Bruce Weber unsure when Kansas State will return to Wichita after Tulsa game

Kansas State will make its fourth trip to Wichita for a basketball game at Intrust Bank Arena at 7 p.m. Saturday against Tulsa.

When can we expect trip No. 5? For now, that question has no answer.

“We haven’t set anything yet,” K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber said.

The Wildcats have played a game in Wichita every other year dating back to 2011, when West Virginia beat K-State in a thrilling double overtime battle before the Mountaineers joined the Big 12. Former athletic director John Currie and coach Frank Martin planned the game, but Weber kept it going with a win over Gonzaga in 2013 and a victory against Colorado State in 2015. He also scheduled Saturday’s game against Tulsa.

With good crowds and positive results, it has been a good semi-neutral site for K-State.

“It is a neutral (location), but it isn’t,” Weber said. “You’ve got the NBA style arena, you get the openness, but in this case you have our fans there. That makes it a positive thing.”

The Wildcats have played in front of mostly sparse crowds this season at Bramlage Coliseum, but they are expecting solid attendance in Wichita.

“The big thing is our fans travel long distance,” Weber said, “whether it is football games, volleyball, basketball.… Whatever it is, they come and support us. If we can go to them off and on, it’s a good thing.”

Still, this could be the end of the line for K-State’s regular visits to Intrust Bank Arena. It might return to Wichita in 2019. It might also look to play an extra game at home or at Sprint Center in Kansas City. Or it could look to schedule Wichita State, something Weber said he would be open to last summer.

K-State will play Vanderbilt at Sprint Center next season, but it has nothing scheduled for Wichita.

Weber said it will be up to new athletic director Gene Taylor to decide on future Intrust games. Currie was all for it. Taylor will see the atmosphere for the first time this weekend.

Of course, K-State could always return to Wichita for the NCAA Tournament in March.

That would be the optimal time for trip No. 5.

“I hope we can get that taste of it,” Weber said. “Obviously, you have got to win a whole bunch of games in order to be close to home, but it is something you can look at and talk about.”

This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 3:15 PM with the headline "Bruce Weber unsure when Kansas State will return to Wichita after Tulsa game."