The Kansas State women’s basketball team is closing in on a WNIT championship. The Wildcats kept rolling behind another big game from star guard Brittany Chambers on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum, thumping Illinois 66-48 in front of 1,717 fans, advancing to the tournament’s semifinals.
Looking back on Kansas State’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament, Wildcats coach Bruce Weber still isn’t totally sure what went wrong. A few days ago, he asked his players for their thoughts. They said they were mentally prepared, they simply played poorly. Weber also said Angel Rodriguez is scheduled for surgery on his left wrist and Martavious Irving and Nino Williams surgery to repair lingering knee injuries.
The Kansas State women fought back from an early deficit and beat Ball State 60-48 on Thursday at Bramlage Coliseum, advancing to the WNIT quarterfinals. The Wildcats will play host to Illinois at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Marcus Foster, who has long been viewed as Kansas State’s top incoming basketball recruit, received an honor this week that will send him to Manhattan with more hype than the typical three-star prospect.
After a decorated first season at Blue Springs, defensive end/outside linebacker Elijah Lee committed to Kansas State on Tuesday, opting to join teammate Dalvin Warmack, a running back who committed to the Wildcats a month ago.
K-State senior Brittany Chambers scored 28 points during a 57-48 win over Illinois State on Monday at Bramlage Coliseum, less than a week after a career-high 42 points against Texas Southern. The combined total of 70 points is the most scored by a K-State player in back-to-back games.
A strange mixture of emotions filled Kansas State’s locker room following the Wildcats’ early exit from the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
Dick Stone, a former Kansas State basketball player who helped the Wildcats win a Big Seven championship in 1956, died from injuries resulting in a car crash on Thursday in Panama City Beach, Fla. He was 78.
No. 13 seed La Salle upset No. 4 seed K-State 63-61 in the Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament opener the Sprint Center.
A year of pulled muscles and set plays and big dreams is gone in seven seconds of chaos. One wild last game, and Kansas State basketball goes from a shot at school history to a complicated and conflicted memory.
The stunned silence in Kansas State’s locker room after Friday’s 63-61 loss to La Salle in the second round of the NCAA Tournament seemed to spread outward from point guard Angel Rodriguez, past the lush trappings of the Sprint Center.
Let’s get this part out of the way up front. First, La Salle never thought for a moment it was playing with house money in the NCAA Tournament because it had to make a side trip Wednesday to Dayton, Ohio, where it defeated Boise State in a First Four game.
There is something about the NCAA Tournament that agrees with Jordan Henriquez. After a disappointing season, the senior forward played his finest game since scoring 17 points and grabbing 14 rebounds against Syracuse in the third round of last year’s NCAA Tournament.
It’s safe to say Brittany Chambers wasn’t ready to call it a career. The Kansas State senior set one scoring record after another Thursday en route to a 42-point game and a victory over Texas Southern.
By the time the trio of La Salle players hit the dais at the Sprint Center early Thursday evening, the buzz from the last 24 hours of their lives had yet to wear off.
WHEN/WHERE: About 2:10 p.m. Friday at the Sprint Center
For a basketball player who values his assist-to-turnover ratio more than any other statistic, Angel Rodriguez was unable to truly enjoy his freshman season at Kansas State. Sure, he had fun. But he also lost a team-high 87 turnovers.
When Rodney McGruder committed to the Wildcats out of high school, many wondered if he would be able to adjust to life in a college town halfway across the country. Even if he did, there was no guarantee he would prosper on the basketball court. Today, he is K-State’s best player and unquestioned leader.
Tyrone Garland led La Salle's guard-driven offense with 22 points, and the Explorers wrapped up the NCAA tournament's First Four by getting the better of an old-fashioned shootout, beating Boise State 80-71 on Wednesday night. The Explorers advance to play Kansas State on Friday afternoon at the Sprint Center.
Bad losses to Michigan, Gonzaga were the beginning of the Wildcats’ cohesion to co-Big 12 champions under Bruce Weber. “It’s crazy to think about how far we’ve come, especially on offense,” guard Shane Southwell said.
Kansas State struggled offensively in the first half against Kansas in the Big 12 tournament title game. Shane Southwell could have made a difference, but he was on the bench because of fouls.
Analyzing the good and bad of fourth-seeded Kansas State’s draw in the West Region of the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats start the tourney Friday at the Sprint Center.
Most teams in the NCAA Tournament have known who their next opponent will be since Sunday afternoon, but Kansas State will be more than 72 hours behind. That’s because No. 13 seeds La Salle and Boise State play a first-round game Wednesday. The winner plays No. 4 seed K-State about 2:10 p.m. Friday at the Sprint Center.
The Wildcats head into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West Region and will take on either Boise State or La Salle around 2:10 p.m. Friday at the Sprint Center. The game will air on truTV. With a victory, K-State will play No. 5 Wisconsin or No. 12 Mississippi in the round of 32 on Sunday with a trip to Los Angeles for the Sweet 16 on the line.
In what may be the greatest shot in Kansas State history, Rolando Blackman buried a baseline jumper with two seconds remaining to beat second-ranked Oregon State 50-48 in a 1981 second round game. The sweet release was splashed on Sports Illustrated’s cover the next week.
Kansas State has struggled to score at times under first-year coach Bruce Weber, but the Wildcats reached a new low during the first half of a 70-54 loss to Kansas in the championship game of the Big 12 tournament.
Key play: Kevin Young connected on a put-back layup that gave Kansas a 24-16 lead at halftime.
With Kansas’ 70-54 triumph over Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament title game on Saturday at the Sprint Center, the Jayhawks swept all three games against the Wildcats this season. But that only scratches the surface of this domination. The outcome also means KU has won 47 of the previous 50 men’s basketball meetings against Kansas State, and 11 straight in conference tournament games.
If all goes according to plan, the Wildcats will also be back at the Sprint Center next season for a nonconference game. They are still working on a date and an opponent, but K-State athletic director John Currie said Saturday morning that the Wildcats intend on continuing their annual nonconference trip to Sprint Center for a neutral-court game next season.
K-State beat Oklahoma State 68-57 on Friday in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament at Sprint Center to advance to its first title game since its loss to Kansas in 2010. Rodney McGruder was the main reason why. On a night when neither team’s offense flowed the way it did during their regular-season meetings, McGruder couldn’t be stopped. The senior wing, playing like a man on a mission, scored a game-high 25 points.
