Wildcats

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.

A 16-6 run to begin the second half proved to be the difference as unbeaten Kansas State (6-0) was able to hold off a furious Wichita State (3-5) comeback over the game's final eight minutes to take the intrastate tilt, 48-43, Wednesday night in Charles Koch Arena. Jessica Diamond led the Shockers with 13 points on 5-of-14 shooting. Chynna Turner and Alex Harden each chipped in nine points for Wichita State as the Shockers shot 48 percent in the second half. Michelle Price added 10 rebounds including three offensive.

Kansas State will head to Arizona in early January to face No. 4 ranked Oregon in the 42nd annual Fiesta Bowl. Both teams finished the season 11-1. K-State finished No. 5 in the final Bowl Championship Series standings released late Sunday. The Wildcats won a share of the Big 12 Championship with Sunday's win over Texas. Oklahoma is the Big 12 co-champion but because the Wildcats beat the Sooners earlier in the season, they'll receive the Big 12's automatic BCS bid. Oregon has a Heisman Trophy contender in running back Kenjon Barner and one of the nation's most dynamic offenses.

Will Spradling connected on four free-throws in the final 24 seconds to seal Kansas State's 66-63 win over Delaware on Wednesday night. Spradling was one of three Wildcats with a team-high 12 points on the night.  Thomas Gibson and Angel Rodriguez were the other two 12-point scorers. Kansas State was onlye up by 2 at halftime but the Wildcats built up a double-digit lead mid-way through the second half.  With 5 minutes left to play the Fightin' Blue Hens' Devon Saddler was on fire.  In that final 5 minutes Saddler scored 12 of the Hens' final 14 points.

Eight home games, including three straight to open the season and five Big 12 matchups at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, highlight the Wildcats' 2013 football slate as the conference office announced the composite schedule for all 10 league schools today. K-State will open the new $75 million West Stadium Center and the 2013 campaign August 31 when North Dakota State, currently the No. 1-ranked team in FCS and the defending national champion, visits Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Louisiana then heads to Manhattan on September 7 before UMass, a new FBS member, wraps up the non-conference schedule with a September 14 matchup.

Kansas State has been selected to participate in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which is set for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 21, 22 and 24, 2013 at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, in the cosmopolitan Hato Rey district of San Juan. The field for the seventh annual event includes Auburn, Charlotte, Florida State, Georgetown, Long Beach State, Michigan and VCU.  Six of the eight schools advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2012, while five are either ranked or receiving votes in the current Associated Press/ USA Today Coaches polls.  The Wildcats could meet the Wolverines in the NIT Season Tip-Off next week in New York City.

Kansas may be considered a basketball state, but the new number one football team in the BCS standings is Kansas State. It's already been a big season for stores selling wildcat gear. And Monday's release of the new BCS rankings will only make it better. You see a lot of purple right now at places like Tad's Locker Room at 21st & Webb. And for some of the workers there, it's more than just business, it's personal. Sales associate Lauren Prill tells us, "As a K-St fan myself it's really exciting to get to work here and see the excitment on all the K-St fans' faces and then to come in and get to watch the game at the store every week and it's really exciting to see them go all the way and do really well this year",.

Angel Rodriguez scored 19 points and Will Spradling added 14 as Kansas State defeated Lamar 79-55 on Monday night. The game got out of hand early as the Wildcats (2-0) took a 43-15 lead into halftime after dominating the paint and capitalizing on 14 first-half turnovers by the Cardinals. Donley Minor scored 17 points and Rhon Mitchell 15 for Lamar (0-1). The Wildcats owned the boards at both ends in the first half, limiting Lamar to five offensive rebounds. The Cardinals had just four second-chance points and were outscored 18-6 in the paint during the first 20 minutes.

For the first time in school history, Kansas State is No. 1 in the BCS as the latest standings were unveiled Sunday night on ESPN. The Wildcats, who earned their highest-ever mark of No. 2 on October 28, are No. 1 in a college football poll for the first time since 1998 when they earned the school's first No. 1 ranking from Nov. 8-29 in the ESPN/ USA Today Coaches Poll. K-State, which was fourth in the initial BCS standings this season, moved to No. 3 on October 21 before sitting at No. 2 for the last two weeks.

Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein is back on the field. Klein, one of the top Heisman Trophy candidates, started Saturday night for the third-ranked Wildcats at TCU. Klein sustained an apparent head injury in the third quarter of last Saturday's 44-30 victory against Oklahoma State. He didn't take another snap after scoring his 50th career rushing touchdown. Wildcats coach Bill Snyder had said little about Klein's situation all week, other than expressing hope that the senior quarterback would play.