K-State and Wichita State set to revive basketball rivalry with Kansas City game
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- K-State and Wichita State will play a neutral-court game next season in Kansas City.
- The game is expected to be played in early December at the T-Mobile Center.
- K-State leads the series 23-12 after 35 meetings, with play resuming next season.
Kansas State and Wichita State will renew their basketball rivalry after a one-year hiatus.
The Wildcats and the Shockers have agreed to play a neutral-court game next season at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, according to K-State basketball chief of staff Wes Long. The game is expected to be played in early December.
This matchup comes as a surprise.
When K-State and Wichita State concluded a four-game series at Koch Arena during the 2024-25 season, former K-State basketball coach Jerome Tang expressed little interest in continuing to schedule the Shockers when he was fresh off an 84-65 loss.
“It doesn’t do anything for us,” Tang said at the time.
“I know it’s important,” he continued. “Our fans enjoy it, and their fans enjoy it. But if it’s not going to help us improve as a program and put us in a better position, I don’t know that it’s something that I necessarily want to do.”
New KSU head coach Casey Alexander has other thoughts on the rivalry.
K-State defeated Wichita State in three straight seasons before the Shockers beat the Wildcats in 2024. They didn’t play last year.
Now that Casey Alexander is at K-State, the game is back on ... at least for next season.
Alexander has said that he wanted to play a non-conference game at T-Mobile Center in December and that the Wildcats were actively working to make that happen. He found an opponent in Wichita State.
K-State has played Wichita State 35 times. The Wildcats own a 23-12 advantage in the series. The schools used to play annually between 1986 and 2003. But the rivalry has been off and on ever since.
The Shockers are coming off a 24-win season under head coach Paul Mills. The Wildcats only won 12 games last season and are looking to bounce back with Alexander at the helm.