 in the AP poll with a number 13 ranking. Last Wednesday’s victory came easy, with the Wildcats dominating the entire game while scoring over 80 for the first time in conference play – and the first since November 13 against Alabama-Huntsville. At 17-4, with a 6-2 mark in Big 12 play, the Wildcats have been 2-3 against ranked teams with their next chance against #5 KU on February 11 (the Jayhawks dropped after losing their second game of the season the past weekend to Oklahoma State). And although the NCAA selection committee contends it has de-emphasized the RPI rankings, K-State is currently 24th in the standings.

Although the Wildcats have become more comfortable with their new offense, the team continues to experience its ups and downs. This was on full display last week when K-State easily dispatched the Longhorns by scoring 83 points while only allowing 57. However, every hard-nosed play and defensive hustle was necessary to thwart a late comeback win against Oklahoma en route to a 52-50 victory. K-State is sporting the top-ranked defense in the conference, allowing 57.8 points/game.

Expect more of the same tomorrow night when the Wildcats travel to Lubbock to take on 9-10 Texas Tech. Tech has scored in the 40s three times in Big 12 play, with a high score of 63. After that, they get Iowa State at home with a chance at revenge for one of their two conference losses. After a win against the Cyclones, it’s off to Lawrence where the Jayhawks only hold a one game lead over Kanas State following their loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday. The Wildcats reaches a season-high #11 in the nation two weeks ago before dropping two straight games and falling back to number 18. Kansas lost its third ranked team after Wichita State lost two straight games last week and fell from 15th to unranked.

Following wins over TCU and Oklahoma last week, the Wildcats have moved to number 11 nationally in the Associated Press poll. With an overall ranking of 15-2 and an undefeated conference record, Kansas State has steadily moved its way into the national spotlight after two early season hiccups against top 10 opponents. The team’s first loss was to Michigan in Madison Square Garden, the last undefeated team in the nation. The Wolverines currently hold the number two spot. The team’s second loss was to Gonzaga in Seattle, who fell two spots to the number ten spot – just above K-State.

Kansas State holds one marquee win this year – a 67-61 triumph over Florida in Kansas City. The Gators have since climbed to number eight following two wins this week over former Big 12 members – a 21 point blow out win over Texas A&M and a 31 point evisceration of then #17 Missouri.

Big 12 member Iowa State received votes but not enough to make it into the rankings, netting the 35th most points in the poll. However, the big story this week will center in Manhattan. KU climbed to number three after Louisville lost to Syracuse – although they needed a big second half comeback against Texas this Saturday. The Jayhawks visit The Octagon of Dome Tuesday in a pairing of the Big 12′s only ranked teams (as well as the last two teams undefeated in conference play). Three teams from Kansas were included in this week’s poll, as Wichita State made its first appearance thanks to a nail biting victory over Creighton.

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Riding the hot hand of guard Rodney McGruder, K-State has jumped from #23 to #18 in the AP poll while cracking the Coaches Poll at #23 this week. The ascension follows a 73-67 win over former AP #22 Oklahoma State (#21 in the Coaches) on Saturday in Manhattan. The win was the team’s second straight over another ranked squad after defeating #8 Florida in Kansas City on December 22.

This game was the first time the Wildcats demonstrated its ability to break the 70 point barrier against a formidable foe. While the team has hit 70 multiple times so far, it has largely struggled to score against teams likely to be in the postseason or at least the postseason conversation in March. However, the team enjoyed 28 points from McGruder while hitting on 7 of 21 three point attempts and 71 percent of their free throws – a statistic the team has struggled with all year.

