After taking the end of the week off, your #9 Kansas State Wildcats are back in action this afternoon at the Ball Dawgs Classic in Las Vegas (well, Henderson, but close enough). Today they take on the #13 Duke Blue Devils in the first of what should be several ranked matchups for the Cats this season.

K-State has started the season 5-0, including an impressive 86-68 win over a good Creighton team a few weeks ago, and flattening poor Milwaukee 111-46 last week – just a few points off the school record for a game. Ayoke Lee saw her most action of the season so far on Wednesday, scoring 25 points in 20 minutes of action to lead all scorers. But that’s not even her season high, as she dropped 28 points in just 15 minutes in the win over Creighton.

Duke is 5-1 on the season, but their only loss came at the hands of current No. 10 Maryland in College Park, MD, and the Blue Devils didn’t go quietly, falling 85-80. The Cats and Blue Devils already have a common opponent, as both played at home against Belmont. K-State won their meeting 82-56, while Duke defeated the Bruins 79-47 last Thursday. So Duke will be a very tough challenge for K-State, and yet this strong matchup will largely be lost because it is stuck on FloSports. Great.

K-State is a slight favorite according to the sportsbooks and with a slightly higher ranking, that’s to be expected. But with this shaping up to be the Cats’ toughest game yet, things could get interesting. But it’s a win-win for both teams: the winner gets a huge resume boost early in the season, the loser only has a first-quarter loss that won’t look bad come March. The winner will also play the winner of the Oklahoma/DePaul game that follows.

Time for the MittieCats to show that this dream season is becoming reality.

We got the 2pm CT tip off for the game this afternoon from Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, NV, and if you want to spend some extra cash ($30 for a month), you can catch the action on FloCollege with…presumably someone calling.

If you don’t want to sign up for FloCollege, the game can be heard on portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Jake Eisenberg (play-by-play) and Randy Peterson (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 on SiriusXM Ch. 162 or 198. Live stats will also be available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateWBB) will also be part of the coverage.

Go cats!

Last night there was a basketball game that K-State participated in. It was ugly, and the Cats lost to an average Liberty team, quickly losing all the goodwill and momentum they had created by beating George Washington on Friday.

This afternoon is the third place match of the 25th Paradise Jam and the Cats are participating again. It remains to be seen whether they will actually do so compete or not, but some guys wearing jerseys that say “K-State” on the front should be on the field.

Today’s opponent is Longwood, who suffered its first loss of the season at the expense of McNeese State. This is the first-ever game between the Wildcats and Lancers, and they are a solid mid-major program from the Big South, which lost 86-46 to Houston in the NCAA tournament last March.

This is another game that, on paper, is the TangCats should win. But for that they would have to show up. Let’s see if these cats are still fighting.

We’ll have a CT tip-off at 4:30 PM for the third-place match of the Paradise Jam from UVI Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, USVI, and you can catch the action on ESPN+ / WatchESPN with Brad Wells (play- by -play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) on the phone.

If you can’t access the stream, the game can be heard on portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Ben Boyle (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and through the Varsity Network app. Live stats will also be available on k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be part of the coverage.

Go cats!