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Kansas State women’s basketball drops out of top 16 in latest NCAA committee reveal

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Kansas State women’s basketball drops out of top 16 in latest NCAA committee reveal


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MANHATTAN — Kansas State women’s basketball had been living on the edge, and the Wildcats’ recent struggles finally caught up with them.

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The women’s basketball selection committee did the second reveal of its top 16 seeds for the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, and the Wildcats are no longer in line to be first-round hosts.

With back-to-back losses, and five in their last eight games, K-State fell off the No. 4 seed line it occupied after the committee’s first reveal two weeks ago. The Wildcats were No. 13 overall, but now have work to do if they hope to play the first two rounds at Bramlage Coliseum.

Oklahoma, which leads the Big 12, was one of two newcomers to the top 16.

K-State, which fell to Iowa State, 82-76, on Wednesday night for its first home loss, stands at 23-6 overall and is third in the conference at 12-5. The Wildcats can clinch a No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Tournament with a victory at 2 p.m. Saturday in the regular-season finale at Texas Tech (16-14, 5-12).

Kansas women’s basketball gains split in Sunflower Showdown with key win over Kansas State

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The top four conference finishers receive double byes into the tournament quarterfinals next week in Kansas City.

“We’ve got to win some games. There’s not any doubt about it,” Mittie said of getting back to the No. 4 seed line for an NCAA home game. “There’s no secret formula to it.

“You look across the country, and that No. 4, 5, 6 seed line has lost games a lot here in the last week, and it’s kind of jumbled around here. But we can’t be concerned about that. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to be concerned with how we guard the ball better. All those things will take care of themselves, but ultimately we’ve got to win some games.”

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Charlie Crème, the women’s bracketology expert for ESPN, updated his projections Thursday morning and had K-State going from a No. 4 seed to No. 5 in the Albany regional featuring top overall seed South Carolina. He matched the Wildcats against No. 12 South Dakota in Salt Lake City, with the winner facing No. 4 seed and host Utah, or No. 13 Toledo in the second round.

As for getting back to Bramlage, the Wildcats aren’t ready to throw in the towel.

Kansas State women’s basketball rolls in overtime behind Ayoka Lee to beat West Virginia

“There’s still a shot,” said senior guard Gabby Gregory said after Wednesday’s loss to Iowa State. “We’re tired of losing games. I’d love not to lose another game.

“But I think we just have to take our motivation to the next level here these next few weeks and just get it done. We just didn’t get it done tonight. This one hurts, and we should use that motivation to push us these next few weeks.”

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The NCAA committee’s No. 1 seeds as of Thursday were South Carolina, Ohio State, Stanford and UCLA, which replaced Colorado on the top line. The No. 2 seeds are Virginia Tech, Southern California, Iowa and Texas.

The only teams that dropped out of the top 16 from the first reveal on Feb. 15 were K-State and Louisville, with Oklahoma and Gonzaga taking their place.

The selection committee will announce the official 68-team field on March 17.

Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.



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2025-26 Kansas State MBB: Game 6 vs Nebraska

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2025-26 Kansas State MBB: Game 6 vs Nebraska


The Kansas State Wildcats are officially entering the “pay-attention” neighborhood. After a 98-77 drubbing of a decent Mississippi State squad last night, the 5-0 Wildcats are starting to appear like a legitimately solid squad…one that could be capable of fun things if they can keep things rolling into the heart of the season.

They’ve got another big test tonight. The Cats will face the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the championship of the 2025 Hall of Fame Classic. The Huskers are also 5-0, and advanced to the championship game after an 84-72 win over New Mexico in the opening game of the classic. The Huskers are led by Fred Hoiberg, who is in his seventh season in Lincoln, and are looking for a return to the NCAA Tournament after winning the College Basketball Crown to end the 2024-25 season.

The last time these two teams met was Dec. 17th, 2023, when the Huskers beat up on the Wildcats 62-46 in Manhattan, a win that snapped a 7-game win streak for the Wildcats over their former Big 12 conference mates. But that K-State team was significantly more offensively inept than the current iteration of the TangCats. These TangCats are lighting up the nets with a return to the “fun” brand of basketball that marked Jerome Tang’s first season in Manhattan. And last night, the Wildcats showed they could even manage some defense more consistently than the final couple minutes.

