Kansas State Bid Into The NCAA Tournament Could Be Halted By Utah
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The Kansas State Wildcats need a win against Utah to stay alive for the NCAA Tournament.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi released his latest Bracketology and has the Wildcats on the outside looking in. They are bunched in the "next four out" alongside the North Carolina, Xavier, and UC Irvine.
— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 17, 2025
K-State's resume speaks for itself with wins against No. 3 Iowa State, No. 16 Kansas, and No. 13 Arizona, but losing to BYU (who is one the bubble as one of the last four byes) did not help their case. It also dropped them down to No. 59 per KenPom's rankings and sit with a 13-12, 7-7 Big 12 record.
A loss against Utes ( No. 79 in KenPom) would knock out the Wildcats from a "realistic-at-large" consideration according to Lunardi. The Utes just handed the Kansas Jayhawks its fourth loss in the past seven games so it will not be an easy road trip for the Wildcats.
They are still set for the Big 12 Tournament if nothing crazy happens over the next few weeks but a win against Utah would get them back on track for a team destined for a run in March.
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Kansas State Looking To Avoid Same Fate As Kansas Against Utah
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Justice_News5.
Justice Sandle has a degree in Communications from Mississippi State University. During that time, he covered basketball, football, baseball and soccer. He has since spent time covering the Miami Hurricanes.
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