Big week begins for Kansas State Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes against Baylor Bears
Kansas State’s hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament were restored when the Wildcats unexpectedly won consecutive Big 12 basketball games against Oklahoma State and TCU.
They can boost their postseason chances even more this week.
The odds of K-State reaching March Madness for the first time since 2019 remain slim, but the Wildcats’ outlook will change dramatically if they can pull off a win against No. 10 Baylor on Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum. With Iowa State up after that, it’s make-or-break time for Bruce Weber’s team.
“We have talked about that the whole year,” Weber said. “That’s your goal. You want to get in the NCAA Tournament. How do you do that? You have got to get wins. You have got to a certain point. They are all good opportunities. All the teams in our league are up there in the NET rankings. But Baylor at home is a game where if you get them they are a top 10 team. It would be another nice mark on your resume.”
Problem is, defeating the Bears won’t be an easy task. Baylor beat K-State 74-49 earlier this season in Waco, Texas and humiliated the Wildcats in a pair of games last season. The Bears have won the past six games in this series by an average of 22.5 points.
Nevertheless, it is a good opportunity for the Wildcats.
Many wrote them off after they dropped to 10-10 on the season with a loss at Mississippi. But they have rebounded with a pair of victories that have moved them into a tie for sixth place in the conference standings.
K-State (12-10, 4-6 Big 12) is now being mentioned as a bubble team by several NCAA Tournament bracket experts. ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi listed the Wildcats as the 11th team out of the field at the beginning of the week. Fox College Hoops has them as the sixth team out of their latest projection. The Athletic included them on their latest “Bubble Watch” article. And they seem on solid footing for at least a trip to the NIT.
Weber can make an interesting argument for K-State as a postseason team.
The Wildcats own four Quad 1 victories and no bad losses. They wins over Texas and Texas Tech have aged like fine wine. And they are rated No. 62 in the NET rankings, as well as No. 54 by Ken Pomeroy.
If K-State can win post a winning record over its final eight games of the regular season, it stands a good chance of playing beyond the Big 12 Tournament.
Beating Baylor and Iowa State, or even splitting those games, would put the Wildcats on track to do exactly that.
That makes this an important week for the K-State men’s basketball team.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 12:26 PM with the headline "Big week begins for Kansas State Wildcats’ NCAA Tournament hopes against Baylor Bears."