- The headline says it all here in a story from Ken Corbitt of the Topeka Capital-Journal. Kansas State could make a statement with a win over #21 Gonzaga Saturday in Wichita. The Wildcats are 7-3 and beat Ole Miss at home earlier in the season, but they don’t look like an NCAA Tournament team right now and Shane Southwell is right. He called the game against Gonzaga a chance at a “tournament resume win,” and with a tough Big 12 schedule ahead, the Wildcats need all the help they can get.
- Not unlike dozens of other academic cases each season, West Virginia forward Jonathan Holton is waiting in limbo to see if he will be cleared to play this season. Head coach Bob Huggins originally said Holton would redshirt if the matter wasn’t resolved in a timely fashion, but Allan Taylor of West Virginia Metro News reported that Huggins is leaving the door open for Holton to play this season. Holton averaged 17.5 PPG and 14.1 RPG at junior college last season, so his promise is significant.
- Bill Self believes Memphis transfer and senior forward Tarik Black will break out of his funk soon after averaging a measly 2.8 PPG and 2.4 MPG so far this season. He began the year in the Jayhawks’ starting lineup but eventually lost the job to rising star Joel Embiid. Black can, however, become a valuable third big man if he improves over the next few months, and we’re not one to typically question Self on his prognostications about talent development.
- Oklahoma State led lowly Delaware State 30-16 at halftime Tuesday night, thanks to Delaware State’s strategy to hold the ball as long as possible to limit possessions. It worked for 20 minutes, but the Cowboys turned things up in the second half and eventually won, 75-43. Travis Ford’s halftime message, as told to John Helsley of the Oklahoman: “Guys, I don’t have a problem with your effort, but you’re not playing the way we’re capable of playing.” Thirty points against Delaware State at halftime? Talk about an understatement.
- You’ve probably seen this clip by now, but it’s worth posting for the few readers who haven’t yet caught. It’s Southern Illinois head coach and former Kansas staffer Barry Hinson unloading on his team after another disappointing loss Tuesday. There are too many great phrases here to pick just one for you. Hinson spent nine seasons as the head coach at Missouri State before working as the Director of Basketball Operations at Kansas from 2010-12.