K State

After a Big 12 championship game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City Saturday, both Kansas' and Kansas State's basketball teams headed home, settled in and resumed a relatively normal schedule. Then, three days later, the rug was pulled out from under them. Pack up, prepare and take the drive back into the heart of Kansas City. Just when both teams get used to the feeling of no cameras or recorders in their faces, the NCAA tournament is an even bigger stage than that of the Big 12. So, now with more pomp and gusto, the cameras and recorders are right back in the faces of almost every player on the teams.

There is nothing like a 14 hour day to start a week on the road. We say that tongue in cheek but really, that's what we are looking at with the NCAA Tournament. Day one simply a grind and it's battle in the morning to set yourself up for a good spot for all the media trappings. One media entrance is available to get youir credentials and the room opens at 9 a.m., even though practices and media sessions don't begin until after lunch time. The reason for that is the seating for your gear.

Fans going to Kansas City to watch the games Friday may want to bundle up. At least an inch of snow fell there Thursday, and more is expected throughout the weekend. But this latest round of winter weather isn't cooling off the excitement for fans. K-State vs. La Salle - 2:00 p.m. on TruTV Kansas vs. Western Kentucky - 8:45 p.m. - on TNT A good crowd turned out for Kansas State's only open practice before Friday's game. The Thurlow's are huge wildcat fans, and this is their first time watching March Madness in person.

Are we guilty of "blatant K-U favoritism"? At least one viewer thinks so...and complained about it. The issue comes from our Saturday morning newscast...a few hours after K-U and K-State both won semifinal games in the Big 12 conference tournament. The viewer said we had a full report on K-U's game, but nothing on K-State. And he's right. The problem is that the morning sports report was taped the night before, right after our 10pm newscast because we don't have a sports person working mornings.

Kansas State men's basketball will make a return to Wichita next season when the Big 12 Conference champions face current No. 1 Gonzaga in the Wichita Wildcat Classic on Saturday, Dec. 21 at INTRUST Bank Arena. The game will rematch the two ranked teams which met earlier this season in the State Farm Battle in Seattle. Gonzaga won that game. "We are excited to play a game of this significance in a great venue like the INTRUST Bank Arena in a great area like Wichita,” said head coach Bruce Weber in a press release.

Bruce Weber said that the first time K-State played KU on the court, they didn't play with enough emotion. Weber said he didn't put enough stock into getting the guys mentally ready for a rivalry game, much like that of the Sunflower Showdown and that had a lot to do with their performance. Second time around, too much emotion and they were drained playing in Allen Fieldhouse. Hopefully, third time is a charm for the Wildcats because this game Saturday carries a Big 12 trophy with it. A win over KU at the Sprint Center for the Big 12 title will decide, once and for all this season, who is the champion of the Big 12. No more sharing, that's so regular season.

Welcome back Jordan Henriquez. The 7-foot senior was lost for a lot of the season and Wildcat fans were hoping for the big man they saw during March of 2012. He isn't to that level yet but he was darn near close in a 68-57 win over Oklahoma State in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Henriquez finished with 11 rebounds and eight points against the Cowboys. Most of that was muted by a follow up performance from Rodney McGruder that was better than the previous night. The senior shooting guard had 25 points, nine boards and guided the 'Cats over the 'Pokes.

Angel Rodriguez was pretty upset after the game. Maybe it was good frustration but he was pretty simply frustrated. "They lost to Baylor by 20, we beat Baylor. They lost to TCU, we beat them by almost 20 points," he said in the locker room taking off his shoes. "We never get credit, the media never gives us credit and that's OK. All we cared about was the trophy and we got it. " He was referring to the regular season title, not the Big 12 Championship trophy. That went to Kansas, the team that beat them three times this season, solidifying who takes the cake in the rivalry.

No one in the locker room wanted to harp on Oklahoma State too much. The K-State players wanted to talk about either Baylor or the Cowboys, it really didn't matter they said. Just another game, another time on the schedule, another chance to prove that the Wildcats are the best team in the Big 12. But when the prospect of playing Oklahoma State came up against playing Baylor in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament, Oklahoma State was on their minds. It's the game they wanted. Unlike KU and Iowa State, which goes off Friday before K-State tangles with Oklahoma State, these two teams split during the regular season and cost K-State an outright win of the Big 12 regular season title.