For the most part of 2017-2018, Kansas State overall was a team was average and not many people were expecting them to make any noise in the NCAA Tournament. Until UMBC pulled off the biggest upset possibly ever and Kansas State stunned the entire country by upsetting #5 Kentucky in the Sweet Sixteen. Unfortunately, K-State would lose to fellow Cinderella Loyola Chicago. An Elite Eight appearance came from out of nowhere, and with the experience this team has, 2018-2019 should be a good year for the Wildcats as well. Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Dean Wade returns as well as first team All-Big 12 selection, Barry Brown. With Ahmad Wainwright transferring, that might hurt the rotation a little bit, but when you have all 5 of your starters returning from last year’s team, you got to feel good about this season. Other starters in Xavier Sneed and Kamau Stokes return after 11.1 PPG and 9 PPG from a year ago. From an overall talent perspective, it’s not the best in the conference. But from an experience standpoint, it’s not only the best in the conference, but among the best in the entire nation.
Notable Non-Conference Games:
December, 1st- at. Marquette
December, 22nd- vs. Vanderbilt (Wildcat Classic)
January, 26th- at. Texas A&M (Big 12/SEC Challenge)
The first day of December is a road trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face Marquette. A team going 3 rounds deep into the NIT a year ago. In a hostile environment, don’t be surprised if this game is a lot closer than people may think it is. The next 2 notable games are against SEC schools in Bryce Drew led Vanderbilt and Texas A&M. A&M has been really good these last 3-4 years and the game being in College Station, that could be a dangerous game for the Wildcats.
Projected Starting Lineup:
PG- Barry Brown (Sr.)
SG- Kamau Stokes (Sr.)
SF: Xavier Sneed (Jr.)
PF: Dean Wade (Sr.)
C: Makol Mawien (Jr.)
Projected Finish: NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
