Well, despite some struggles late with a hot-shooting Cal team, your Kansas State Wildcats have managed to open the season at 3-0, scoring over 90 points in each of the first three games for the first time
in over 30 years.
It’s been an incredible offensive display, led by transfer PJ Haggarty’s 24.3 points per game and transfer Nate Johnson’s 17.0 ppg. But they’ve been aided by a surprising early outburst from David Castillio, as the sophomore is averaging 14.0ppg in the early going after struggling to get the ball through the hoop (though not for lack of trying) in his freshman campaign in Manhattan.
But for as amazing as the offense has been, the defense has been nearly as poor. The Wildcats trailed at the break of the opener against UNC Greensboro before pulling away in the second half. The Cats looked much more effective against Bellarmine in game two, but still gave up 71 points in the win. Then against Cal on Thursday evening, the TangCats blew a huge halftime lead, letting the Bears heat up and catch up before ultimately hanging on for a 99-96 win to keep the record clean.
Tonight the Cats will have to hope their NBA Jam offense keeps lighting up the nets, because Tulsa comes to Manhattan tonight at 3-0, and scoring over 80 points in each of their last two games against D1 opponents Rhode Island (82-63) and Oral Roberts (88-87). This will be a big change from previous meetings between K-State and Tulsa, which have been low-scoring defensive struggles. There should be lots of points tonight, and likely whoever can start faster is the team that will emerge victorious.
The TangCats have returned to the “fun” basketball that dominated much of this staffs first season in Manhattan. Now we’ll see if they picked up any defense over the weekend.
We’ve got an 7:01pm CT tipoff for the game tonight from Bramlage Coliseum, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ with Ben Boyle (play-by-play), Clent Stewart (analyst), and Hannah Whetstone (sideline reporter) on the call.
If you can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app, as well as on satellite radio at Sirius/XM Ch. 386. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
