Five things: Kansas State basketball schedule takeaways
1.) Obviously, the level of difficulty has been raised on the Kansas State non-conference basketball schedule. The Big 12/SEC challenge has disappeared but the Wildcats will travel to LSU. Their Thanksgiving tournament includes Providence and Georgia or Miami. They open with USC. K-State hosts Villanova and Nebraska and has a neutral site affair with Wichita State. Personally, I hope the second matchup in the Bahamas pits the Hurricanes against Kansas State for the Nijel Pack storylines.
2.) If removing the exhibition contest with Emporia State, eight different opponents will come to Bramlage Coliseum. What will provide the best atmospheres? All of them will at least be solid due to the excellent K-State ticket sales, but the loudest environments will be in store for Villanova and Nebraska. While some will assume the rowdiest contest will be the crowd that greets Kyle Neptune and the Wildcats, I wouldn’t rule it out being the December 17 version when Kansas State hosts the Huskers. That is likely only the case if nobody has left for the holidays just yet.
3.) Some of the dates provide interesting possibilities. Chicago State travels to K-State on January 2. Does the Big 12 competition indeed start after that tilt? Remember, the Wildcats began conference action last year on New Year’s Eve against West Virginia just hours after the football team had fallen to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. My suspicion is that Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang had his wishes met in terms of there being no games between December 21 and January 2. That is the part of the calendar that typically has the least fan support. Folks have convened with their families for Christmas and the students are not on campus.
4.) Not only does K-State have some tricky high-major opponents (plus Wichita State) on the schedule, but the mid-major battles won’t be easy. Bellarmine has been one of the best teams in the Atlantic Sun, for example, and they present a unique brand of basketball that the Wildcats don’t often see. South Dakota State will be picked to win the Summit League by many. Oral Roberts no longer has Paul Mills as coach or Max Abmas at point guard, but they’ve been a consistent force. A couple losses by Kansas State to this slate won’t be detrimental. And several wins could provide a huge boost to their resume when it is time for the Selection Show on CBS. It’s simple for Tang. The higher seeds often make the Final Four. The higher seeds often win the national championship. Those are his goals and he is designing a schedule to make that a reality.
5.) Going forward, we can expect more premiere games in Bramlage Coliseum. At the very least, we know that Tang and K-State are doing everything to ensure it. Even when looking a year ahead, both LSU and Cal will come to Manhattan for the 2024-2025 non-conference portion of the schedule. For those that are already dismissing the Golden Bears, they have seen a massive step up in talent since hiring new head coach Mark Madsen. More high-profile programs could be making their way to Kansas State in the future as well. The Wildcats were even in discussions in hopes of bringing in Duke for a non-conference game. Unfortunately, that withered without any kind of an agreement.
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