Kansas State Wildcats – Syndication Server

Pair of Big 12 clashes are must-see TV on Saturday

These are the best games to check out in the Big 12 on Saturday.

The Big 12 is one of the deepest basketball conferences in the country with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.

It certainly makes for some interesting basketball in conference play. You can add that Texas, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech are all worthy of being ranked as well. Welcome to the murderer’s row of basketball.

With the college football season finished, eyes are coming back to the hardwood just in time for the run to March. On Saturday, there are plenty of games in the Big 12 to keep an eye on but here are the best ones.

No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks

NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks are both coming off disappointing losses for different reasons. The TCU Horned Frogs were able to take down OU thanks to the Sooners’ inability to score consistently in an 80-71 loss. Oklahoma trailed 78-61 with under two minutes to go but only managed a 10-2 run to cut the lead to nine before the final buzzer. On the other hand, Kansas built a nice first half lead at 35-19 with under four minutes to go. The Knights outscored the Jayhawks 46-25 over the next 24 minutes of basketball.

Who will get off the snide and avoid back-to-back losses just three games into Big 12 play? Tune in for the game at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.

No. 2 Houston Cougars at TCU Horned Frogs

The aforementioned TCU Horned Frogs will host the No. 2 team in the country in the early evening hours. The Houston Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season to a stingy Iowa State squad. The Cougars have averaged 75.3 points per game but were held to 22 points under that number by the Cyclones’ defense. They forced Houston to turn the ball over 16 times in that game. On the other side, you have a TCU squad that is coming off the upset victory of No. 3 Kansas, can they keep it going against No. 2 Houston? The plan should be the same as the Oklahoma matchup, keep your turnovers to a minimum while forcing the Cougs into making mistakes.

Does TCU get another huge win or does Houston rebound? Tune into that game at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Bonus Game: Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Tech Red Raiders

Olivia Raymond/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Jerome Tang (Kansas State) and Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) were longtime assistants for Scott Drew at Baylor, now they are adversaries. On Saturday, Texas Tech looks to extend their longest winning streak in the conference to 9 games. They are 2-0 in conference play after knocking off Texas and Oklahoma State. Kansas State is also 2-0 after wins over UCF and West Virginia.

Which team stays unbeaten in Big 12 play? Tune in at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2

Kansas State quarterback Will Howard has entered transfer portal

The Wildcats quarterback threw for 48 touchdowns and ran for 19 more in his four years, helping win a Big 12 title last year.

Kansas State quarterback Will Howard has entered the transfer portal as a grad transfer to find a new home in 2024, according to multiple reports on Monday.

Howard saw game action in each of the past four years for the Wildcats, helping deliver them a Big 12 conference title in 2022. Howard has 48 career touchdown passes, including a career-high 24 this season. The senior also reached personal-best marks in completion percentage (61.3%) and passing yards (2,643) in 2023 as the Wildcats wound up with an 8-4 record.

The 6-foot-5, 240-pound Pennsylvania native is also a threat with his legs. He compiled 934 yards and 19 touchdowns on the ground across his four seasons with the Wildcats. He set a new career high with nine rushing touchdowns this season, tying his 2020 total with 364 rushing yards.

Howard, a former three-star prospect, will be one of the most sought-after names in the transfer portal.

REPORT: Kansas State finalizing contract extension with head basketball coach Jerome Tang

Kansas State is working on an extension with head basketball coach Jerome Tang according to reports.

According to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Kansas State is finalizing a contract extension. The terms of the deal are currently unknown.

The 56-year-old Tang is entering his second year at Kansas State after leading the program to the Elite Eight in his first year with the program. He also won the Naismith College Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year awards for his coaching performance.

After earning a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats defeated Montana State, Kentucky, and Michigan State to earn a trip to the Elite Eight before falling to Florida Atlantic 79-76.

The original deal for Tang when he signed on to lead the program in March of 2022 was a six-year deal worth $14.1 million.

Before becoming the head coach at Kansas State, Tang was an assistant coach at Baylor from 2003 through 2022. He also coached high school basketball in Texas from 1993 through 2003.

The Wildcats’ 26-10 record this past season was their first 20+ win season since the 2019-19 season when they went 25-9.

This upcoming season, the Wildcats are once again expected to be one of the better teams in the Big 12 but will have to replace essential pieces in Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson.

The Wildcats 2023-2024 season is set to tipoff on November 6 against the USC Trojans as part of the Hall of Fame Series in Las Vegas.

Kansas State, Chris Klieman agree to eight-year extension

Kansas State and head coach Chris Klieman have agreed to an extension that will keep him in “The Little Apple” through 2030.

As reported last week by ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Kansas State and head football coach Chris Klieman have agreed to an eight-year extension. The two sides announced the contract extension on Monday.

The new extension for Klieman will keep the former FCS national championship coach in Manhattan through the 2030 season. Klieman will receive a $5.5 million salary for each of the eight years, for a total contract value of $44 million.

Chris has done an unbelievable job building a program in four years that not only has won a Big 12 Championship but even more importantly, one that players have taken great pride in and helped sustain a championship culture,” Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor said in a press release. “He is a tremendous fit for K-State and Manhattan, and we want to continue to ride the momentum that he and his staff have fostered. We are excited that Chris will be the leader of our football program for many years to come.”

Klieman released his own statement in the release, saying, “What we have been able to accomplish in our first four years here is due to the culture that our players and staff have been able to create. I am excited to continue to lead this football program and put a product on the field each year that can compete at the highest level.” He also expressed his appreciation for the Kansas State administration and their support of the program.

