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By KEVIN HASKIN
TopSports.news
Musings at the mid-month:
- Did six consecutive touchdown drives in the postseason opener put to rest concerns about the Chiefs offense?
- Not when the first five series resulted in three punts, two turnovers and a defensive touchdown for Pittsburgh.
- The clash still proved to be the kind of mismatch a No. 7 seed presents in the NFL’s bloated wild-card round.
- Despite the slow start, Patrick Mahomes can look mighty good making plays from the pocket or bouncing out.
- Recording 400-plus yards passing before the end of the third quarter far exceeds whatever threat Mecole Hardman poses when taking snaps.
- Hardman? Sounds like a sure way to give an opponent a touchdown return, though Darrel Williams contributed mightily.
- Just stop it, you say, with the trick plays?
- Andy Reid can’t help himself. Ask Nick Allegretti. Or rifleman Travis Kelce.
- Next time you bash a football coordinator, and you will, remember the head coach has final say.
- If the head coach has surrendered oversight on play-calling, he’s negligent.
- Shuffling coordinators, however, often appeases fans.
- Good luck, Collin Klein. Nice plan and execution, by the way, in the Texas Bowl win.
- A potent mix of returnees and good results combing the transfer portal makes for a bright outlook at K-State.
- The transfer portal will be key for both K-State and KU in terms of assembling talent.
- It will come with hits and misses but seems like a pipeline upgrade when compared to jucos.
- Happy to see Ky Thomas playing close to home after transferring to Kansas.
- He could be the best rusher to come out of Topeka, though I never forget the folklore told about Levi Lee.
- It could be spellbinding to watch Thomas and Devin Neal in the same KU backfield. It’s also a credit to Leipold for emphasizing in-state talent.
- Whether they sign or walk on, in-state players are the heart and soul of any college program. They are caretakers of the culture.
- The toxicity readings on Bruce Weber’s popularity at K-State have never diminished totally since he got hired.
- His postgame absence following the upset over Texas Tech could be that his voice skedaddled coming off COVID.
- Yet it’s all the more reason for Weber not to shriek on every live or dead ball. Let the Cats get one on their own.
- Look, K-State has better overall talent. Yet most teams in the Big 12 are somehow better than a year ago.
- I don’t see an NCAA Tournament bid for a club fighting to stay above .500. With no berth, it’s time to move on from Bruce for the sake of unified fan support.
- In his 10th season coaching K-State, Weber has probably expended his nine lives.
- The difficult part to this equation is who would K-State bring in as a replacement? Will that coach compete favorably in the rugged Big 12?
- For the record, the 10-year records of Weber (179-137) and South Carolina’s Frank Martin (163-140) are pretty similar heading into games Tuesday.
- Could it be that every KU player will be inconsistent throughout the season except for Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun?
- Not overly surprising since Bill Self has a rotation that’s hard to condense and features different pieces for different opponents.
- Remy Martin is the flashiest facilitator, but I wonder how much his reduced scoring role frustrates the former Arizona State go-to man.
- Already the Big 12 is uneven and unpredictable. That will be a constant.
- One of my favorite high school events, the Topeka Invitational, will be staged this week.
- When I first arrived to cover sports in Topeka, city schools hosted three exceptional mid-season basketball tournaments.
- They attracted strong teams coached by greats such as Steve Eck, Chuck Minor, Chic Downing and Ted Juneau.
- And, visiting standouts such as Danny Manning, Steve Woodberry, Earl Watson and Val Barnes.
- How many of you gave or received a new vehicle as a Christmas gift?
- Forever wondering the ratio of over-the-top TV ads to gifted trucks and SUVs.
- And, if the ads work, who gets stuck making the payments?
- Whenever Bill Snyder spoke of “the people” as his reason behind staying at K-State, I always thought of Joan Friederich.
- Her love for everyone in the football complex, and even this one lucky sportswriter, cannot be overstated.
- Rest in peace to a remarkable woman Snyder fittingly called “one of a kind” in a moving eulogy he delivered at Joan’s memorial service.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's women's basketball team will kick off a five-game homestand in a 5:30 p.m. Monday makeup game against Northwest Missouri at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods, 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA, will be looking to bounce back after losing both games on their road trip last week, falling at Missouri Southern, 69-50, and at Pittsburg State, 69-56.
Northwest Missouri has also lost its last two games, dropping home contests against No. 2 Fort Hays State and No. 16 Nebraska-Kearney.
Northwest Missouri has already played two games in Lee Arena this season as the Bearcats took part in the Washburn Thanksgiving Classic and defeated Winona State and Rockhurst.
The Ichabods and Bearcats played twice last season, with Washburn winning both games. Washburn leads the series, 59-11.
Senior Hunter Bentley has moved into the No. 8 spot on Washburn's career scoring list heading into Monday's home game against Northwest Missouri. [File photo]
Senior Hunter Bentley leads Washburn's offense with a 12.6 scoring average and has 10 double-doubles in her career, with three coming against Northwest Missouri.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team will begin a four-game homestand at 7:30 p.m. Monday when the No. 2-ranked and defending national-champion Northwest Missouri Bearcats visit Lee Arena in a rescheduled game from Jan. 6.
