This Could Be A Long Kansas State Wildcats Basketball Season After Loss In Opener

Let's just get this out of the way: it's going to be a long year for first-year coach Casey Alexander and the Wildcats. 

That was evident after the way they opened the season. On Tuesday, the Wildcats were upset 68-66 by the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Bramlidge Colisuem. In a game where Kansas State was supposed to dominate, they fell victim to what was a supposed inferior opponent. 

The Jackrabbits won on the strength of 10 3-pointers and shot 44 percent from the field. David Kern led four South Dakota State players in double-figures with 24 points. The Wildcats were led by Pape N'Diaye, who scored 18 points off the bench. 

Kansas State struggling this year was expected because of the circumstances but it wasn't figured to be this bad. Alexander walked into a difficult situation from the beginning. He was hired to replace Jerome Tang, who was fired at the end of last season. 

Alexander, who was at Belmont prior, had little time to get things together. In the offseason, he spoke of how he lived in a hotel for months before getting acclimated. His family didn't arrive in Manhattan until shortly before the school year began. 

The fact only one player returned from last year's roster (Andrej Kostic) made things even tougher. The bottom line is the Wildcats could be in for a super rebuilding year under Alexander. 

It will be more of a gauntlet considering the Wildcats are in the Big 12, one of the best conferences in the nation. The fans and administration will have to practice extreme patience with Alexander, similar to what they have to do with Kansas State football coach Collin Klein. 

Both are in new environments dealing with new challenges. The Wildcats have a few tune-up games to get everything corrected. They play host to Cal State-Northridge Friday before facing the Creighton Bluejays Tuesday. 

After two games against Montana and Campbell, the Wildcats then get an ultimate test against the No. 15 Gonzaga Bulldogs. The positive is Campbell has a track record of turning programs into winners. He did exactly that at Belmont, helping it become one of the top mid-majors in the country. 

The question is this: can he do it at a Power Five school? It's best to just throw out this season and look toward the following year before making any judgement about the program under Alexander. 

It will take him a while to put his stamp on the program, if at all.