WACO - Follow K-State at Baylor all day long in the KSO GameCenter.

1. Attack with confidence

People love to talk about K-State's zone offense, but the reality is the Wildcats are much closer to being an average offense against the zone than a poor one. Either way, Baylor's zone is one Bruce Weber's team has typically sliced up in recent meetings. K-State should expect to have success against this defense and be willing to attack more aggressively and not be deterred by one or two mistakes near the basket.

2. Don't over-help

The reason for Baylor's success in Big 12 play isn't hard to figure out. As ksu_FAN noted on The KSO Show (linked below), the Bears shot just 28 percent from deep before league play and have shot 40 percent against Big 12 opposition. The Bears don't have the size, depth or athleticism of some of Scott Drew's better teams, but they try and make up for it with shooting. K-State can't make this easier on them by over-helping on contested two-point tries, shots that aren't in Baylor's comfort zone.

3. Be the hunter

I used this space a few weeks ago to talk about the mindset K-State needed to have at Texas A&M, one of a team with an opportunity as opposed to one with nothing to gain. The Wildcats failed in College Station. They need to recognize this is an opportunity (against a much better team) to prove that type of letdown effort in Texas was a fluke, not a part of who the Wildcats are.

PREDICTION: I don't believe Baylor star Makai Mason will be playing at 100 percent, and the Bears are a completely different team without him leading the way. That said, I still expect Baylor to be a plenty worthy competitor playing at home with a chance to regain a share of the Big 12 lead. At the most simple level, however, I believe K-State to be a more talented, experienced and well-coached team, a combination that should be enough to earn a crucial road win in Waco today.

K-State 70, Baylor 65

GAME 23

KANSAS STATE (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) at BAYLOR (15-7, 6-3 Big 12)

Saturday, February 9, 2019 >> 5:05 p.m. CT >> Ferrell Center (10,284) >> Waco, Texas

TELEVISION

ESPN2 / ESPN3

Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play)Tim Welsh (analyst)Brian Boyle (producer)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

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

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

Satellite Radio: XM 381 / Internet 972

LIVE STATS

www.baylorbears.com

baylor.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS

www.baylorbears.com/tickets

(254) 710-1000

Single Game: $20

COACHES

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

Overall: 455-240/21st season

At K-State: 142-85/7th season

vs. Baylor: 7-6 (3-3 on the road)

Baylor: Scott Drew (Butler ’93)

Overall: 331-213/17th season

At Baylor: 311-202/16th season

vs. Kansas State: 11-14 (5-5 at home)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (17-5, 7-2 Big 12)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #32 Dean Wade

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Baylor (15-7, 6-3 Big 12)

G: #10 Makai Mason

G: #3 King McClure

G: #12 Jared Butler

G/F: #11 Mark Vital

G/F: #4 Mario Kegler

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 21-18

Current Streak: K-State, 4

In Waco: Baylor leads 8-7

At Ferrell Center: Baylor leads 7-6

Last Meeting: W, 77-67, 3/3/18

Weber vs. Drew: 7-6 (3-3 on the road)

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) begins the second half of Big 12 play with a trip to Waco, Texas on Saturday night to take on fellow Big 12 challenger Baylor (15-7, 6-3 Big 12) at the Ferrell Center. The game will tip at 5:05 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (analyst) on the call. It is the first of back-to-back road games in a 4-game span for the Wildcats, which plays at Texas (13-10, 5-5 Big 12) on Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.

K-State enters Saturday’s game in first place in the Big 12, just a half-game ahead of No. 17/16 Iowa State (18-5, 7-3 Big 12), one game ahead of Baylor and a game and a half ahead of No. 18/18 Texas Tech (18-5, 6-4 Big 12) and No. 13/14 Kansas (17-6, 6-4 Big 12). Seven of the 10 Big 12 schools have at least 4 league wins, as all teams have reached the midway point of the 18-game schedule.

