You Kansas State Wildcats overcame a fourth-quarter deficit to pick up an incredible 65-59 road win over #17 and previously unbeaten Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon.
Senior Tess Heal led a quartet of Wildcats
in double figures, who used solid defense and a humongous 46-20 rebounding edge, which led to an impressive 14-3 difference in second chance points, to pick up the big win. Rebounds were a team effort as well, as no single Wildcats recorded more than 7, snagged by freshman Jordan Speiser who also chipped in 11 points. With the win, the Cats move to 10-9 and 2-3 in Big 12 play.
Oh. Wait. You came here for the men’s basketball game.
Yeah, they’ve got a game tonight. They are in Stillwater to face a mediocre Oklahoma State squad who sits at 13-4 overall, but just 1-3 in Big 12 play, with their lone win coming against UCF at home 11 days ago, and includes a loss to previously conference-winless Baylor in Stillwater back on Tuesday. They took the strategy of feasting on a very weak non-con schedule (242 according to KenPom), but they beat everyone they were supposed to and haven’t lost to anyone below them in the KenPom ratings. So that will need to change today if Kansas State wants to win this one.
The TangCats are in a free-fall right now, sitting at 9-8 overall and still looking for their first win in 2026 at 0-4 in Big 12 play. The 0-4 start matches the 2021-22 season when Bruce Weber’s squad also started 0-4 before finally picking up a win. And as bad as that sounds, there is even worse history looming. With a seemingly probable loss tonight, the Wildcats would match the 1996-97 squad for the worst start to Big 12 play — a team that started out 0-9 before limping to a 3-14 finish. Even Asbury’s 99-00 season that finally got him canned, the Wildcats opened the slate with a win over Nebraska before dropping 11 straight.
So staring down the barrel at some pretty awful history, can these Wildcats right the ship? Do they even care to? They’ve gotten paid, and while no one *likes* losing, it would certainly be plausible for some of these guys to shut it down, avoid getting hurt, and just go through the motions while waiting until they can enter the portal at the end of the season.
Maybe I’m wrong, and these guys will surprise us with the kind of consistent effort needed to win in this league. Maybe they’ll get a few shots to fall early in the game and they’ll ride that wave of confidence to a much-needed win. Or maybe, like the last three, the Wildcats will look out-matched and out-coached while attempting to build brick houses.
For our sake, let’s hope the Wildcats get things turned in the right direction tonight.
We’ve got an 9:05pm CT tipoff from Gallagher-Iba Arena, and you can catch the action on CBS Sports Network, and streaming on CBSSports.com, with Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Mike O’Donnell (analyst), and Ashley Moss (sidelines) on the call.
If you don’t have CBS Sports Network, 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. 380. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!
