Well it was not meant to be this past weekend for the Wildcats. To be fair, they played tough against a very good BYU team, including playing *defense* from time to time. But they could not do the thing
they need to do to win games this season, going just 3-21 from deep in the 83-73 loss. The TangCats are going to have a tough time in the Big 12 on normal nights, but it’s going to be a long season if the normally solid-shooting squad is having such an abysmally off night.
And that extends to tonight in Arizona. The Desert Wildcats have looked every bit of their No. 1 ranking so far this season, sitting at 14-0 after beating a half-dozen ranked teams…and just one of them in Tucson. That includes an incredibly impressive 71-67 win over a top 5 UConn team in Storrs.
This is not a game that Kansas State should be expected to win. For as many good things as the purple Cats are capable of, even playing at the top of their potential this is likely a loss. And that’s okay, at least on some level. Just like the BYU game, that means K-State is playing with house money, and no one expects K-State to compete in this game.
So what are we looking for? A team that is competitive in a hostile environment, that is capable of taking punches and continuing to fight regardless. Because even though Arizona is #1, and the McKale Center is tough, it’s still not the toughest road game the Cats will play this season. But it can be a good warmup, a good learning experience, so that maybe these Cats can avoid doing the things they normally do when they travel down the river.
But tonight it’s about Arizona. Keep your expectations low, hope for a reversal of 3pt shooting from this past Saturday, and try not to fall asleep before it’s over.
We’ve got an 8:10pm CT tipoff from the McKale Center in Tucson, and you can catch the action on FS1, and streaming on FoxSports.com, with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Bill Raftery (analyst) on the call.
If you don’t have FS1, or 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. 392. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go [Purple]Cats!