The Ichabods (10-6, 7-3 MIAA) have now won their last four games after an 80-79 MIAA win at Pittsburg State on Saturday and will be facing a Northwest team (15-1, 8-0) that has won 13 straight games and 22 MIAA games in a row after defeating Nebraska-Kearney, 80-65. The Bearcats' only loss of the season was on Nov. 13 against Sioux Falls in an 83-77 loss in Kansas City.
Junior Jalen Lewis leads Washburn with a 14.1 scoring average entering Monday night's game against No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri at Lee Arena. [File photo]
Senior Tyler Geiman is coming off a 28-point performance in Washburn's 80-79 MIAA win at Pittsburg State on Saturday. [File photo]
Washburn leads the all-time series with the Bearcats, 62-50, and lost the last meeting in the second round of the 2021 NCAA playoffs in Aberdeen, S.D. Overall the teams have split the last four meetings, with two of those going to overtime.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The first of two midseason tournament weeks for Shawnee County prep basketball teams is on tap this week, with 12 county boys and girls teams taking part in a total of seven tournaments across the state.
Following is a tournament by tournament look at this week's events involving county teams:
TOPEKA INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
At Highland Park
Hayden, host Highland Park, Topeka High and Topeka West's boys teams will all take part in the long-running Topeka Invitational Tournament Thursday through Saturday, along with Lawrence, Shawnee Mission North, St. Marys and Wichita Northwest.
Senior Elijah Brooks (4), coming off a 26-point, 14-rebound performance against Highland Park, will lead Topeka West into this week's Topeka Invitational Tournament at Highland Park. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park senior Juan'Tario Roberts (right) scored a game-high 35 points last Friday against Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka West (7-1) will open the tournament at 3:15 p.m. Thursday against Lawrence (7-2), followed by St. Marys (8-1) against Topeka High (1-7) at 5 o'clock, Highland Park (8-1) facing Shawnee Mission North (1-8) at 6:45 and Hayden (1-6) closing out the first round at 8:30 p.m. against Wichita Northwest (7-1).
The St. Marys-Topeka High and Topeka West-Lawrence winners will square off in Friday's first semifinal at 6:45 p.m. while the winners of the Highland Park-Shawnee Mission North and Hayden-Wichita Northwest first-round games will clash in the second semifinal at 8:30 p.m. Friday.
The place games will be played on Saturday, capped by the championship game at 2:15 p.m.
Topeka West is coming off a 79-67 win over previously-unbeaten Highland Park on Friday night while Hayden is coming off a 51-50 overtime loss to Emporia. Topeka High has not played since a 68-47 loss to Seaman on Jan. 7.
All five Topeka West starters cracked double figures in Friday's win over Hi Park, led by senior Elijah Brooks with 26 points and 14 rebounds and senior Zander Putthoff with 17 points and three 3-pointers. Senior Juan'Tario Roberts scored a career-high 35 points with seven 3-pointers for the Scots.
Junior Joe Otting had 19 points and senior Trent Duffey 14 points for Hayden against Emporia.
Lawrence is coming off a 69-51 win over Mill Valley on Friday while St. Marys rolled to a 73-33 win over Rossville on Friday as Keller Hurla scored 33 points for the Bears.
Shawnee Mission North, coached by former Topeka High coach Pat Denney, dropped a 61-59 nailbiter to Shawnee Mission West on Friday while Wichita Northwest has won six straight games, including an 81-61 win over Wichita West on Friday.
Senior Ty Henry (left) and the 5-2 Seaman boys will compete in this week's McPherson Invitational. [File photo/TSN]
McPHERSON INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
At McPherson
Seaman's boys will put their 5-2 record and three-game winning streak on the line in Thursday's 4:45 p.m. first-round McPherson Invitational game against Blue Valley.
The Vikings have not played since a 68-47 Centennial League win over Topeka High on Jan. 7, with Seaman's game against Manhattan on Friday postponed.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn women's basketball team dropped a 69-56 MIAA road game at Pittsburg State on Saturday, falling to 5-9 overall and 3-5 in the MIAA.
Pittsburg State jumped out to an 8-0 lead before Abby Oliver scored at the 6:21 mark of the first quarter started a 6-0 run for the Ichabods.
Abby Oliver
The Gorillas (11-5, 6-4) responded with a 7-2 run over the next 1:45 to extend their lead to 15-8. Aubree Dewey scored the final points of the opening quarter with a jump shot to cut the Ichabods' deficit to 20-15.
Shae Sanchez's layup to start the second quarter pulled Washburn within three points and the Ichabods made it a four-point contest on four occasions, but got no closer in the second as Pittsburg State went into halftime with a 32-25 advantage.
The Ichabods came out firing in the second half and scored on three of their first four possessions to make it a two-pointgame (34-32) with 7:34 on the clock.
But the Gorillas created some space again with an 8-1 run and ended the quarter on a 6-0 burst to lead 53-42 heading into the final stanza.
The Gorillas maintained their double-digit lead until Oliver's layup sparked a 6-0 rally midway through the fourth quarter to trim Washburn's deficit to 64-56. That would be the final points for Washburn, though, as Pittsburg scored the last five points to close out the 13-point victory.
