Kansas State Basketball: Losing in Big 12 Tournament not a bad thing

Kansas State basketball has had a season to remember and while losing the Big 12 Tournament is disappointing, it’s not the worst thing in the world for the Wildcats.

Losing is never fun, but for the Kansas State Wildcats, not being able to partake in the Big 12 Championship game on Saturday really isn’t a bad thing. We’ll dive more into why in a bit, but let’s recap Friday’s events, shall we?

The Wildcats were facing Iowa State in the second round of action for the Big 12 Tournament. K-State had taken care of business against TCU in their first game while the Cyclones knocked off Baylor. That led to Friday’s match-up and it was a memorable one to say the least!

While Iowa State ultimately won it 63-59, it was a hard fought game by both sides. The Cyclones played better down the stretch though while the Wildcats panicked and cost themselves some points.

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Let’s not freak out about this loss though. Iowa State needed the tournament title more than K-State did because the Cyclones went 9-9 in conference play during the regular season. Yes, they are a good team, but their record and resumé aren’t as impressive as K-State’s.

The Wildcats shared the Big 12 conference title with Texas Tech, which means both of them will almost SURELY be going dancing next week. Iowa State winning the tournament will for sure punch their ticket into the dance while for Kansas State, winning the tournament would have just been another notch on their belt.

Now, let’s dive into WHY losing isn’t the worst thing in the world.

Health and rest are two big ones for Kansas State, as Dean Wade missed both games in Kansas City. If you can remember back to last year’s March Madness, Wade missed quite a few games and the Wildcats still made it to the Elite Eight.

Keep this in mind: The Wildcats almost beat Iowa State on Friday and they didn’t even have their best defensive player and one of their best players overall (Barry Brown and Xavier Sneed are also up there). Kansas State is dangerous without Wade, but when he’s on the court, this team could be a National Championship contender.

Yes, it would have been fun to play in the Big 12 Tournament title game. When push comes to shove, however, Kansas State basketball has a legitimate shot to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament, so having an extra day of rest could be the difference for these guys. One day might not seem like much, but it’s an extra day off for this unit.

Next. Successful Hoops Season and Other K-State Notes. dark

Kansas State might not be battling for the Big 12 Tournament title on Saturday, but they’ve already shown that this season is poised to be a special one. Can they learn from this loss and make a run in March Madness?

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