Breaking down the hoops schedule Bruce Weber has lined up for K-State next season
Bruce Weber is still working to put the finishing touches on Kansas State’s basketball schedule for the 2020-21 season, but he is far enough along in the process to have a feel for the type of slate the Wildcats will face when they return to the hardwood in November.
With six nonconference games under contract, a four-game tournament in the offing and a pair of annual conference-challenge games looming, there isn’t much mystery remaining when it comes to the teams K-State will play outside of the Big 12 next season.
The Wildcats will likely play eight of their 13 nonconference games at Bramlage Coliseum, three on a neutral court at the Cayman Islands Classic, one at Sprint Center in Kansas City against Nebraska and one on the road against Butler.
Seven home games are already set in stone. K-State has contracts in place to host Central Arkansas, UMKC, UNLV, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and South Dakota next season, in addition to a home game in the Big 12/SEC Challenge and another home game against a to-be-determined mid major opponent as part of the opening rounds of the Cayman Islands Classic.
K-State has one opening on its schedule, which will likely be filled with a “guarantee” opponent at home. But Weber could possibly look to add a more challenging test.
Depending on which teams the Wildcats draw in the Cayman Islands Classic, their upcoming nonconference schedule is shaping up to land in the middle of Weber’s schedules at K-State in terms of difficulty.
The average Ken Pomeroy ranking of K-State’s known opponents from last season is 178.7, ranging from Butler (25) and UNLV (98) to Wisconsin-Milwaukee (271) and Central Arkansas (283).
K-State can boost its schedule strength by winning a few games at its early season tournament against a field that includes Miami, Oregon State, Northern Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, La Salle and Western Kentucky.
Northern Iowa had the best Ken Pomeroy ranking of the field last season at No. 49, while La Salle had the worst at No. 181.
Whatever happens, the Wildcats are expected to face a less difficult nonconference schedule than they did last season. A lineup of opponents like Marquette, Alabama, Mississippi State, Tulsa and Saint Louis gave them a nonconference schedule ranking of 127 nationally, even with home games against pushovers like Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Florida A&M.
The average Ken Pom ranking of KSU’s 13 nonconference opponents last season was 146.4.
Coming off an 11-win season and a last-place finish in the Big 12 standings, the Wildcats could use a friendlier schedule as they look to rebuild with a roster that features just four returning scholarship players.
But K-State’s nonconference schedule is poised to be more difficult than it was a few years ago, when it ranked among the nation’s softest at No. 324, per Ken Pom.
Kansas State’s 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
- Nov. 12: Central Arkansas
- Nov. TBD: TBD Opponent
- Nov. TBD: TBD Opponent (Opening Round Cayman Islands Classic Game)
- Nov. 23: Cayman Islands Classic Game 1 (vs. Miami, Oregon State, Northern Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, La Salle or Western Kentucky)
- Nov. 24: Cayman Islands Classic Game 2
- Nov. 25: Cayman Islands Classic Game 3
- Nov. 30: UMKC
- Dec. TBD: At Butler (Big 12/Big East Battle)
- Dec. 5: UNLV
- Dec. 8: Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- Dec. 19: Nebraska (Sprint Center)
- Dec. 29: South Dakota
- Jan. 30: TBD Opponent (Big 12/SEC Challenge)