K-State is looking good right now. They’ve opened up Big 12 play with a win and sit at 12-2 on the season. If the team can achieve even a .500 conference record they should easily make the NCAA tournament. However, two questions for the team remain. The first is whether the team can find any sort of consistency – while McGruder was named of the conference player of the week for his game against the Cowboys, the consensus All-Big 12 preseason pick has failed to be a consistent force. Without him turning in 28 point games, the rest team has failed to demonstrate it can step up and fill the scoring void. Additionally, the team must prove it can win on the road. While beating Florida in Kansas City was technically a neutral site victory, few would consider the arena anything close to resembling a neutral setting. The team gets its first chance to prove it can win conference games on the road this Saturday when it travels to West Virginia to take on Bob THuggins’ Mountaineers squad.

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The results are in, and K-State officially owns the number one ranking in the nation. And while the ranking is reason for excitement, work remains. The Wildcats currently own a commanding lead with a .9674 average, compared to .9497 for Oregon and .9396 for Notre Dame. However, the computer rankings (1/3 of the formula) remain the component lifting K-State’s ranking. While K-State has the number two computer ranking, Notre Dame is one and Oregon is at four (Florida holds the third spot). Oregon has the number one position in both the Harris and Coach’s polls (the other two components). Kansas State is second in both polls and Notre Dame is third.

Conventional wisdom is that while Oregon has a chance to climb to #1 due to a backloaded schedule, Notre Dame will be on the outside looking in assuming all three teams remain undefeated. Oregon must still play Stanford and Oregon State, which are ranked 13 and 16 in the most recent BCS iteration, respectively. The Ducks than face the Pac-12 South champion in the championship. Although the Ducks have yet to play a very strong schedule, the difficulty level is about to get significantly greater.

Notre Dame can’t climb any higher in the computer rankings, and would need more convincing wins over powerful opponents to increase its appeal in the eyes of the voters. Wake Forest (5-5) is up first for the Fighting Irish, where a win would do nothing to enhance their reputation. They must then travel to #18 USC. It’s unlikely a win for Notre Dame would convince pollsters that they should be ranked ahead of K-State or Oregon, and it wouldn’t be entirely surprisingly if Notre Dame walked out of Los Angeles with their first lost of the season.

Of course, all of this talk is moot as far as Manhattan is concerned if the ‘Cats don’t take care of their own business. Following a near gimme against Baylor, #15 Texas comes to town. Before the season started, no one believed K-State would be in this position. Four games into the season, no one believed Texas would have the chance to impact anything other than the Big 12′s Pinstripe Bowl representative. And now this game appears to be the only thing standing between the Wildcats and the national championship game. Senate Resolution 1 for the 2013 State of Kansas Legislative Year: rename to the state to ‘Greater Snyderville.’

Big XII Media Days for the upcoming basketball season left the Wildcats picked to finish sixth in the conference this year. The AP and Coaches basketball polls have now been released, and it should be no surprise that Kansas State doesn’t find itself in the top 25 of either survey. While the AP has the Wildcats at 37, the Coaches puts them at number 30. Yet while this team is respected enough to garner votes, it’s dangerous to put it on the outside looking in.

K-State only has two knocks on them this year – they’re featuring a new head coach (Illinois’s Bruce Weber takes over the program that Frank Martin inexplicably bolted from in favor of South Carolina) and lose Jamar Samuels. But that’s really it. I’ll grant that Martin exceeded my expectations, and Samuels’ rebounding will be sorely missed. Additionally, there’s no addition to the current bunch that looks to make an immediate impact. However, K-State returns nine players that averaged at least ten minutes/game last year. Nine. That’s a lot of experience.

Here’s where that experience will help the Wildcats most: Angel Rodriguez was pretty inconsistent as a freshman point guard last year, but demonstrated a remarkably high ceiling. With an entire year under his belt and he should feel more comfortable with his teammates. Additionally, this is a tall, rangy team that went 22-11 last year while winning their first round game and pushing number one seed Syracuse the entire game during the second round. It may not put Final Four talent on the floor, but its defensive acumen will allow it to play everyone close. Remember: being picked to finish sixth in the conference doesn’t doom your season to a rebuilding project – just ask the school’s football team how it feels about its sixth place projection in the Big XII media poll.