K-State searching for replacement foe after Wildcats lose Morgan State game to COVID
Update: Kansas State announced on Thursday that it will play North Florida on Dec. 29
Kansas State is the latest men’s basketball team to lose a game from its schedule because one of its opponents is dealing with COVID-19 cases.
The Wildcats won’t play their next game against Morgan State as originally scheduled on Dec. 29 at Bramlage Coliseum while the Bears are sidelined with COVID issues, coach Bruce Weber said late Tuesday night. Morgan State’s team is currently on a COVID pause because it doesn’t have enough healthy players to take the court in its upcoming games.
Wisconsin also had to cancel a home game with Morgan State that was scheduled for later this week.
Still, K-State might play someone else when its players return from Christmas break. The Wildcats are actively searching for a replacement opponent to fill the void on their schedule before Big 12 play arrives in January.
“We’re kind of scrambling to get a replacement game,” Weber said. “We got a couple people, a few possibilities. I know our women’s team also lost a game tomorrow and they’re scrambling for a replacement. Welcome to COVID in 2021, I guess, because you see it all over the ticker from the NFL to the NBA to the NHL. It’s a tough thing. We all want it to be gone, but it’s not. We just have got to hope and pray our guys stay safe and healthy when they come back and we’re not going to miss games or miss people.”
Weber has previously said that every player and coach on the team is fully vaccinated. On Tuesday, he said a handful of players have also received their booster shots. He is urging the entire team to do the same, especially now that game cancellations and postponements are happening again.
If K-State can’t find a replacement game, its next game will happen on Jan. 1 at Oklahoma.
But Weber would rather find a new opponent for Dec. 29. Last year, K-State couldn’t play a road game against Butler because of COVID issues with the Bulldogs and replaced the game with a home contest against Division II Fort Hays State.
That decision backfired disastrously for the Wildcats, as the Tigers came to Bramlage and handed K-State a humiliating 81-68 defeat.
This time around, Weber said he is focused on finding a new Division I team to play.
“That’s our goal right now,” Weber said. “We could maybe look at Division II, but I don’t know if that’s something we want to do. Nothing against them, but it may be better for us to just practice ... I have got a couple of calls to make on the way home tonight and hopefully something will work out.”
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 10:16 PM.