MANHATTAN
Two years ago, when ESPN pitched the idea of the Big 12/SEC Challenge in the middle of conference play to Big 12 coaches, they did a heck of a sales job.
“Sounded pretty good back then, with them telling us about exposure and getting our profile up and all that,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “After last season, though, when we all beat up on each other in league play, we all weren’t so sure what we’d gotten ourselves into.”
K-State appeared more than up to the challenge on Saturday afternoon with a 69-64 win over Mississippi in front of 12,258 fans at Bramlage Coliseum that put an exclamation mark on the Wildcats’ non-conference schedule and gave them some much-needed momentum headed into the rest of Big 12 play.