‘We are pumped’: Why K-State basketball players are motivated for rematch at KU
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State players cite prior 86-62 home loss and coach firing as fuel.
- Interim coach Matthew Driscoll leads Wildcats as they seek revenge Saturday.
- KU favored by 16.5 points in their final home game of the regular season.
Of all the disappointing moments that have occurred this season for the Kansas State men’s basketball team, one may stand out above the rest.
The Wildcats haven’t forgotten how a home loss to Kansas ended earlier this year inside Bramlage Coliseum.
How could they? Not only did the Wildcats fall to their biggest basketball rival 86-62, they were beaten so badly that the Jayhawks rubbed it in. Instead of dribbling out the clock, KU players Flory Bidunga and Tre White both threw down exclamation dunks. Instead of heading straight to the handshake line, KU guard Melvin Council lingered on the court so he could mimic the Wabash Cannonball dance by swaying his body back and forth the same way K-State fans do in the student section.
That loss may have also been the beginning of the end for Jerome Tang. Fans truly began to sour on him after that result, and he was fired three weeks later.
But before he was dismissed, Tang vowed that type of ending “will never happen again” in the Sunflower Showdown basketball rivalry.
Tang won’t be around to help back up his words when K-State finishes the regular season with a game against Kansas at 1 p.m. on Saturday inside Allen Fieldhouse. But the Wildcats will be fired up all the same with interim head coach Matthew Driscoll.
“It definitely does (add motivation),” K-State guard Nate Johnson said. “Knowing more and more about what the rivalry is, especially how Coach Tang didn’t like how that ended or take it well. He emphasized to us how we need to be more enthused and to play with energy in this rivalry. We are pumped for it.”
K-State forward Khamari McGriff missed the game against Kansas earlier this season with an injury.
He is eager to be part of the rematch.
“I know how important the Sunflower Showdown is,” McGriff said. “I’m just excited to be out there with the guys. It’s hard to watch it from home and not be able to play and fight for your team. So I’m ready.”
Motivation may be easy to come by for K-State (12-18, 3-14 Big 12) as it looks to end the regular season with a bang.
But Kansas (12-9, 11-6 Big 12) has owned this rivalry at home. The Wildcats haven’t beaten the Jayhawks in Lawrence since 2006. Making things even more difficult is the fact that Saturday is the final home game of the regular season for KU. You have to go all the way back to 1984 to find the last time the Jayhawks lost on senior day.
The Jayhawks are favored by 16.5 points.
The Wildcats may need more than motivation.