A Tradition of Dominance

A great player was humbled by a great team. In fact, player-of-the-year candidate Michael Beasley's quiet 39-point performance saved kstate from one of the worst blowouts in the lopsided history of sunflower showdown. With no other wildcat teammate in double figures, it was up to Beasley to deliver on his profoundly arrogant and ill-advised guarantees of victory in Manhattan, Lawrence, Africa or anywhere the two teams would play. He failed, spectacularly.

Before the tipoff, Mike Lickert and his world-class videoboard team delivered one of the most stunning video tributes to Kansas Basketball I've seen- mainly due to the way it took an incredibly amped crowd and sent them into a fever pitch. Not the loudest I've ever heard (not even the loudest this season- a distinction clearly earned by the half-time presentation of the Orange Bowl trophy during the MU game)- but deafening by any standard. This was without a doubt the biggest kstate game I've seen in Allen.

And what to make of it? Although kstate's surprising win in Manhattan may have led some to consider the possibility of ksu sweeping the Jayhawks in basketball, Saturday's victory proved one thing. One victory in 25 years for kstate against the Jayhawks in Manhattan is considered absolutely unacceptable by KU standards. Without kstate having recruited (shockingly) a "player-of-the-year" candidate who poured in 39 points, can you imagine the outcome? A great player was humbled by a greater team, and as the pre-game video showed, KU's is a tradition of dominance. See you in Africa...