‘It’s scary’: K-State basketball will face many firsts in Big 12 opener at Iowa State
The Kansas State men’s basketball team is about to experience something new.
For freshmen starters Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack, the Wildcats’ game against Iowa State on Tuesday will mark the first time they have played a college game away from Bramlage Coliseum.
For other newcomers, like junior-college transfers Carlton Linguard and Rud Williams, it will be their first taste of Big 12 competition.
And for Bruce Weber — yes, there’s something new about this game for him, too — it will be the first time he has coached the Wildcats in a conference game before Christmas.
“It’s scary, especially for a young team,” Weber said. “But you have got to go through it. We went through it with a young group when we had Barry (Brown), Kamau (Stokes) and Dean (Wade). Those guys, they took their lumps but eventually became older.”
A game at Iowa State feels scarier than usual, because of the unusual schedule K-State has played leading up to its Big 12 opener. Weber hoped to prepare the Wildcats for difficult road environments by scheduling an exhibition game at Wichita State, signing up for the Cayman Islands Classic and playing Butler at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse as part of the annual Big 12/Big East series. But none of those games were played because of the coronavius pandemic.
Instead, the Wildcats began the season with six straight home games.
This will be their first trip outside of Manhattan, let alone the Sunflower State.
Mike McGuirl, the lone scholarship senior on K-State’s roster, may have to provide more leadership than usual while the Wildcats are on the road.
“I told the coaches, ‘Don’t even bring up that we are going on the road,’” Weber said. “They don’t need to think about it. They have got enough other things to worry about.”
The good news for K-State is that home court doesn’t provide much of an advantage for teams this season, as arenas are quieter because of limited fan capacity. The bad news for K-State is that the Big 12 is once again loaded with strong teams.
Baylor, Kansas, West Virginia, Texas and Texas Tech are all currently ranked in the top 15, and Ken Pomeroy lists the Big 12 as the nation’s strongest conference in his college basketball database.
K-State (2-4) won’t be favored in many league games this season. It is the only team in the Big 12 with more than two losses. The rest of the conference has a combined record of 42-9.
But the Wildcats do get to open conference play against the only other team in the league with a losing record. Iowa State (1-2) is coming off losses to South Dakota State and Iowa. K-State is also coming off a victory over Milwaukee.
That should give K-State players some confidence that they can get play with the Cyclones. But that will only help if they aren’t fazed by all the firsts that go along with this game.
“We will see if they can grow up,” Weber said, “and deal with playing in the Big 12 early, without a lot of experience and trying to play a road game.”