Kansas State Basketball

Tonight the No. 3-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will travel to Bramlage Coliseum to take on the surging No. 11 Kansas State Wildcats. 

This will be first-year head coach Bruce Weber’s introduction to the Sunflower Showdown.

Kansas State started off the season with losses to Michigan and Gonzaga, both currently ranked in the Top Ten, but went to new heights as a basketball team when they upset No. 8 Florida 67-61 in Kansas City on December 22.

The Wildcats are currently on an eight-game winning streak because of the leadership and strong play from senior guard Rodney McGruder. They could present the Jayhawks with problems tonight. 

Kansas has been playing close games with teams that are clearly not as talented.

The Jayhawks struggled to win at home against Temple on January 6, only winning 69-62. They again struggled at home on January 9 against Iowa State, when they were forced to hit a buzzer-beater to tie the game at the end of regulation. The Jayhawks defeated Iowa State 97-89 in overtime. On January 19, Kansas also struggled to take down a Texas team that is currently 0-5 in Big 12 play. 

The energy in the Coliseum will be electric tonight and should give the WIldcats a significant home-court advantage.

McGruder has been leading this Wildcat team with 15.5 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Angel Rodriguez is currently averaging 9.2 points and 4.6 assists per game. Then there is junior guard Will Spradling, who is always a threat because of his three-point shooting. 

There are two aspects that need be looked at when talking about this Kansas State Wildcat team.

1. Kansas State is solid defensively and good on the boards. Defensively, this is key, because it will give Kansas center Jeff Withey fewer second attempts down low. A specific player who may be a threat to Withey  inside could be senior forward Jordan Henriquez, who will come off the bench.  
2. Another key for the Wildcat defense will be to shut down standout freshman guard Ben McLemore, who has been averaging an astounding 16.4 points per game. 

Kansas State prides itself on spreading the ball around. The Wildcats are averaging 16.1 assists per game. The Wildcats will need to make every possession count and are take quality shots. 

Just because Kansas has been struggling does not mean it is not a good team. The Jayhawks are No. 3 in the nation right now and find ways to win games in crunch time.

We will see if Kansas State can knock off Kansas for the first time in two years. 

Catch Kansas (16-1) at Kansas State (15-2) Tuesday night at 8 ET on ESPN3.

Bruce Weber's intense rivalry with Bill Self just got a bit more interesting.

Per ESPN, Kansas State has hired Weber to be their next men's basketball coach.

This move gives Weber the opportunity to face Self at least twice a year when the Kansas Jayhawks will square off against the Kansas State Wildcats.

Weber has got to love this opportunity.

Many Illinois fans are convinced that the only reason he had any success for his first four years was due to the incredible job Self—the head coach at Illinois before Weber—had done in recruiting elite talent to the school. 

Per the bostonherald.com, at one point, Weber got so frustrated by the stigma that he dressed up all in black, entered the locker room and declared he was "going to throw a funeral. It’s the end of Bill Self."

In Weber's fifth year in charge at Illinois—the first year all of Self's recruits were completely out of the picture—the program faced it's first losing season in years, adding to the general notion that he wasn't any good without Self's players.

He has his chance now to prove once and for all that he can compete with Self.

The two of them will likely be recruiting many of the same players, which should make for some interesting battles. In fact, you could argue that the two coaches will be doing more against one another during the offseason than during the season.

Weber inherits a young team with many returning players.

Per CBS Sports, Rodney McGruder will be back for his senior year for the Wildcats, which is a boon for Weber. 

They have a tall order in front of them to rise up to the level of Kansas, and if Weber does manage to raise the program up to those heights, nobody will be able to criticize him any longer.

This is a battle of wits and charisma that I'm looking forward to watching for the next few years. We'll see if Weber can do enough to make his mark at Kansas State.

Follow @JesseReed78

Kansas State head basketball coach Frank Martin has made the decision to leave Kansas State University and accept head coaching duties at the University of South Carolina, according to a USC press release.

Many have been puzzled by this move, as South Carolina's basketball program has had far less success in recent years than Kansas State.

And Frank Martin had become a hero in Manhattan for turning around the program by leading K-State to its first Elite Eight appearance since 1988.