This will be the biggest test yet for the Wildcats. A win would be a huge springboard into the heart of the season. A loss doesn’t hurt, as long as it’s productive. Can the Wildcats handle the quick turnaround and keep building?

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We’ve got an 8:30pm CT tipoff for the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic tonight from T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and you can catch the action on NBCSN and streaming on Peacock with Steve Schlanger (play-by-play) and Tre Demps (analyst) 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 Wade Gerstner (play-by-play) and Clent Stewart (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app, as well as on satellite radio at Sirius/XM Ch. 383. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.



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Kansas federal attorneys went 5 months without pay, sparking constitutional crisis

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Kansas federal attorneys went 5 months without pay, sparking constitutional crisis


TOPEKA — For nearly 20 weeks, certain lawyers, paralegals, psychologists, interpreters, court reporters and investigators were not paid. Federal funding for a group of criminal justice professionals expired in early July, and the government promised to reimburse them in October, but the longest shutdown in U.S. history delayed that promise. As of Nov. 14, the […]



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Boyfriend suspected of shooting at KCK home, killing woman: affidavit

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Boyfriend suspected of shooting at KCK home, killing woman: affidavit


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Multiple shots were fired at a house where a Halloween party was taking place in a suspected domestic violence incident that killed a 20-year-old woman in Kansas City, Kansas, earlier this month, according to court records released Wednesday.

An affidavit released by Wyandotte County District Court details what happened in the early-morning hours of Nov. 1 at the Kansas City, Kansas, home, where Ana Juarez was fatally shot. The affidavit was filed in the case of 22-year-old Kevin Calamaco-Morales, who is accused of killing Juarez. Charging documents say the two were in a relationship.

Officers with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department were called to the home on North 11th Street near Barnett Avenue just before 4:30 a.m. Nov. 1. Officers found Juarez with a gunshot wound to her lower back. She was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries.

Investigators interviewed witnesses inside the house and collected video, phone records and Facebook messages sent to the victim that led them to arrest Calamaco-Morales, according to the affidavit.

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FOX4 has reached out to an attorney listed for Calamaco-Morales for comment.

Witnesses told police that Juarez went out with friends to Westport and some house parties for Halloween. Back at the house in KCK, they said they noticed Juarez was ignoring her phone, which was “blowing up” with calls or texts. Moments later, they heard gunshots, the witnesses said, and they took cover. Some of the witnesses stated that they saw Juarez getting up and opening the front door.

By the time the witnesses came out from hiding, police officers arrived, and Juarez was lying on the ground.

The house had been hit by gunfire, with some of the bullets entering the home. The victim’s car was also hit by a bullet with the driver’s side window shattered.

Charging documents say that at least one witness told police they believed Calamaco-Morales was involved in the shooting due to his attitude toward Juarez leading up to their Halloween plans. The witness claimed Juarez told them that Calamaco-Morales was controlling and that he initially didn’t want her to go out for Halloween.

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Investigators obtained phone records that showed that a number registered to Calamaco-Morales called her 18 times between 4:21 and 4:23 a.m., according to the affidavit. The affidavit also says investigators recovered Facebook messages that were sent to the victim at 4:21 a.m.

Kansas City, Kansas, police took Calamaco-Morales into custody later that day for questioning.

Police also noted that at the address where Calamaco-Morales was taken into custody, they noticed a Honda Accord that was similar to the suspect vehicle they saw on a video that was captured near the shooting scene that morning. The video showed a vehicle parking in front of the home at 4:19 a.m. and a person exiting the passenger side and firing shots.

Charging documents say the Honda had a Kansas tag that was flagged by a license plate reader as being at Seventh Street and Quindaro Boulevard at 4:31 a.m., about nine minutes after the shooting and two miles from the scene.

Calamaco-Morales was arrested and Wyandotte County prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder and criminal discharge of a firearm on Nov. 3.

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He remains in the Wyandotte County jail with bond set at $500,000.

The next court hearing is set for Dec. 16.



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