K State

by Bryan Holmgren (MANHATTAN, Kan.) An online report posted by GoPowercat.com earlier this afternoon, announcing the hiring of TCU's Gary Patterson at Kansas State, has been retracted by the site's publisher. Shortly after the story broke K-State officials denied the claims, leading GoPowercat's withdrawal of the story. The site is now reporting an official denial from Patterson's agent who denies having any contact with Kansas State. Look for more on this story on kwch.

Jacob Pullen scored 19 points in a triumphant homecoming, and No. 5 Kansas State hung on to beat Loyola of Chicago 68-60 on Saturday. The win was the fifth straight for the Wildcats (9-1), whose only loss was to No. 1 Duke. In this one, they were out of sync in the first half and nearly blew a 14-point lead in the second in barely beating a team whose last win over a top-5 opponent came 26 years ago. It wasn't an easy day for Pullen, a senior from nearby Maywood, Ill. His mom works as a database manager at Loyola, and with a large group of family and friends watching, he shot just 5 of 17 in his only college appearance in Chicago.

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.

Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns Thursday night and the seventh-ranked Cornhuskers ended a 99-year rivalry with Kansas State in the same lopsided fashion it began, thrashing the slower, outmanned Wildcats 48-13. Martinez, the redshirt freshman who has rushed for 737 yards in his first five games for the Huskers (5-0), also threw a 79-yard touchdown pass to Kyler Reed for a 38-6 lead in the third quarter. His rushing total broke Jammal Lord's Nebraska record for a quarterback and his four rushing TDs tied the team quarterback mark.

K-State held on to outlast #22 Missouri's rally and get their sixth win in February, 80-70 in Bramlage Coliseum. K-State (20-9) opened the game on a 10-0 run to put Missouri on their heels. Senior Jacob Pullen started the game seven points shy of 2,000 points and eclipsed that after first three minutes, going 3-for-3 from three point range. He finished the game with 24 points. Curtis Kelly added 15. The Tigers (22-7) cut the lead to seven in the first half but K-State kept the pressure up and led 41-38 at halftime.

Eyewitness Sports has learned through Gopowercat.com that K-State running back and former Wichita-East High star Bryce Brown has left the Wildcat program. Head coach Bill Snyder would not go into detail about his exit during his press conference on Tuesday, only saying that Bryce is going through some emotional issues. According to gopowercat.com, Bryce left Manhattan the Sunday following the Miami victory and hasn't been seen on campus or at practice since. Bryce was the top recruit coming out of high school, originally committing to the University of Tennessee before transferring to K-State along with his brother, Arthur.

The Kansas State Wildcats upset the 9th ranked Baylor Bears in Waco Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats took the lead for good when Jordan Henriquez dunked the ball with 1:55 to go in the 2nd half. Both teams went scoreless the rest of the way. Rodney McGruder and Angel Rodriguez led K-State in scoring with 15 points a piece. Rodriguez also added six assists and four steals. Baylor's Perry Jones III was limited to four points on just 2 of 6 shooting. He fouled out of the game.

Nino Williams scored 16 points and No. 25 Kansas State pulled away late to defeat South Dakota 70-50 on Monday. Rodney McGruder added 15 for the Wildcats (11-2). Karim Rowson led the Coyotes (6-9) with 14 points. Down by 12 points at the break, South Dakota closed within five with under 8 minutes left before Kansas State took control.

Kansas State coach Bill Snyder has picked senior Carson Coffman over sophomore Collin Klein and junior Sammuel Lamur as the Wildcats starting quarterback. The information comes from the Omaha World-Herald. Snyder said Coffman has shown more consistency in fall camp. Coffman started last season, but lost the job after four games. The Wildcats start their season Saturday against UCLA. Kickoff is 2:30 from Manhattan.

Josh Wells has all the memorabilia you'd expect a K-State fan to have, and one thing every true K-State fan wishes they had. "Here they are - arrived FedEx the other day - the Pinstripe Bowl tickets. " Wells and his wife will be leaving at 6 AM Wednesday morning to witness the Wildcats play in the first ever bowl game at the new Yankee Stadium. "Got some great rates for flights and found some great seats and it's kind of our Christmas present to each other. " And unlike many unlucky travelers, Wells expects the weather to improve on the east coast just in time for his trip.

