Hey, look out, it’s time for some Kansas State basketball!
The completely new-look Wildcats step out on the court at Bramlage Coliseum tonight for the first time in public, welcoming in old Big 12 rival Missouri for an exhibition matchup before the official start of the 2026-27 season.
And by completely new-look, I mean 98% new. Coaches, players, kits, everything. Andrej Kostic is the lone returning player from a squad that went 12-20 last season and ended after the firing of Jerome Tang as head coach.
Casey Alexander was snagged from Belmont to lead the turn-around at K-State, and he’s doing so with a pile of new faces. Somewhat surprisingly, he was not able to convince any of his former players to make the trek to the Flint Hills with him, but he did bring both of his biggest high school recruits, and was able to snag a strong core of players with high-major experience to rebuild the roster.
Alexander brings with him a strong record of head coaching success, and finished up his 7-year run at Belmont with a 26-6 overall record, and a 1st-place regular season finish in the Missouri Valley conference. They were upset by a good Drake squad in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament, but would’ve had a real shot for an at-large selection to the NCAA Tournament had Alexander not already announced his departure.
So tonight, expect very little. Alexander already said this would be a very “vanilla” game, and Missouri returns a whole bunch and added some McDonald’s All-Americans as well. Likely the best outcome for K-State is that the game is competitive, and Missouri doesn’t run away with a 20-30 point win.
But basketball is back, and we’ll at least get a glimpse of what is possible with a new coaching staff at the helm.
We’ve got an 7:00pm CT tipoff from Bramlage Colisuem, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ with Ben Boyle (play-by-play), Stan Weber (analyst), and Laci Lister (reporter) on the call.
If you can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Bob Chipman (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.