Bramlage Coliseum

Rodney McGruder scored 17 points, Thomas Gipson had 13 points and six rebounds and No. 25 Kansas State struggled to a 52-44 victory over Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday night. Playing without guards Angel Rodriguez and Martavious Irving due to injuries, the Wildcats (10-2) shot just 32 percent from the field and went 2 of 10 from beyond the arc in their first game since beating then-No. 8 Florida on a neutral floor. They certainly looked nothing like the team that beat the Gators last weekend.

Kansas State will open its 2011-12 season this Friday night at home against Charleston Southern.  The Wildcats won their exhibition matchup against Fort Hays State 90-60 this past Sunday. Frank Martin's team had 5 players in double-figures scoring with freshamn Angel Rodriguez leading the way with 15 points.  Rodriguez was a perfect 3-3 from the three point line while Will Spradling was 2-5 from beyond the arc. The Buccaneers and Wildcats tip off at 7:10 pm this Friday night at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State announced today several options for men's basketball ticket-holders to ensure that every seat in Bramlage Coliseum is filled for the Wildcats' Big 12 Conference home opener against Missouri on January 7. With the Wildcat football team playing in the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl on January 6, men's basketball season ticket holders who plan on attending the bowl game and are unable to return to Manhattan can donate their basketball tickets...

On the eve of game No. 272 between Kansas and Kansas State, fans of both bitter rivals were of one mind. Everybody wanted the Jayhawks to move up Monday afternoon from No. 2 to No. 1. Prestige, bragging rights and an exciting sense that this year's team is headed for big things were at stake for the Jayhawks (24-1, 9-1 Big 12). For the troubled Wildcats (16-9, 4-6), a No. 1 ranking for Kansas when the two tip off at 8:05 p.m. Monday night in Bramlage Coliseum would provide a delicious ambush opportunity.

More than 2,000 people came to pay their respects to a Kansas family killed in a place crash.  Ron and Becky Bramlage and their four children died June 7th.  Their plane crashed in Florida on their way home from the Bahamas. Outside of the funeral in Junciton City, those who knew the family remembered them for their kindness and contributions to their community.  Becky served on the Geary County School Board.  The family also had strong ties to K-State University.  Ron's grandfather was the donor who helped build the Bramlage Coliseum.

#3 Kansas survived a late rally from #11 K-State and snuck out of Bramlage Coliseum with a 59-55 in the Sunflower Showdown. Travis Releford led the way for KU with 12 points and Jeff Withey and Ben McLemore combined for 22 against K-State. Shane Southwell came alive in the second half, finishing with 19 points for K-State. Rodney McGruder scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half on a cold shooting night for the Wildcats. Inside one minute to play, K-State got within three points but struggled at the foul line and could get no closer.

The Kansas State women's basketball team defeated Illinois State 57-48 on Monday night to advance in the Women's N.I.T.  Here is the official release from the university athletic department:   Brittany Chambers scored a game-high 28 points as Kansas State ran past Illinois State, 57-48, in the second round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament on Monday night in Bramlage Coliseum. Following her 42 points on Thursday night, Chambers has now scored more points in back-to-back games than any player in program history.

Brittany Chambers   scored a game-high 21 points to lead Kansas State past Illinois, 66-48, in the quarterfinals of the Women's Invitational Tournament Saturday afternoon in Bramlage Coliseum. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 19-17 on the year and will face Utah in the semifinals of the WNIT on Wednesday night at home.   Chambers was joined in double figures by junior   Chantay Caron , who scored a career-high 19 points, and sophomore   Haley Texada   chipped in 16 points.

Brittany Chambers   scored a game-high 21 points to lead Kansas State past Illinois, 66-48, in the quarterfinals of the Women's Invitational Tournament Saturday afternoon in Bramlage Coliseum. With the win, the Wildcats improve to 19-17 on the year and will face Utah in the semifinals of the WNIT on Wednesday night at home.   Chambers was joined in double figures by junior   Chantay Caron , who scored a career-high 19 points, and sophomore   Haley Texada   chipped in 16 points.

The Kansas State women's basketball team defeated Illinois State 57-48 on Monday night to advance in the Women's N.I.T.  Here is the official release from the university athletic department:   Brittany Chambers scored a game-high 28 points as Kansas State ran past Illinois State, 57-48, in the second round of the Women's National Invitational Tournament on Monday night in Bramlage Coliseum. Following her 42 points on Thursday night, Chambers has now scored more points in back-to-back games than any player in program history.