Paced by senior Barry Brown, Jr.’s game-tying 18 points, four Wildcats scored in double figures to help end an 8-game losing streak to archrival and No. 13/14 Kansas by a score of 74-67 on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum. K-State has now won 7 consecutive games in Big 12 play for the first time in nearly 10 years and the first time since also winning 7 in a row from Feb. 2 to Feb. 27, 2010 to tie for the most consecutive league games won in the Big 12 era. It not only marked the first win by senior class of Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade against the Jayhawks, it represented the 80th of their careers (80-47) since joining the program in 2015-16. A Brown 3-pointer gave K-State the lead for good nearly 4 minutes into the second half, but Kansas challenged several times down the stretch, including 64-61 with 1:42 remaining. The Wildcats responded each time, including a corner 3-pointer by junior Xavier Sneed with 75 seconds to play that ignited a 7-0 run to finish off the victory. Although, they allowed Kansas to scored 67 points on 46.2 percent shooting, the squad scored 22 points off an opponent-high 23 turnovers. It marked the ninth time this season that the Wildcats have scored 20 or more points off turnovers.

Baylor saw its 6-game winning streak come to an end in its 84-72 loss at Texas on Wednesday night, as the hot-shooting Longhorns connected on 55.1 percent from the field. One of the more inspiring stories in college basketball, the Bears have found the right mix of players after injuries derailed its non-conference season to win 6 of its last 8 Big 12 games.

They are led by Big 12 Newcomer of the Year candidate Makai Mason, who leads the way in both scoring (16.1 ppg.) and assists (3.0 apg.). The K-State/Baylor series has been one of the most competitive with the Bears holding a narrow 17-16 edge since the start of Big 12 play in 1997. Although the Wildcats have won 4 straight in the series, including consecutive games at the Ferrell Center, the two teams have split the last 10 meetings. Eight of the last 13 meetings in Waco have been decided by 3 points or less, while 3 of those meetings have gone to overtime.

K-State, which has struggled from the 3-point line this season ranking ninth in the Big 12 in both makes per game (6.8) and percentage (32.8), has found its rhythm from long range in the last 2 games, knocking down a combined 26 treys on 53 attempts (49.1 percent). The 26 made 3-pointers are the most in a 2-game stretch since connecting on 32 in games against Fresno State (school-record 23) and Vanderbilt (9) on March 24 and 28, 1994.

NOTES ON BAYLOR

Baylor (15-7, 6-3 Big 12) saw its 6-game winning streak end at Texas on Wednesday, as the hot-shooting Longhorns connected on 55.1 percent from the field in an 84-72 victory. The Bears shot nearly 50 percent (49.1) and saw 4 players score in double figures led by sophomore Mark Vital’s 14 points.Baylor is averaging 73.2 points on 45.4 percent shooting, including 33.7 percent from 3-point range, to go with 37.9 rebounds, 14.4 assists, 6.8 steals and 5.1 blocks per game, while allowing 64.5 points on 41.5 percent shooting, including 33.3 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 66.3 percent from the free throw line. The Bears lead the Big 12 in rebounding defense (31.3), rebounding margin (+6.6) and blocked shots (5.1).

Baylor is averaging a Big 12-best 76.9 points in Big 12 play on 46.2 percent shooting, including 40.1 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 69.7 points on 45 percent shooting, including 40.1 percent from 3-point range.

The Bears are led by Big 12 Newcomer of the Year candidate Makai Mason, who leads the team in both scoring (16.1 ppg.) and assists (3.0 apg.). The former Yale standout is averaging 18.4 points on 47.7 percent shooting, including 45 percent from 3-point range, in Big 12 play. He was named Big 12 Player of the Week last week after a 40-point effort in the win over TCU.

Six other players are averaging better than 5.6 points per game, including senior King McClure (9.9 ppg.) and sophomore transfer Mario Kegler (9.2 ppg.). Sophomore Mark Vital paces one of the league’s top rebounding teams at 7.1 per game, as 4 players are averaging better than 3.5 boards.

Baylor is led by 16th-year head coach Scott Drew, who has posted a 311-202 (606) record, which includes 7 trips to the NCAA Tournament and 2 Elite Eights. He is 331-213 (.609) in his 17th season as a head coach.