  Kansas State second baseman Ross Kivett picked up his second All-America designation of the year as he was honored by Baseball America Wednesday. Kivett, who was named to the third team, also obtained All-America accolades from Collegiate Baseball following the conclusion of the regular season. The 2013 Big 12 Player of the Year, Kivett is the fourth Wildcat since 2009 to earn multiple All-America honors in the last five years as he joins pitchers A.J. Morris (2009)

Kansas State Athletic Director John Currie has earned a national accolade as A.D of the year.  Here is the official press release from the university: Following a year that saw K-Sate reach unprecedented athletic, academic, administrative and fundraising success, John Currie was named an FBS Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year, the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced today. The honor, one of only four given to FBS athletic directors across the country, was revealed in this week's edition of SportsBusiness Journal in conjunction with NACDA's annual convention in Orlando, Fla. Currie will accept the award during a Saturday luncheon at the convention.

Small towns, big guys Not that I ever need reminders about what draws me to the Midwest, but if I ever do all I need is to pull into a small town.   I was up in Larned yesterday for a ceremony honoring Gene Keady and was struck by the hospitality of the locals, the pride that they have in their community and their willingness to welcome you into it.   Every Kansas community is unique, but each is defined by familiar core values and a belief system that big cities would do well to emulate.

Kansas State first baseman Shane Conlon was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 21 st round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft with the 624 th overall pick Saturday. Conlon is the third Wildcat selected in this year's draft, joining Jared King (fifth round; New York Mets) and Ross Kivett (10 th round; Cleveland), each of which were drafted for the first time in their careers. In Brad Hill's 10 seasons as the head coach at Kansas State, the Wildcats have produced 27 drafted picks that were undrafted out of high school.

Kansas State second baseman Ross Kivett, the 2013 Big 12 Player of the Year, was selected in the 10 th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft by the Cleveland Indians with the 291 st overall pick Friday. Coupled with Jared King's selection in the fifth round by the New York Mets earlier in the day, K-State has now had at least two players selected in the top-10 rounds in two of the last three years. In 2011, Jason King (Detroit) and Evan Marshall (Arizona)

Monday morning quaterback--- Talk about a small world - I ran into Chris Harper's parents yesterday down in Tulsa. They report that Chris is doing well in Seattle with the Seahawks. The former K-State receiver is back in the Pacific Northwest where he started his collegiate career at Oregon. The word is that all the receivers are marveling at the moves and quickness of recently acquired Percy Harvin, Harper will never break anyone's ankles - but he's a big receiver with deceptive speed who doesn't mind catching balls over the middle.

Kansas State won its first NCAA regional title in school history, scoring two runs on a pair of wild pitches in the same at-bat to edge Arkansas 4-3 on Sunday night. Arkansas pitcher Jalen Beeks threw a wild pitch on the second pitch of an attempted intentional walk to Kansas State's Jared King in the seventh inning, allowing Ross Kivett to score from third. Two pitches later, on ball four, Beeks' second wild pitch brought in Tanner Witt from third and gave the Wildcats (44-17) the lead.

Jared King made a key diving catch and hit a two-run homer as Kansas State beat Bryant 7-1 on Saturday in an NCAA regional game.     King's diving grab in center field with runners in scoring position to end the fifth inning preserved a 1-1 tie. In the top of the sixth, King hit a double with runners at the corners to push the Wildcats (43-17) ahead by two runs. King also scored on a passed ball to extend the lead to three, and K-State scored another run to lead by four after the inning.

It was a matchup of the best in the world, and Kansas State senior Erik Kynard put on a show along with two of his peers at the 2013 Prefontaine Classic to come away in second place while raising the bar on his own school record. Kynard sailed over the bar at 7 feet 8.75 inches without touching the bar on his second attempt at the height to finish second behind Mutaz Essa Barshim in the elite field.   Kynard and all four other Olympic medalists from last summer were among the nine jumpers competing on Saturday at Hayward Field, and the Wildcat along with Qatar's Barshim and Indiana senior Derek Drouin gave the fans an exciting competition to watch.

John Mullen went 3 for 4 with two RBIs as Bryant of the Northeast Conference defeated the SEC's Arkansas 4-1 in an NCAA regional Friday. Kevin Brown hit an RBI single to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth inning, and Mullen followed with a run-scoring triple. Brian Anderson singled to put the Bulldogs (45-16-1) ahead by three runs. Arkansas (37-21) scored its only run on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Jake Wise in the fifth inning, and was held to three hits by a group of three pitchers.