Kansas State Wildcats expect biggest home-court advantage in years against rival KU
The large and rowdy crowds that made fans start referring to Kansas State’s basketball arena as The Octagon of Doom have been rare in recent years.
Crowds were sparse last season when the Wildcats were forced to limit attendance at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, and ticket sales haven’t fully rebounded to what they once were. More than 7,000 fans have only showed up for one men’s game at Bramlage Coliseum this season, and fewer than 6,000 were in the house when K-State upset No. 17 Texas Tech last weekend.
But things are expected to change when K-State hosts rival Kansas at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Only limited ticket options remained for the game as of Friday afternoon. Excitement is building again now that the Wildcats have won back-to-back games against ranked teams. They should have a loud home-court advantage, just like they used to in the Sunflower Showdown.
“I’m really excited,” graduate transfer Mark Smith said. “I’ve heard that game is really crazy. I’ve heard it’s even crazier than the Bragging Rights game between Mizzou and Illinois. I know how those games can get, and those games can be big momentum builders. I’m just really excited to see the fans. Coach (Chris) Lowery always tells me K-State can be really special. Our fans are really great every time they’ve been there like Marquette and even Texas Tech. It was really loud in there and it was really fun to play.”
Bramlage should be at near capacity (12,528) on Saturday. That will come as a welcome change compared to most home games during the past three seasons. The Wildcats haven’t had a winning season since 2019, and attendance has reflected that. K-State has only played one home game in front of 10,000 fans since then — a December loss to Marquette during the 2019-20 season.
K-State’s biggest home crowd of this season also came against Marquette when 7,184 showed up.
Senior guard Mike McGuirl is the only member of the roster who has experienced a vintage home atmosphere against Kansas. He knows that students show up early for this game, wave creative signs at KU players and cheer much louder than they do against every other opponent on the schedule.
Part of his job this week has been telling his teammates what to expect.
“Just be us,” McGuirl said. “That is really all I can say. Don’t let the moment take anybody out of being themselves. Just just be who you are for this team, play your role and I believe it will be enough.”
Good as the home crowd might be, head coach Bruce Weber is doing his best to approach this game like all the others on the schedule. He thinks putting too much emphasis on a rivalry game can have a negative impact.
If energetic fans was it all it took to beat KU, the Wildcats would own a better record than 3-19 in the series under Weber.
But K-State has won several important games away from home this season. Weber hopes the Wildcats can play the same way they did against Nebraska, Wichita State and Texas, only with a big crowd cheering them on.
“You hope the crowd becomes a factor,” Weber said. “The crowd becomes a factor because of what we do on the court, not what they do. If you do good stuff on the court then the crowd jumps in and that’s when the other team gets fatigue and stress and mental anxiety. When the crowd gets into that it can make a difference.”