'It's good for our state': Kansas State and Wichita State eager to renew basketball rivalry

WICHITA — It has been 18 years since Kansas State and Wichita State last squared off in basketball.

K-State coach Bruce Weber and WSU counterpart Isaac Brown agree that it was high time to bring back an all-but-forgotten in-state rivalry last contested in December 2003.

"It's good for college basketball (and) it's good for our state," said Weber, whose Wildcats bring a 4-2 record to Sunday's 5 p.m. game with Wichita State (6-1) at Intrust Bank Arena, still searching for a quality win. "Obviously when you lose it's not a good situation, but you've got to play tough games and that's how you get better as a team and a program.

"It's a good game for us right now. We'll see where we are."

The Wildcats found that they still had some work to do after losing on consecutive nights to nationally-ranked Arkansas and Illinois on Nov. 22-23 in Kansas City. They did bounced back to hammer North Dakota, 84-42, and Albany, 71-43, last week at home.

Wichita State, on the other hand, has proven itself on the road in the past two weeks.

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The Shockers fell in overtime against Arizona on Nov. 19 and beat UNLV the following night at the Roman Main Event in Las Vegas, then picked up true road victories against Missouri and Oklahoma State.

But Brown, whose Shockers rallied to beat Oklahoma State, 60-51, Wednesday in Stillwater, Oklahoma, welcomes the challenge of facing another Big 12 opponent in Wichita.

"I think it's exciting for everyone, just in the state of Kansas, having two good teams playing against each other," said Brown, who is in his second season as head coach after serving the previous six years as an assistant to Gregg Marshall. "I'm so excited about this rivalry.

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"First time playing those guys in my eight years here at Wichita State. My players are really excited to be playing down at Intrust Bank Arena."

While the Shockers look to keep their momentum going, K-State has more to prove. Despite the blowout victories in the last week, the Wildcats are still smarting from the Kansas City losses in the Hall of Fame Classic.

"It's two big games we've got coming up," K-State guard Nijel Pack said after the Albany game. "As (Weber) said, we've got another mini-tournament is what he said in the locker room.

"Just a chance for us to redeem ourselves and get that bad taste out of our mouths. We came back with the 2-0 run right here and we're looking to go to Wichita to pick up another one."

The Wildcats follow the WSU game with another test Wednesday, when they play host to Marquette as part of the annual Big East/Big 12 Battle series.

Weber said he first contacted Wichita State about playing a charity game last year, but that it got scrapped because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that got the ball rolling on what now is a four-game series between the teams that also includes another neutral-site matchup at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, plus a home-and-home at Bramlage Coliseum and WSU's Koch Arena.

"When we did that, we thought it was good to have a lot of fans from both programs to see the games," Weber said. "That's why we did Intrust.

"They have their good season ticket base there and now this allows some of our people to come to the game when it's in Wichita. It gives a little bit of option for everything — for their fans, our fans — and hopefully adds some excitement to college basketball in December."

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Pack, the Wildcats' sophomore point guard and leading scorer, said he looks forward to the test.

"I've heard about the Kansas State-Wichita State rivalry, however long it's been since we played. I think the said, 2003," said Pack, who is averaging 15.8 points per game and shooting 48.6% from 3-point range. "This will be something that goes down in history.

"It's just something that would be really good to get on our resume. They're doing really well right now. It would be good to go down there and get a road win — get our first road dog win — and then come back with Marquette next week."

For Wichita State, sophomore guard Tyson Etienne leads the way with 16.3 points per game and freshman guard Ricky Council adds 11.1 points. Junior forward Morris Udeze contributes 9.0 point and a team-best 5.6 rebounds.

"They're tough, they're physical (and) they know how to play," Weber said. "They win games. It's not always the prettiest, but (Brown) gets them to find ways to win. It's kind of amazing."

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State and Wichita State ready to renew basketball rivalry