Kansas State women's basketball secures postseason eligibility with win over Kansas
MANHATTAN — Kansas State's women needed a victory in the worst way, but so did Kansas.
That's why, with the regular season winding down, the second chapter of the 2023 Sunflower Showdown on Wednesday night at Bramlage Coliseum had greater implications than just state bragging rights.
With a dominating 63-45 victory, K-State not only evened the season series with KU and bounced back from a disappointing Saturday road loss to TCU, but also secured postseason eligibility. The Wildcats, who improved to 16-12 overall and 5-10 in the Big 12, now can finish no worse than .500, regardless of what happens the rest of the way.
For Kansas (16-10, 6-9), which is fighting to make the NCAA Tournament field, getting blown out by its instate rival had to hurt. The Jayhawks came into the game projected as a No. 9 seed in ESPN's latest bracketology report.
"Absolutely for us, I think there's implications with every win or every loss at this point," said KU coach Brandon Schneider, whose Jayhawks have home games remaining against Oklahoma State (20-7, 10-5 Big 12) and No. 20-ranked Iowa State (17-8, 9-6) before closing their regular season at last-place TCU (7-19, 1-14). "Give credit to K-State for how well they played tonight."
More:Defense sparks Kansas State women's basketball in 63-45 Sunflower Showdown win over Kansas
Even with the victory, K-State would need a strong finish, plus a Big 12 tournament run, to have any hope of cracking the NCAA Tournament field. The Wildcats' 75-62 loss to TCU, which had not won a conference game all year, all but erased an impressive home-court performance the game before against Baylor.
But the Wildcats certainly remain in the running for a WNIT bid.
"It's a big win. I'm proud of them bouncing back," said K-State coach Jeff Mittie, whose Wildcats lost the first matchup with KU in Lawrence, 85-72, on Jan. 29. "We were not happy with how we played (Saturday at TCU), and I'm not happy about being on this roller coaster. We're too up-and-down.
"But I do think that from an overall standpoint, we're continuing to improve."
Mittie acknowledged that games are magnified during the stretch run because of what's at stake.
"There's not question," he said. "I was glad to be playing Kansas after the way we played Saturday — not because of Kansas, (because) they're really good — but because of the rivalry game. You knew from that standpoint I thought, OK, we're going to get a good effort.
"Any time you have a game like we had Saturday, you want to get back on the floor and you want to erase it."
The next step for the Wildcats is to follow the victory over KU with another solid performance on Saturday in their 5 p.m. game at West Virginia (16-10, 7-8 Big 12).
"We need to take the show on the road," said Mittie, whose Wildcats have a 0-7 conference record away from Bramlage. "It would be a good start to do that, and we've got a good opportunity on Saturday. We need to have a carryover game and have that kind of effort on the road."
It doesn't get any easier for the Wildcats after the West Virginia trip as they play No. 12 Oklahoma (22-4, 12-3) on the road next Wednesday, then close the regular season on March 4 at home against No. 22 Texas (21-7, 12-3).
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State women's basketball rolls to victory over Kansas
