Live from Puerto Rico: Ole Miss 86, KSU 74

The Mississippi basketball team got consistent scoring from two of its best players and Kansas State did not.

In the end, that was enough for Ole Miss to defeat K-State 86-74 on Friday and hand the Wildcats their first loss of the season in the semifinals of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.

With the loss, K-State dropped to 3-1 and will next play Dayton on Sunday instead of Villanova in the tournament’s championship game.
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Live from Puerto Rico: K-State 80, Boston 70

Rodney McGruder is starting to look like a marksman.

The freshman guard came off the bench Thursday in Puerto Rico and knocked down four of five three-point shots and led all Kansas State scorers with 20 points.

His big night couldn’t have come at a better time. Play was sloppy throughout at the Coliseo de Puerto Rico, and K-State’s best two veteran guards (Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen) didn’t play well. But behind McGruder and some tough second play, the Wildcats pushed past Boston University for an 80-70 victory in its first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-off.
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Colon out because of off-court issue

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Kansas State senior center Luis Colon, a Puerto Rico native, missed the first two games of the season with a hand injury, and once again sat out Thursday’s game. But coach Frank Martin said his no show had nothing to do with his injury this time.

“Some things have come up off the court that we’re looking into right now,” Martin said. “We’re going to continue to keep him out until we get home and get a better idea of what’s happening. It’s unfortunate. He’s healthy enough to play I just can’t play him.”

Not being able to play surely puts a damper on Colon’s trip home. But Martin said he had no choice but to keep him in street clothes.

When asked to elaborate on what the off-court problem was Martin said, “He’s not in trouble with the law. If he was he wouldn’t be here.”

Colon averaged 4.4 points and 4.7 rebounds as a junior.

This week’s player to watch: Jared Crick

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Everybody knows about Ndamukong Suh, the senior Nebraska defensive tackle who is a sure-fire bet to earn All-America status at the end of the season.

But the Cornhuskers have another defensive tackle who is pretty good, too. He actually leads the team in tackles with 60, four more than Suh.

His name is Jared Crick (pictured above on the right) and as a sophomore he has recorded nine sacks, 13 quarterback hurries and three pass breakups this season.
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Freddy Asprilla signs with K-State

The Kansas State basketball team made its recruiting class for the 2010-2011 season a lot bigger on Tuesday by announcing that Freddy Asprilla has given his written commitment to play for the Wildcats.

Asprilla, a 6-foot-10, 280-pound center, averaged 14 points and 9.3 rebounds with Florida International and was named 2009 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year for his efforts.

He comes to Manhattan from Miami Dade junior college.
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Postgame: K-State 82, Western Illinois 50

The second game of the season was a lot like the first.

Kansas State beat a mid-major opponent by more than 30 points and no one, from coach Frank Martin on down, was thrilled about the performance.

But K-State looked much tougher during its 82-50 win over Western Illinois on Sunday, and outrebounded the Leathernecks 48-31.
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Postgame: Mizzou 38, K-State 12

Kansas State had no answer for Danario Alexander, couldn’t get its running game going and fell victim to the mistakes it has been so good about avoiding all season.

For those reasons, the Missouri Tigers easily defeated the Wildcats 38-12. There’s not much more to be analyzed from yesterday’s game.

K-State players said they had already moved on from it in the interview room afterward. With a winner-take-all battle in Lincoln up next there isn’t anywhere to look but forward.

If the Wildcats win their season-finale at Nebraska, they win the Big 12 North and qualify for a bowl game. If they lose to the Cornhuskers, their season is finished.
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Live Blog: Mizzou 38, K-State 12

FINAL
The Kansas State football team has made a name for itself this season by making its opponents pay for their mistakes while limiting its own.

On Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium, the Wildcats were beaten at their own game and lost to Missouri 38-12.

K-State committed three turnovers, never got its running game going and could do nothing to stop Mizzou’s high-powered passing game.

Tigers quarterback Blaine Gabbert completed 20 of 27 pass for 298 yards and three touchdowns. All three of his scores went to wide receiver Danario Alexander, who looked particularly good amassing 200 yards on 10 catches.
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Postgame: K-State 92, Loyola-Chicago 54

How to take this game?

The Kansas State basketball team defeated Loyola-Chicago 92-54 in its season-opener and did so rather easily, which is good.

But coach Frank Martin was so angry with his team’s performance that he said his players should be “embarrassed,” which is bad.

As is the case in most situations like this, it’s best to fall somewhere in the middle. That would make K-State’s performance on Friday at Bramlage Coliseum fairly average.
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Future K-State players Will Spradling and Nino Williams come out to Bramlage

Sitting next to each other behind the Kansas State bench tonight are Will Spradling and Nino Williams, a pair of future Wildcats.

The two high school seniors, who both live in the Kansas City area, seem to be pals.

Spradling, a 6-foot guard from Shawnee Mission South, signed his national letter of intent to play for K-State two days ago and says he is excited to join Frank Martin’s squad next season.

Williams, a 6-foot-5 small forward from Leavenworth, will attend prep school next year and join the Wildcats for the 2011 season.
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