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K-State Basketball: Brutal stretch ahead for the Wildcats

By Leigh Oleszczak

MANHATTAN, KS - JANUARY 10: Barry Brown #5 of the Kansas State Wildcats drives and scores a basket against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first half on January 10, 2018 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
MANHATTAN, KS - JANUARY 10: Barry Brown #5 of the Kansas State Wildcats drives and scores a basket against the Oklahoma State Cowboys during the first half on January 10, 2018 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas. (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /
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K-State basketball is coming off a victory over Oklahoma State, but things are about to get much more difficult for the Wildcats.

The Kansas State Wildcats have the misfortune in playing in the Big 12, a conference that currently has five teams ranked in the top 25 and even one in the top five. Baylor isn’t included in those rankings either, making half of this conference extremely dangerous.

K-State is 2-2 in Big 12 play at the moment, with victories over Iowa State and Oklahoma State and their two losses coming at the hands of West Virginia and Texas Tech. The Mountaineers and Red Raiders are both in the top 25 and played like it against the Cats.

If those two games were any indication of what’s to come, Kansas State is going to have their hands full these next few weeks. They’ll travel to Lawrence on Saturday for a match-up with their in-state rival Kansas.

While the Jayhawks are the most vulnerable as they have been in years, the Wildcats will still have to play a near-perfect game to down KU at Allen Fieldhouse. It’s tough to win in Lawrence and the Wildcats know that more than anybody, not having won a game at Allen Fieldhouse since 2006.

After that game, K-State will host two ranked squads in Manhattan. January 16th will see the ninth ranked Sooners come to Bramlage Coliseum and the TCU Horned Frogs will be arriving on January 20th. TCU has looked beatable recently, but Oklahoma is going to be extremely tough, even on the road.

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Fortunately, there are positives from this year’s K-State basketball team. Barry Brown is coming off a game in which he scored 38 points and proved that he can pretty much carry his team if needed. Dean Wade is also a plus for the Wildcats, continuing to wow the critics and becoming one of the best players in the conference.

It’ll be difficult for KSU to pull out a win against OU or TCU, but these games are at home, which makes the chances a little better. If K-State can go 1-1 in that stretch, they’ll still be on decent pace to make the NCAA Tournament in March.

I didn’t include KU because the Wildcats have really struggled playing in Lawrence over the years, so it’s not a safe bet to count on them winning there. With that said, if K-State is going to beat the Jayhawks on the road, this is the year to do it.

They’ll then travel to unranked Baylor, who’s still a really good team despite being left off the top 25. Fortunately, K-State gets to host Georgia after that and that’s a team who Missouri just beat pretty mightily. That’ll be a nice transition before the Cats go on to host KU on January 29th.

K-State basketball is currently fifth in the Big 12, but they have a chance to really make some noise if they can pull off the upset against any of these teams. We still have a long way to go in the 2017-2018 season, so there are plenty of opportunities for K-State to get noticed.

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