Kansas State still considering extra game despite falling off NCAA Tournament bubble
Adding a replacement game to its schedule will no longer help the Kansas State men’s basketball team reach the NCAA Tournament this season, but that doesn’t mean the Wildcats have given up on the idea of playing an extra opponent next week.
K-State coach Bruce Weber is still exploring options for a game to be played on Monday at Bramlage Coliseum, two days after the Wildcats host Oklahoma on their senior day this weekend.
Why?
It’s a fair question. With K-State (14-15, 6-11 Big 12) riding a four-game losing streak, their chances of earning an at-large berth into March Madness have disappeared. Playing a bubble team like BYU, which was discussed last week, will no longer help their resume enough for the game to be considered worthwhile.
But K-State is no longer hoping to schedule a Bracket Buster type matchup that could ultimately send the winner to the Big Dance. Instead, it is now in the market for a guarantee game that would send money to the visiting team and help the home team boost its hopes of playing in the NIT. Finishing the year with a winning record is also a factor.
Weber made it clear following a Monday loss at Texas Tech that he wants to find a way to reward his team for how hard it has played this season. Perhaps the NIT could be a consolation prize.
“They’ve shown resolve and resilience,” Weber said. “All of the words you can find in a dictionary you can use to describe our team. I just wish for their sake they get rewarded somehow. Hopefully it starts Saturday and we have a special week.”
K-State athletics director Gene Taylor confirmed the men’s basketball team entered this week still looking at its options for an extra game. The Wildcats are unlikely to commit to anything until after they play Oklahoma on Saturday, as the result of that contest will determine whether another game is feasible or desired.
If the Wildcats beat the Sooners, they will earn a bye into the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City as one of the top seven seeds in the event. Let’s say that’s what happens. Playing an extra game on Monday against a mid-major team would give them an opportunity to move above .500 by beating a lesser opponent. Afterward, they would still have three days to prepare for their first game at T-Mobile Center.
K-State could ultimately choose against playing an extra game, but it could work under those circumstances.
Expect K-State to target teams with losing records that fail to qualify for their conference tournaments. That is what happens in the Mid-American Conference, where only the top eight teams in the league standings play in the championship event.
Any team that finishes near the bottom of those conferences will still be eligible to play another game if they lost one to COVID issues earlier this season. Perhaps they would welcome the opportunity to play one more game at K-State and return home with a big check.
The game remains appealing for K-State, because it may need an extra win to qualify for the NIT. Web sites that project the tournament’s bracket have featured the Wildcats for much of the season, but you won’t find them there now that they have dipped below .500.
There is no rule that requires teams to finish the regular season .500 or better to play in the NIT, but a winning record would likely still mean something to the selection committee.
Suppose K-State beats Oklahoma and then wins a replacement game to improve to 16-15. That would put the Wildcats in the running for the NIT regardless of what happens at the Big 12 Tournament. A victory in Kansas City could then potentially clinch the consolation prize.
For those who don’t know, the NIT is a 32-team tournament consisting of teams that narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament. Games are scheduled to begin on March 15 on campuses and end on March 31 with the final four teams playing at Madison Square Garden in New York.
K-State has not played in the NIT since 2009.
Of course, all of this is a moot point if K-State fails to defeat Oklahoma and drops to the No. 8 seed at the Big 12 Tournament. That would require the Wildcats to play West Virginia on Wednesday in the opening round of the event. Playing any opponent two days beforehand would be unwise.
A loss on Saturday makes a replacement game unlikely. Winning the Big 12 Tournament, and earned an automatic berth into March Madness, remains K-State’s top priority.
“We have got everything we need. I think last year was sort of a mini version at the end of the season. We can get the real thing this year. I think we have the payers to, the talent to, the coaching to, the inspiration to. We have everything that we need. So we’re going to be real focused this week on Saturday but mostly getting momentum to the rest of the season for what could come.”
This story was originally published March 1, 2022 at 3:41 PM.