It's time for an in-depth preview of Kansas State's Big 12 Conference opener at Oklahoma, thanks to Jimmy Goheen and K-State Athletics Communications.

K-State starts Big 12 play against familiar face Lon Kruger. Bruce Weber is 10-4 in his seven seasons at K-State vs. Kruger, including the season sweep last year. Typical of Kruger teams, this year's version is solid on both offense and defense, ranking near the top 50 in Kenpom efficiency for both. The Sooners also like to play at a high pace, especially on offense, ranking No. 41 in Kenpom's adjusted pace.

Offensively, the Sooners are best at taking care of the ball, turning it over on only 14.5% of their possessions to rank No. 4 nationally. They are average, or below average, shooting the ball and getting to the free-throw line and are one of the worst offensive rebounding teams nationally.

On defense the Sooners are excellent on the boards and really good at not fouling and letting opponents get to the line. They are also feature a Top 100 two-point percentage defense but rarely force turnovers, ranking only No. 287 in TO rate defensively.

The Sooners lost five key seniors from last year's NCAA 9 seed, including leading scorer Christian James. Still, Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek are solid returning pieces along with Jamal Bieniemy, who played quite a bit as a freshman.

Doolittle will be interesting to watch as he was suspended for their previous game, the first game this season, and for an entire semester as a sophomore. He's their most efficient scorer and best rebounder.

Manek is an experienced big that can step out and shoot it, attempting nearly six threes per game.

To go with these three returners Wichita State transfer Austin Reaves is second on the team in scoring but only hits 27% from deep while attempting 5.6 per game. De'Vion Harmon is a Top 50 recruit from Texas, and Alondes Williams is a JUCO transfer and another solid guard. In Kuath, Hill, and Iwuakor OU has a trio of role playing bigs to round out its nine-man rotation.

THREE KEYS

1. Control the pace

K-State isn't quite as slow as in the past, but the Cats don't want this to be a mid-70s possession game like OU. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that KSU's average defensive possession is 18.6 seconds, ranking No. 342 nationally, a typical Weber defense that forces offenses to work for a good shot. Kruger's Sooners average 15.2 seconds per possession to rank as the 18th fastest offense. Either K-State must force OU to be patient and settle for poor shots late in the clock, or they must hope Oklahoma is impatient and forces bad shots, especially since the Sooners aren't great on the offensive glass.

2. Hit Twos

Getting beat on twos has been a big issue for the K-State offense all season. Oklahoma is solid on both two-point defense and offense, but far from dominant. Going into Big 12 play how K-State can perform on both the offensive and defensive ends with two-point shots will be a big factor. I think if K-State can just match the Sooners on twos they Wildcats have a great chance to win this game.

3. Turnovers

Perhaps the key to the Weber/Lowery defense the last several years is forcing turnovers, and this year is no different. However, Oklahoma is one of the best in the country at taking care of it, so it won't be easy. On the others side, K-State hasn't protected it well but Kruger's defenses aren't typically aggressive as the low TO rates and FT rates would show. If K-State can find a way to force OU into an uncharacteristic high TO game it would be huge for a big win on the road to open Big 12 play.

GAME 13

KANSAS STATE (7-5) vs. OKLAHOMA (9-3)

Saturday, January 4, 2020 >> 12:02 p.m. CT >> Lloyd Noble Center (11,562) >> Norman, Okla.

TELEVISION

Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Clay Matvick (play-by-play)Bryndon Manzer (analyst)Paul Ervin (producer)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580

Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

Satellite Radio: XM 387 / Internet 977

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)Stan Weber (analyst)

LIVE STATS

www.soonersports.com

oklahoma.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS

www.soonersports.com/tickets

(800) 456.GoOU [4668]

Public: $20 -$40

Youth/Senior Citizen: $15

COACHES

Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)

Overall: 470-249/22nd season

At K-State: 157-94/8th season

vs. Oklahoma: 10-4 (3-4 on the road)

Oklahoma: Lon Kruger (Kansas State ‘74)

Overall: 648-412/34th season

At Oklahoma: 169-108/9th season

vs. Kansas State: 8-11 (6-3 at home)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (7-5)

G: #00 Mike McGuirl

G: #2 Cartier Diarra

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #23 Montavious Murphy

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Oklahoma (9-3)

G: #24 Jamal Bieniemy

G: #15 Alondes Williams

G: #12 Austin Reaves

F: #21 Kristian Doolittle

F: #35 Brady Manek

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Oklahoma leads 108-101

Current Streak: K-State, 2

In Norman: Oklahoma leads 63-28

At Lloyd Noble Center: Oklahoma leads 25-11

Last Meeting: W, 68-53 [3/9/19 in Manhattan]

Weber vs. Kruger: Weber leads 11-4 [3-4 on the road]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (7-5) opens up the Big 12 portion of its schedule on Saturday, as the Wildcats travel to Norman, Okla., to take on Oklahoma (9-3) in the conference opener at the Lloyd Noble Center. This will mark the 14th time that K-State has opened league play against Oklahoma with the Sooners holding an 8-5 record, including a 4-1 mark at home. The game will tip at noon CT on Big 12 Now with Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) on the call.

