Kansas State Athletics enjoyed a successful week in all aspects, from games inside and outside of their control. Volleyball, men’s basketball, women’s basketball and football all combined for a 6-0 week.
Starting with the basketball doubleheader to open men’s and women’s seasons on Monday, Nov. 7, both teams jumped out to a 1-0 start to the year. The women’s team celebrated head coach Jeff Mittie’s 600th career win in a dominant 83-43 performance against Central Arkansas. The men’s team followed with an explosive win of their own — 93-59 over the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. This marked Jerome Tang’s first win as a head coach.
Next was K-State volleyball on Thursday, Nov. 10, against the West Virginia Mountaineers. They finished the night with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-16) sweep over the Mountaineers. The win came after a big 3-1 road upset of then-No. 25 Iowa State, and the Wildcats look to narrowly advance into the NCAA tournament after their four remaining conference games.
The following Friday, both basketball teams moved to 2-0 on the season. The women’s team completed a comeback in a 77-63 victory over the Wisconsin Badgers thanks to a strong second-half performance. The men’s team fought off a comeback by the California Golden Bears after the Wildcats struggled for most of the second half.
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On Nov. 4, K-State football fell to the Texas Longhorns in Manhattan, pushing Texas and K-State into second place, with Texas owning the tiebreaker. For K-State to regain sole possession of second place, two things needed to happen: a Wildcats win over Baylor and a Texas loss to TCU.
Both had positive results, with a 31-3 K-State victory over Baylor and a 17-10 TCU win over Texas on Saturday. K-State will now have the opportunity to play in the Big 12 Championship if they finish their season with wins against West Virginia and rival Kansas. The latter also lost on Saturday, again contributing to a rejoiceful weekend for Wildcat fans.
All four teams aim to continue their winning streaks as football and volleyball end their seasons and basketball starts up.
