The Kansas State Wildcats basketball team kicks things off on Tuesday night against Newman in Manhattan, Kan. The action starts at 7:00 p.m. and it will be the first exhibition game of the season for the third ranked Wildcats.
There are a lot of questions that are being asked and there won't be many answers tonight in an exhibition game tonight. But here are a few things we'll be looking for early on in KSU's season.
Entering the season as the favorite. Kansas State is the preseason Big 12 favorite over Kansas. That's a big accomplishment already but the Wildcats have bigger plans. How KSU handles their lofty ranking will be important early on.
Expectations of Jacob Pullen. He's the leader of the preseason Big 12 favorite. He's the Big 12 preseason player of the year and a preseason AP All-American. The expectations on Pullen are enormous. This is just an exhibition game but it's also the first time for Pullen to enter the floor with all that on his shoulders.
Replacing Denis Clemente. Clemente's departure means Pullen is back on his own in the back court. They had some contributors last season and a few freshman coming in but no one that has proven they can do it like Clemente again. Who will that be?
Of course there are plenty of more questions moving forward. But the biggest, I think, is how Kansas State handles a season absent the underdog role. Head coach Frank Martin seems to have a tough group and the work begins tonight at Bramlage Coliseum.