Kansas State Men’s Basketball Still Not Showing Up in Latest ESPN Bracketology

Kansas State hasn’t received any love this season from ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi.

Don’t blame Lunardi. The Wildcats are 9-4 and in Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, released Tuesday, Kansas State was not mentioned — not even toward the bottom of his projected 68-team NCAA Tournament field.

Lunardi’s ”Last Four Byes” are NC State, LSU, Baylor and Indiana. His “Last Four In” are Miami, Ohio State, Butler and Oklahoma. His “First Four Out” are Oklahoma State, Boise State, California and New Mexico. The “Next Four Out” are Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Creighton and VCU.

But all of that can change for Kansas State when the next Bracketology is released on Jan. 6.

Big opportunity for the Wildcats

Kansas State’s national profile will dramatically increase if it wins Saturday against No. 10 BYU.

The Wildcats, who are coming off a 94-85 win over Louisiana Monroe on Sunday, play host to BYU at 12:30 CT, with the game being broadcast by CBS. And on Jan. 7, Kansas State travels to Tucson to take on No. 1-ranked Arizona.

BYU is 12-1 with one of the top freshman players in the country in AJ Dybantsa. He is a big-time player who likely will be a top-5 pick in the NBA Draft. Of course, Kansas State has one of the most dynamic guards in the country in P.J. Haggerty, setting up a potentially great matchup and game.

Thanks to Dybantsa, the Cougars have a national profile. Lunardi has BYU as a 3-seed in his latest Bracketology.

Brigham Young University forward AJ Dybantsa reacts after making a three-point basket against Dayton. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

“We have 13 games under our belt,” Kansas State coach Jerome Tang said at a recent press conference. “Now there are no more buy games.

“Shoot, BYU and then at Arizona, we have No. 10 in the country and No. 1 in the country. This is the Big 12.

“I’m excited about it. I’m excited for the guys because they’ve risen to the occasion for the most part. I’m excited to see how we can take this thing up.”

Two of Lunardi’s four No. 1 seeds are from the Big 12 — Arizona and Iowa State. (Michigan and UConn are the other No. 1 seeds.) Lunardi has eight Big 12 teams in this week’s Bracketology projections (with seeding and projected first-round opponents in parentheses):

* Arizona (1 vs. 16 Long Island U)
* Iowa State (1 vs. 16 UW-Milwaukee vs. Grambling winner)
* BYU (3 vs. 14 Hawaii)
* Houston (3 vs. 14 Lipscomb)
* Kansas (4 vs. 13 Illinois State)
* Texas Tech (5 vs. 12 Utah Valley)
* UCF (9 vs. 8 Georgia)
* Baylor (10 vs. 7 Utah State)

Selection Sunday is March 15. The Final Four is April 4-6 in Indianapolis.

ESPN’s power rankings

Kansas State ranks 59th, down eight places from last week, in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index.

The projection for the Wildcats’ wins and losses is 16.0 wins and 15.0 losses. In the Big 12, the projection for Kansas State is 7.0 wins and 11.0 losses.

Kansas State is given a less than 0.1 percent chance to win the Big 12 championship.

Ten Big 12 teams are ranked ahead of Kansas State in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index:

* Arizona: 4
* Iowa State: 5
* Houston: 7
* BYU: 11
* Kansas: 15
* Texas Tech: 21
* Baylor: 30
* West Virginia: 40
* UCF: 56
* TCU: 58

Interestingly, West Virginia has a 40 ranking in ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index but also isn’t listed among Lunardi’s projected NCAA Tournament teams. West Virginia is 9-4 this season.

Gonzaga (13-1) is the top-ranked team in ESPN’s Power Index with Duke (11-1) second and Michigan (12-0) third.

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