Klieman had just finished up his fourth season with the Wildcats where he led them to a 10-4 record and a Big 12 Championship. Through his first four seasons with the Wildcats, he is 30-20 and has posted three eight-plus win seasons.

Prior to coming to Manhattan, Klieman was 69-6 overall at North Dakota State while leading the Bison to four NCAA championships.

LSU and Kansas State men’s basketball schedules home-and-home series

LSU and Kansas State are set to meet each of the next two seasons according to reports.

The LSU Tigers and [autotag]Kansas State Wildcats[/autotag] men’s basketball programs have scheduled a home-and-home series for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 according to college basketball insider Jon Rothstein.

The home-and-home series will begin this upcoming season on December 9th as the Tigers will host the Wildcats in Baton Rouge. LSU will then return the favor during the 2024-2025 season by traveling to Manhattan.

The LSU Tigers are currently coming out of their first season under head coach Matt McMahon. It wasn’t an ideal one for the Tigers went just 14-19 overall including 2-16 in SEC play. After an 11-1 start, the Tigers would go just 3-18 over the remainder of the season. After making each of the last three NCAA Tournaments (not counting the 2020 NCAA Tournament), the Tigers missed the tournament for the first time since 2018.

Kansas State, on the other hand, was one of the best team’s in the Big 12, going 26-10 overall including 11-7 in Big 12 play. Under head coach Jerome Tang, the Wildcats would end up being a No. 3 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament where they would make a run to the Elite 8. It was their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019.

This season’s upcoming matchup will be the second time the two programs have met since 1949. They also met this past season on Nov. 23, 2022, a 61-59 win for Kansas State to take home the Cayman Islands Classic Title.

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REPORT: Kansas State, Chris Klieman working on new contract

Kansas State is working towards an extension with head coach Chris Klieman.

Kansas State and head coach Chris Kleiman are working towards a new contract according to ESPN college football reporter Pete Thamel.

Thamel also reports that the deal is expected to extend Chris Klieman through the 2030 season and will be for a total of $44 million, an average of $5.5 million per season.

Kleiman is set to enter his fifth year in Manhattan and is coming off his best season yet with the Wildcats leading them to a 10-4 record and a Big 12 Championship.

Through his first four seasons, Kleiman is 30-20 and has posted three seasons of eight wins or more. The Wildcats have been ranked in each of his four seasons and have reached as high as No. 11 in the AP Poll.

The former North Dakota State head coach has carried over much of the success that legendary Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder had during his last stint with the program. From 2009 through 2019, Snyder posted six seasons of eight wins or more and only had two losing seasons.

The success of Kleiman shouldn’t come as a surprise. Prior to his time with the Wildcats, Klieman led the North Dakota State Bison to four NCAA championships at the FCS level over five seasons. During his five years with North Dakota State, he went 69-6 overall and 36-4 in Missouri Valley Football Conference play.

Post spring composite rankings have Georgia, Michigan at the top

Check out where your favorite team ranks in the composite spring rankings.

Heading into the 2023 college football season, most of the headlines will involve the Big Ten and SEC conferences. In our composite rankings, those two conferences make up the top five. Overall, the Pac-12 had the second most teams appear.

Here is the full breakdown of teams by conference:

SEC	8
Pac-12	6
Big Ten	5
Big 12	5
ACC	3
G5/Independents	4

The four polls that make up the post-spring football composite rankings:

Using the four polls we had ties at the No. 3, No. 12, No. 21, No. 27, and No. 30 spots among the teams listed. The full post-spring rankings are listed below, ties listed in alphabetical order.

Power Ranking the remaining teams in the Sweet 16

16 teams remain in this year’s NCAA Tournament but who has looked the best so far?

The NCAA Men’s Tournament is officially moving into the second week and the field has narrowed from 68 to just 16. It’s one of the more diverse Sweet 16 teams in recent memory.

Just two No. 1 seeds remain in Alabama and Houston, coincidentally, the top two seeds in the tournament. Beyond the Crimson Tide and Cougars, seven of the remaining teams are four seeds or higher in Texas, UCLA, Xavier, Gonzaga, Kansas State, and UConn. Then you have tournament long shots in Arkansas, Creighton, FAU, Michigan State, and Princeton.

A few things are clear after the opening weekend about the 16 teams remaining but plenty still remains unclear as well. You can view some of the biggest takeaways from the first two rounds in our article from earlier on Monday.

That being said, the one thing that for certain is that the parity in this year’s tournament is quite strong. While Alabama looks the part of a tournament favorite, beyond the Crimson Tide, there are strong arguments for five or six other programs to potentially come out on top next month in Houston. That makes it quite hard to power rank the 16 teams remaining heading into week two. That being said, we gave it a go and did just that.

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College Football: The 10 biggest rematches from last year

Which game are you looking forward to in 2023?

It won’t be long before college football takes center stage once again. Spring practices will get ramped up in March as we start to get a better idea of some of the pressing storylines in college football.

Quarterback battles, coordinator changes, the transfer portal, and new head coaches will provide plenty of intrigue over the next several months. There were plenty of surprises last season with new coaches making an immediate impact and a former national power returning to the national scene. What do Mike Norvell and the Seminoles have in store for an encore?

Looking back at the 2022 season, there were plenty of thrilling moments and bitter rivalry games. I put together my list of the 10 most-anticipated rematches of the 2022 season.