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Kansas State Wildcats first-year coach Casey Alexander knows he has a tall task ahead of him.
He has been in a tough position since he was hired after last season to replace the fired Jerome Tang in March. That has given him little time to construct a roster or even begin to place his stamp on the program.
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So it was expected the Wildcats did not get much in the Big 12 media preseason poll that was released Thursday. They were picked to finish in a tie for 14th place with the Colorado Buffaloes. The only team below them were the Utah Utes, who haven’t been known for their basketball since the days of Keith Van Horn and Andre Miller in the mid-1990s.
The odds are stacked against Alexander in his Wildcats debut. He returns just one player, Andrej Kostic, from last year’s roster. The good news is Alexander is built for this transition.
He has had success at every stop of his coaching career, including when he was at Belmont before taking the job in Manhattan. He won 166 games and four conference championships in the last seven seasons at Belmont.
Every bit of his coaching prowess will be needed to turn things around at Kansas State. They have declined every year since reaching the Elite Eight in 2023 under Tang. Last year the Wildcats missed the NCAA Tournament for a third straight season, finishing a disappointing 12-20.
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Alexander is banking on Kostic and a pair of transfers to anchor the lineup. Last year guard Brandon Rechsteiner was a key cog for the Colorado State Rams before deciding to make a move. The same can be said for guard Jaden Schutt (Virginia Tech Hokies). Both are expected in the starting lineup when the season opens.
The hope is also for Kostic, who averaged 5.2 points on 37 percent shooting as a freshman, takes the next step.
Here’s the full preseason poll:
1. Arizona (12) – 220 points
2. Houston (4) – 214 points
3. Kansas – 186 points
4. Iowa State – 181 points
5. Texas Tech – 180 points
6. BYU – 148 points
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7. TCU –…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kansas-state-wildcats-only-picked-151847522.html
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Publish date : 2026-10-16 15:18:00
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