Saturday’s Big 12 opener will be just the second true road game of the season and the first since a 60-56 overtime win at UNLV on Nov. 9. Overall, the Wildcats are 1-3 away from home venues this season with all 3 losses (Pittsburgh, Bradley and Mississippi State) coming at neutral sites. Last season, K-State posted a 7-2 record on the road in Big 12 play, which was the best mark since going 6-1 in 1975-76. The team is just 1-4 in its last 5 attempts when opening league play away from home.

Oklahoma (9-3) is riding a 2-game winning streak into Saturday’s Big 12 opener with consecutive home wins against UCF (53-52) and UTRGV (91-72) after dropping back-to-back road tilts at Wichita State (75-80) and Creighton (73-83). The Sooners are a perfect 5-0 at home this season, winning those 5 games by an average of 14 points per game. The team has impressive neutral site wins over Minnesota (71-62), Oregon State (77-69) and Missouri (77-66), while their 3 losses (Stanford, Wichita State and Creighton) coming to teams with a combined record of 35-5. They are led by the triple scoring threat of Kristian Doolittle (16.7 ppg.), Austin Reaves (16.3) and Brady Manek (15.4), who combine to average nearly 50 points per game.

This will be the 210th meeting between K-State and Oklahoma on the hardwood with the Sooners holding a 108-101 advantage, including a 63-28 mark at home. The teams have each won 16 meetings in the Big 12 era with the Wildcats winning 7 of the last 10 games, including a season sweep last season for the first time since 2015. This will be the first time the schools have met in a Big 12 opener since a 61-53 win by the Sooners at Bramlage Coliseum on Jan. 10, 2009 and the first at the Lloyd Noble Center since a 84-82 win by the Wildcats on Jan. 12, 2008.K-State is 52-54 (.491) all-time in conference openers dating back to the start of Missouri Valley play in 1914, including a 17-33 (.340) mark on the road.

The Wildcats are 9-14 (.391) in Big 12 openers, including 3-10 (.667) away from home. The team has won 4 of their last 7 openers in Big 12 play, including 2 of the last 3 (vs. Texas in 2016 and at Iowa State in 2017), after winning once in the previous 8 openers.

K-State snapped a 2-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon with a 69-67 win over Tulsa at Bramlage Coliseum, as senior Makol Mawien blocked Elijah Joiner’s shot with 1 second left to preserve the victory and end 2019 on a positive note. The Wildcats were finally able to close out a tight game (4 of 5 losses have come by single digits) behind the efforts of junior Cartier Diarra (25) and senior Xavier Sneed (18), who combined for 43 points. For his efforts, Diarra earned his first career Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honor, as he collected his third 20-point game of the season with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-16 field goals, including 6-of-11 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 7 assists and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes.

NOTES ON OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma (9-3) is coming off a 91-72 win over UTRGV on New Year’s Eve that improved the Sooners to 5-0 at the Lloyd Noble Center. Junior Brady Manek led all players with 29 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, while fellow juniors Kur Kuath and Austin Reaves added 17 and 12 points, respectively. Among Oklahoma’s 9 wins are neutral site victories over Minnesota (71-62), Oregon State (77-69) and Missouri (77-66), while the 3 losses have come to teams (Stanford, Wichita State and Creighton) with a combined record of 35-5 this season.

Oklahoma is averaging 75.3 points on 42.7 percent shooting, including 31.5 percent from 3-point range, with 38.4 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 6.3 steals and 4.0 blocks per game, while allowing 69.8 points on 40.1 percent shooting, including 32.8 percent from 3-point range. The team has connected on a Big 12-best 78.9 percent from the free throw line.Oklahoma is led by the triple scoring threat of senior Kristian Doolittle (16.7 ppg.) and juniors Austin Reaves (16.3 ppg.) and Brady Manek (15.4 ppg.), who are averaging nearly 50 points per game. Doolittle, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, leads the Sooners in both scoring and rebounding (8.9 rpg.), while connecting on 47.1 percent from the field, including 57.1 percent from 3-point range. Reaves, a transfer from Wichita State, is hitting on 39.6 percent from the field to go with 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. Manek has a team-leading 28 3-point field goals on 40 percent shooting, while he is second in rebounding (6.3 rpg.). Sophomore Jamal Bieniemy leads the team with 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Oklahoma is led by ninth-year head coach Lon Kruger, who has a 169-108 (.610) record, which includes 6 NCAA Tournaments and the 2016 Final Four . He is 648-412 (.611) in his 34th season as a head coach, which includes an 81-46 (.638) mark and 4 NCAA Tournaments at K-State from 1986-90.

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber speaks on Oklahoma

Kansas State guard Mike McGuirl looks forward to Big 12 play starting

Highlights: K-State knocks off Tulsa in Cats' last outing

The win over Tulsa was a desperately needed boost - as will be the healthy additions of Montavious Murphy and Antonio Gordon back into the lineup - but I think Oklahoma has too many offensive answers for a K-State team that's likely to go through a scoring drought at some point in the conference road opener.

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