Category Archives: K-State
Overnight, BCS picture improves for K-State
According to new projections, TCU will not qualify for a BCS bowl by moving up to 16th in the BCS Standings. It’s impossible to know for sure until the real deal happens at 7:15, but nonetheless, it’s good news for K-State fans.
The Wildcats, in that scenario, look to be the frontrunner for the last at-large spot. It would come down to K-State, Boise State and in a few projections, Baylor.
Between those three teams, the Wildcats have an advantage in two things: resume and fan base. That helps the Cats a lot.
Currently, CBS Sports and Yahoo! Sports both have KSU facing Michigan in the Sugar Bowl.
We will know more, including the chances of Oklahoma State passing Alabama for the No. 2 spot, when the Coaches Poll is released in a couple hours. Late last night, several projections had the Cowboys making the jump in what would be “the closest margin between 2 and 3 ever”.
Stay tuned. I’ll be an interesting day.
BCS outlook grim for a deserving K-State team
I’m going to make this clear right now: If the Sugar Bowl chooses Michigan and TCU to play each other, and Oklahoma State isn’t ranked No. 2, it will be a disgrace to college football. Period. The Wildcats have earned their spot.
Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll get it.
As it looks right now, K-State’s best chance at a BCS bid might be for Oklahoma State to pass Alabama for No. 2 in the BCS Standings. If that happened, KSU would be almost assured of a birth in the Fiesta Bowl.
If OSU stays at No. 3, as ESPN wishes, it would take the Wildcats getting chosen for the Sugar. Four teams (KSU, Michigan, TCU and Boise State) would be up for two spots.
That, of course, is assuming TCU and Michigan both reach eligibility in the standings. I think they will, and I might be wrong. IT depends on where Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Baylor, Clemson and Houston land.
I can be a pessimist, or even paranoid at times when it comes to issues like this. I apologize. It’s a character trait. But that’s a discussion for another day.
Anyway, we will find out all of this stuff for sure at 7:15 tomorrow. Here are my projections, for what they’re worth, and take ‘em with a grain of salt.
BCS National Championship — LSU vs. Alabama — The Cowboys deserve it. The voters won’t care enough.
Orange Bowl — Clemson vs. West Virginia — This matchup is assured.
Sugar Bowl — Michigan vs. TCU — All comes down to whether they reach eligibility. If one or both of them does not, K-State may be golden. But I think they both will.
Rose Bowl — Oregon vs. Wisconsin — This matchup is assured.
Fiesta Bowl — Oklahoma State vs. Stanford — Stanford is a lock. OSU will be here if they don’t pass Alabama in the BCS Standings.
Q&A with BCS guru: “If Michigan qualifies, they’re in”
I just got an interview with Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com, and discussed BCS bowl scenarios with him. The outlook is not great for the Kansas State Wildcats from a BCS perspective. This is what he told me:
TD: What are K-State’s chances of getting picked for the Sugar Bowl over Michigan?
JP: “If Michigan qualifies (for a BCS bowl) they’re in. It’s that simple. K-State and Boise State wouldn’t be chosen for a game like that above a team with a superstar player and a national brand.”
TD: How much impact does a fan base have on bowl selection, compared to the actual resume between the two teams?
JP: “Those bowl games do not care about a team ranked four or five spots ahead of them. It’s all about who has the bigger following and who will bring more fans. Is that fair? Maybe not, but it’s the way things are.”
TD: In a worst-case scenario, if K-State lost to Iowa State and Baylor beat Texas, could the Bears be picked for the Alamo over KSU?
JP: “I don’t think so. Honestly, I think K-State’s chances at the Cotton are really good (if OSU beats OU). Oklahoma is the least attractive team to the Cotton Bowl out of the Big 12, because they play Texas there every year. When you factor in K-State’s fan base, I think the Cotton would really like to take K-State if given the chance.
So, there you have it. K-State’s chances at getting the the Sugar Bowl are almost entirely dependent on Michigan staying out of the top 14 in the BCS Standings. For that to happen, K-State should be rooting for Georgia in the SEC title game (if Oklahoma State could get into Top 2), for a very close Big Ten title game, and for a Southern Miss upset of Houston. Fingers crossed.
But of course, the most important thing is….
Beat Iowa State.
K-State runs away from Colonials; Martin not satisfied
For the Kansas State basketball team, Thursday night’s game against George Washington was a classic case of ‘the good, bad and ugly’.
That is just not good enough in the eyes of K-State coach Frank Martin, despite the game ending in a 69-56 victory.
“We have to learn how to play offense the way we play defense, which is unselfishly and disciplined,” he said. “Our guys were pretty good defensively. We just got too relaxed and played too casually.”
For about ten minutes in the second half, the Wildcats played very good basketball. K-State stretched a 32-29 halftime advantage to a 19-point lead with 7:31 left. But Martin said the whole game should have gone that smoothly.
“We decided to do what we practice (during the second-half run),” Martin said. “I have no idea why we can’t perform that way for more of the game.”
Behind nine straight points from guard Will Spradling, K-State outscored the Colonials 15-1 during a crucial four-minute stretch.
“We did a better job of making the extra pass, and that opened up some shots for us,” Spradling said.
Martin was displeased with how his team returned to playing “lazy and selfishly” after a lead opened up.
“We played team basketball on offense and defense, and then went right back to playing bad basketball,” he said.
“We defended fairly well, but we are nowhere near where we need to be on the offensive end.”
The game began in a back-and-forth manner, with neither team leading by more than six until the Wildcats made their second half run.
A three-pointer from Shane Southwell started the spurt, Samuels followed with his own three-pointer and the game was on its way to being in hand for the Wildcats.
K-State was paced by double-doubles by Thomas Gipson and Jamar Samuels. Gipson, with his 17 points and 13 rebounds, led the team in scoring for the third consecutive game.
“Thomas has the ability to score around the rim,” Martin said. “He has a big body and he knows how to use it.”
“He’s good. He is a very good player and we are glad he wears our uniform,” Martin added.
Samuels said having another presence inside the paint is a big advantage for the team.
“You don’t get a lot of freshman doing what he does down low,” he said. “ It helps to take the load off everybody else when he’s playing like that.”
Gipson’s double-double marked the first time a Wildcat freshman has accomplished the feat since Michael Beasley in 2008.
George Washington coach Mike Longeran cited poor free throw shooting as a reason his team was unable to keep up with the Wildcats.
“It is a disappointing performance for us overall,” he said. “Our horrendous free throw shooting prevented us from having a lead at the half. We could not stay in the game because we could not score.”
The Colonials were just 11 of 21 at the charity stripe and shot just over 31 percent for the game.
On the Wildcat side, Samuels added to Gipson’s effort with a 10-point, 10-rebound effort of his own. Spradling added 14 points on 5 of 12 shooting and Jordan Henriquez snagged 11 rebounds in just 15 minutes.
With the victory, K-State moved to 4-0 on the season, but has a very difficult stretch ahead. The Wildcats play at Virginia Tech on Sunday and against West Virginia in Wichita next week. Martin admits he wishes the team had one more game to prepare for what lies ahead.
“It would be nice to have another game,” Martin said. “We still have to learn, we still have to grow.”
Samuels, who was raised in the Washington, D.C. area, is looking forward to the challenge.
“I’m looking forward to it, but we have to get better,” he said.
tdreiling