"This is the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life," Martin said. "Because when I had to speak to Rodney McGruder, and Jordan Henriquez, and those guys, and tell them that I was making this decision, it was horrible, because I was making a selfish decision."

The Kansas State fan base seemed surprised and confused after the announcement that their head coach was leaving, because K-State was the school where Martin built a solid track record and became respected as a quality basketball coach.

Martin received his first head coaching job at Kansas State and had great success as a Wildcat. His teams never finished worse than fifth in the Big 12 Conference.

"That's a great place," said Martin. "Great people, great fans, and it's the place that gave me my first opportunity ever."

The reasons for Martin's departure have been widely speculated. But most, including myself, have come to the conclusion that Frank Martin and Kansas State AD John Currie had an unavoidable internal disagreement, perhaps fueled by their clashing personalities.

Martin pointed to how much he liked the Athletic Director at South Carolina, Eric Hyman, and his view on the basketball program.

"I couldn't get past the enthusiasm, the desire, that Eric Hyman has for this basketball program to be good again." Martin said. "I get invigorated by a challenge, and getting this basketball program back to where it belongs was just something that I embraced from the first second."

Another likely hitch-up with Kansas State could be that Frank Martin was simply dissatisfied with his paycheck. He only made a base salary of about $1.4 million during his time at Kansas State—an amount far less than other big-time college basketball coaches—who receive a salary from around $2 million to the $3.5 million that Billy Donovan earns at Florida.

The Boston Herald reported that South Carolina will be paying out a base salary of close to $2 million per year, which would put Martin on the same level as most elite college coaches. 

South Carolina finished this year 10-21 overall, and plays in the SEC East.

Before the Kansas State Wildcats and Syracuse Orange locked horns for their NCAA tournament game, Wildcats forward Jamar Samules was suspended for the game for a rules violation, a game in which the Wildcats lost

In an article by CBSSports.com's Jeff Goodman, it was reported that Samuels was suspended by the school for accepting a $200 wire transfer from his old summer league coach Curtis Malone.

The reason for this wire transfer is so simple and meaningful that the school really should have at least asked about what it was for before they immediately suspended Samuels.

As Goodman states in his article:

"Curtis Malone told CBSSports.com that he was unaware of the rule that he wasn't able to give money to one of his former players. If I knew it and wanted to hide it, I would have done it differently," Malone told CBSSports.com. "The kid's family doesn't have anything and he called me for money to eat."

Really?  Samuels got suspended because he didn't have enough money to eat so he called the closest person in his life he thought could help him out?

This is something that saddens and infuriates me.

If the NCAA (Kansas State suspended him because of feared repercussions from the NCAA) is so worried about players accepting money from people, regulate it to a point, don't just assume everything is "a work."  By work, I mean that it is not just a prospective agent trying to woo a potential client. 

It's no secret that there are a number of highly recruited college athletes who come from troubled home lives.  There are many whose families have nothing and by achieving a college scholarship, it is the only way for their children to be able to attend college. 

It is also the hope of those athletes to one day be able to achieve the goal of making it to the pros so they can make some money and send it back to their families, some of whom had never been able to gain monetary growth in their lives.

Samules and the Wildcats achieved their ultimate goal of getting into the NCAA tournament.  As we all know, going on the road, for anything, does not come cheap.  And while the NCAA does front some money towards the teams that enter their competitions, teams and their players do have to pay their own way as well. 

Knowing he was about to go on a long road trip, Samules, presumably, saw he had no money to survive on the road for about a week and asked for some help from one of the people closest in his life, Malone.

Not only is it ridiculous to think that asking for money to eat on the road a violation, but the suddenness of the school's decision to suspend him is something that stands out on it's own.

The fact that a player can be suspended for accepting money to eat is asinine. 

Sure, some college athletes get full rides to play sports for a school, but that does not cover everything.  There are things such as food, bill payments, clothing and other essentials to life that a scholarship does not cover. 

Pit that with someone who comes from a home life that does not include any leeway for money from their family, and getting a job being completely out of the question, what's a guy to do?

People may be in trouble financially and sometimes asking family is out of the question.  Knowing that, asking a friend for help would seem to be the next step.

That's what Samuels did, and that's what Samuels got suspended for. 