K-State looked like an elite team Thursday night against Texas. So much so that it prompted Longhorn head coach Rick Barnes to mention it after the game. "They are really good," Barnes said. "You can't beat a team that's not going to beat themselves. " IN a 66-49 victor, K-State was nothing exceptional but they were very good, advancing in the Big 12 Tournament. They will play the winner of the Oklahoma State/Baylor game. Rodney McGruder led the way with 24 points, helping K-State reach the semifinal of the tournament for the first time in two year.

It wasn't as rousing of a send off as the K-State seniors would have liked but a win is a win. Rodney McGruder dropped in 13 points and played nearly every minute in a 79-68 win over TCU on senior night for the Wildcats. McGruder joined Jordan Henriquez and Martavious Irving seeing their final game at Bramlage Coliseum. Irving scored 15 points, along with Shane Southwell during a great shooting night at home, dropping in 54 percent of their shots. Henriquez was the only senior not to score.

While Kansas is battling it out with Iowa State to keep it's grasp on first place in the Big 12, it looks like K-State will be having an easier time with Texas Tech. Riding an eight game losing skid, the Red Raiders come to Manhattan for a game with redhot K-State, Monday night. Tip off set for 6 p.m. Iowa State or Texas Tech? Who do you think will have the easier game Monday night? K-State (22-5) whipped Texas Saturday night in Austin for it's third straight win. The Wildcats remain in a tie for first place in the Big 12 standings with KU. The Wildcats last won a regular season conference title in 1976-77 in the Big 8. Rodney McGruder scored 20 points and Angel Rodriguez dropped in 16 against the 'Horns.

With just 5 games remaining on their Big 12 schedule the Kansas State Wildcats have just one thing on their minds:  win out. If they are able to do that the 'Cats have a chance to be outright or co-big 12 champions. But controlling your own destiny is a lot easier than it sounds with what Kansas State has remaining in front of them.  This Saturday the 'Cats will travel to Austin to take on Texas.  The Wildcats easily handled the Longhorns inside Bramlage, 83-57, but that was without Myck Kabongo in the 'Horns lineup.

Do you ever wonder if Kansas head basketball coach Bill Self was angry at his team for losing to Oklahoma State because it was a loss, or because his alma mater topped his Jayhawks in Lawrence? What was part of a seven game win streak for the Cowboys was also the start of an unprecedented three-game losing streak for the Jayhawks. KU then lost to TCU and Oklahoma, leaving fans wondering if the team had lost their edge, or if they ever had one at all. Since that game on February, 2nd - KU has clawed back to the Top 10 with two dominant wins over K-State and Texas, both in Lawrence.

Did you know that all of the sky is NOT falling for Kansas basketball teams? ON the heels of Wichita State losing three in a row and Kansas' unbelievable loss to bottomfeeder TCU, #13 K-State has won three straight heading to their home game with Iowa State, Saturday at 5 p.m. After squeaking past Oklahoma last Saturday by only two points, they muscled up on Texas Tech on the road boosting them to this weekend's tilt. The Wildcats (17-4) lost to the Cyclones last time around but that was in Ames at the Hilton Coliseum, a place that isn't so easy to even compete, let alone win. The same could be said for Bramlage Coliseum but with Bruce Weber running the show and not Frank Martin and his bombastic personality on the bench, the attitude at the Octagon of Doom may not be the same.

She stood in the back of the interview room, wearing a bright yellow coat over a purple Kansas State sweatshirt, unable to comprehend much of what her son was saying. She couldn't help but smile anyway. In the universal language of basketball, Jacqueline Tricoche still understood exactly what her son, Angel Rodriguez, had just done for the Wildcats. His 11 points and eight assists on Wednesday night in a blowout win over Texas had pushed them into a tie for second in the Big 12, and that's why the sophomore guard was fielding question after question under blazing spotlights.

For What it's Worth on this January 23rd --- The more things change, the more they stay the same. KU went on the road and beat K-State last night in an offensively challenged affair ---or was it defensively charged? Still rolling--- Kansas won for the 16th straight time, despite scoring a season-low 59 points. The 'Hawks haven't scored more than 64 points in its last four starts, but are 4-0 in those games. Why? Because they are delightfully stingy. In 12 of its 18 games this year KU has held its opponents under 60 points.