The race for not-last place: Can K-State finish ahead of Utah in Big 12 hoops?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State and Utah tied for Big 12 cellar; each has three conference games left.
- Every possession matters as teams vie to avoid finishing 16th in Big 12 seeding.
- K-State owns head-to-head over Utah and can avoid last with wins.
With the vast majority of Kansas State’s preseason men’s basketball goals out of reach, it’s fair to wonder what the Wildcats will use as motivation as their disappointing season comes to an end.
They can still play for pride, of course. Until they are eliminated from the Big 12 Tournament, there is also at least a sliver of hope for an automatic berth into March Madness. That’s a given.
But what about K-State’s final three games of the regular season? What will motivate the Wildcats to play their hardest when they take the floor against TCU at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday inside Bramlage Coliseum?
Here’s something: the race for not-last place in the Big 12 standings.
K-State (11-17, 2-13 Big 12) enters the weekend deadlocked with Utah (2-13) in the cellar of the conference standings. At the moment, both teams are tied for 15th, two games behind Baylor. Each squad has three games remaining before the Big 12 Tournament.
Utah will finish at Arizona State, Colorado and then at Baylor under the guidance of first-year head coach Alex Jensen.
K-State will finish against TCU and West Virginia before it ends the regular season at Kansas with interim head coach Matthew Driscoll in command of the sideline. Jerome Tang was fired “for cause” earlier this month.
Bart Torvik projects both teams will finish with identical 3-15 conference records. Every possession from here on out could determine who finishes in the cellar.
Another potential bonus: Big 12 Tournament seeding. The No. 15 seed will play the No. 10 seed at 6 p.m. on the opening day of the event at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. The No. 16 seed will face the No. 9 seed at 2 p.m.
As of now, K-State has the inside track to the better seed because it owns a head-to-head win over Utah.
This may not be as exciting as a battle for first place, but it is compelling to some.
No team wants to make history for the wrong reasons. That could serve as motivation for the Wildcats over the next week.
K-State has never lost more than 15 conference games in a single season since the Big 12 was formed. But it has finished last on two occasions. The Wildcats went 2-14 and finished last in 2000 under former coach Tom Asbury. They also went 3-15 and finished last in 2020 under former coach Bruce Weber.
This K-State team can avoid joining that group with a strong finish.