I know all the rules about accepting improper benefits and such from outside sources for college athletes and how some do it for their own selfish reasons.  Yet to think that a student athlete could quite possibly be forced to go hungry because he can't ask for help in fear of breaking NCAA rules is truly a disappointment. 

After something like this coming to light, maybe paying college athletes might not be the worst thing in the world.

Kansas State forward Jamar Samuels won't play against No. 1 seed Syracuse in Saturday's third round game because of eligibility reasons, reports the Post Standard.

Just got a release: K-State officials announce that Jamar Samuels is ineligible for today's game vs. Syracuse. Eligibility concerns. MW

— Syracuse Basketball (@PSBasketball) March 17, 2012

With Syracuse center Fab Melo was ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament earlier this week, both teams have lost two of their best rebounders and defensive players.

What it Means for the Wildcats

Kansas State's loss of Samuels is a massive one. He is the team's second leading scorer and leading rebounder. His defense is also solid, which means his absence will affect the No. 8 seed Wildcat's at both ends of the floor.

With Syracuse's ability to rebound well hurt by Melo's absence, beating the Orange on the boards was going to be a key part of the Wildcats' chances for an upset. Without Samuels, this challenge has become a lot harder.

Even though Samuels' loss will hurt the Wildcats, they were able to defeat No. 9 seed Southern Miss 70-64 in a game where Samuels scored just one point and committed three fouls.

They can win without him, but it will be a difficult task for the Wildcats.

What it Means for Syracuse

Syracuse can breathe a little easier because now the Wildcats don't have their best rebounder, which will allow the Orange big men to grab defensive boards and help ignite the fast break.

The Orange only won the rebounding battle over No. 16 UNC-Asheville by two, 33-31, in their narrow second round victory. They must box out better and be more aggressive to win the battle of the boards against Kansas State.

Syracuse forwards Rakeem Christmas and Kris Joseph must step up and defend well to help the Orange advance past a short handed Kansas State squad and earn a berth into the Sweet 16.

Follow @NicholasGoss35

Be advised when filling out the East Region of your NCAA tournament bracket this year, because the Kansas State Wildcats could absolutely blow it up.

The East Region is certainly there to be had for quite a few teams. Syracuse is the top seed with Ohio State at No. 2.

But when you look up and down the region, there are plenty of chances to see a lower-seeded team make a run. The high seeds like Wisconsin, Florida State and Vanderbilt don't inspire a lot of confidence.

If there's going to be one region that is completely upside down, it's the East.

And Kansas State is going to be the main reason.

The Wildcats finished 21-10 (10-8) on the year, good enough for the No. 8 seed. They'll face off with the No. 9 Southern Miss Golden Eagles on March 15.

Despite finishing fifth in the Big 12, Kansas State had a pretty good season. They have two victories over Missouri to their credit, and were able to beat Baylor in Waco.

Overall, they had a 4-4 record against AP top-25 competition, which was good for third in the conference. The Wildcats are not a team to sleep on.

Their second-round matchup, Southern Miss, could give them a difficult time, but K-State should be able to get through.

The Golden Eagles didn't face a single top-25 opponent all year and managed only a 7-6 record away from home.

After that, things could get interesting.

Barring something even beyond a miracle, Kansas State would face off with 31-2 Syracuse. The Orange are going to be many people's pick for the Final Four, but they may not even get past the third round.

Syracuse has gone through one heck of a season in the Big East. As tough as that conference is, finishing with only two losses is quite an accomplishment.

But you have to wonder what the cost could be. The Orange might have spent everything they had in reaching this point.

They might be physically and mentally exhausted. That is sure how Louisville and Cincinnati looked in the Big East championship.

Kansas State were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament, which will have been a week before the team's second-round game with Southern Miss.

The Wildcats have plenty of time to rest and get ready for the tournament, whereas the Orange will have had one fewer day off. Plus, their road to this point has been much less difficult than Syracuse's.

Also, Kansas State coach Frank Martin has proven that he can take the Wildcats deep into the tournament. They're just two years removed from reaching the Elite Eight, which is impressive with a school like K-State.

So you can mark it down right now: Kansas State is going to upset the Syracuse Orange, and from there anything can happen for the Wildcats.