What more could Kansas State seniors Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade want?
The trio, which has already been two two NCAA Tournaments and earned its way to the Elite Eight last season with a memorable upset of Kentucky in Atlanta, has just one game left to play in Bramlage Coliseum.
That game will not only represent what figures to be an emotional Senior Night, but also an opportunity to win the Big 12 Championship in front of a jam-packed crowd in Manhattan.
Yes, Kansas' streak is dead either way - thanks to the consistent play of both the Wildcats and Big 12 co-leader Texas Tech - but the Wildcats have to pick up one more win to claim, at worst, a share of the conference crown for the second time in Coach Bruce Weber's K-State tenure.
Let's get you ready for No. 18 K-State vs. Oklahoma tonight in the KSO GameCenter.
THREE KEYS (and a pick)
1. Play basketball
There's plenty in the way of story lines for this game. Senior Day. Big 12 Championship. NCAA Tournament seeding. I could go on and on. At the end of the day, however, K-State should be just fine if this is played like a semi-regular Big 12 basketball game. The Wildcats were already pushing this message immediately after Monday night's win in Fort Worth. If they believe it, and can play in a manner that proves it, things should be just fine.
2. Keep moving
Teams have been switching everything on K-State as of late, and the Sooners will either use a match-up zone or play a man that switches virtually everything. The Wildcats expect this, and Coach Bruce Weber told us on Thursday he was excited for his team to have some time to practice against these things as opposed to needing to figure it out in a game setting - something they've been forced to do due to injury/illness much of the second half of conference play. The Wildcats need to move the ball, move their bodies and attack the mis-matches that will inevitably come against OU.
3. No second chances
In a basketball sense the Wildcats need to prevent OU from getting second-shot opportunities. The Sooners have been one of the league's worst offensive rebounding teams in the Big 12 this year, and it needs to stay that way Saturday night.
Big picture, these seniors will - quite obviously - never have another chance to win a Big 12 title on their home floor on Senior Night. It's literally a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Brown, Stokes and Wade, one I'm sure they'll push themselves to the limit to achieve.
PREDICTION: Oklahoma has been a much better basketball team in recent weeks. The Sooners have won four of their last five, including a destruction of Kansas Tuesday night in Norman. Remember, however, OU was also playing good basketball (and ranked No. 20) when the Wildcats handled them in Norman. This just isn't a great match-up for this OU team. I think Lon Kruger's bunch is good enough to create some stressful moments on Saturday, but the Wildcats will dispatch of them much in the same manner they have Baylor and TCU in recent games.
K-State 67, Oklahoma 59
OFFICIAL PREVIEW: Provided by KSU Sports Information Department
GAME 31
18/17 KANSAS STATE (23-7, 13-4 Big 12) vs. OKLAHOMA (19-11, 7-10 Big 12)
Saturday, March 9, 2019 >> 5:05 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.
TELEVISION
ESPN2 / ESPN3
Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play)Robbie Hummel (analyst)Colleen O’Sullivan (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: Sirius 84 / XM 84 / Internet 84
LIVE STATS
kstate.statbroadcast.com [media only]
TICKETS
www.kstatesports.com/tickets
(800) 221.CATS [2287]
Single Game: $35 (bench & GA)/$75 (chairback)
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 461-242/21st season
At K-State: 148-87/7th season
vs. Oklahoma: 9-4 (6-0 at home)
Oklahoma: Lon Kruger (Kansas State ’75)
Overall: 638-406/33rd Year
At Oklahoma: 159-102/8th Year
vs. Kansas State: 8-10 (2-6 on the road)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (23-7, 13-4 Big 12)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Oklahoma (19-11, 7-10 Big 12)
G: #24 Jamal Bienlemy
G: #1 Rashad Odomes
G: #0 Christian James
F: #35 Brady Manek
F: #21 Kristian Doolittle
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Oklahoma leads 108-100
Current Streak: K-State, 1
In Manhattan: K-State leads 61-36
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 15-8
Last Meeting: W, 74-61, 1/16/19
Weber vs. Kruger: 10-4 (6-0 at home)
OPENING TIP
No. 18/17 Kansas State (23-7, 13-4 Big 12) wraps up the regular season with a visit from former Wildcat standout Lon Kruger and his red-hot Oklahoma Sooners (19-11, 7-10 Big 12) on Saturday, as the Wildcats celebrate Senior Day at Bramlage Coliseum. The athletics department will honor senior managers Sagin Churchman and Josh Macy as well as senior players Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade in a pre-game ceremony. The game will tip at 5:05 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call.
K-State enters Saturday’s game in a first-place tie in the Big 12 with No. 8/8 Texas Tech (25-5, 13-4 Big 12) with the opportunity to claim the regular-season conference title for the first time since 2013. The Wildcats have not won an outright conference championship since winning the 1977 Big Eight crown, while they shared the 2013 Big 12 title with Kansas. The team has clinched at least a first round bye in next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at Sprint Center and will be either the No. 1 or No. 2 seed at the tournament depending of the outcome of Saturday’s game.
Senior Barry Brown, Jr., paced four Wildcats in double figures with a team-high 16 points, as K-State wrapped up its Big 12 road schedule with a 64-52 win over TCU at Schollmaier Arena on Monday night. The victory not only helped K-State keep pace in the Big 12 race, but it also represented the seventh Big 12 road win, which tied for the most in school history and the most since the 1958-59 team went 7-0 on the road in Big Eight play. Joining Brown in double figures were fellow senior Kamau Stokes (15) and juniors Xavier Sneed (11) and Makol Mawien (10), while senior Dean Wade nearly made it five starters in double figures with 9 points. The starters were responsible for 61 of the 64 points to go with 25 of 29 rebounds, 13 of 15 assists, 7 of 8 steals and all 3 blocks. The Horned Frogs were held to a season-low 52 points.
Oklahoma enters the Saturday’s contest with momentum after winning 4 of its last 5 games, including an 81-68 victory over No. 13/14 Kansas, which ended the Jayhawks’ hopes of a 15th straight conference title. The Sooners are averaging nearly 75 points during this 5-game stretch, including back-to-back games of 80 or more points.
The experienced squad has six players averaging in 6 or more points, including a trio (Christian James, Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle) in double figures.
K-State and Oklahoma will meet for the 209th time on Saturday with the Sooners holding a 108-100 advantage in a series that dates to 1920. The Wildcats have a 61-36 mark in games played at home, including a 6-game winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum. Brown (25 points) and Wade (20) combined for 45 points, as K-State led wire-to-wire in winning the first meeting with Oklahoma, 74-61, at the Lloyd Noble Center on Jan. 16. The Wildcats connected on 50 percent (29-of-58) from the field, including 54.8 percent (17-of-31) in the second half, and knocked down 10 3-pointers on 45.5 percent shooting.
Defense continues to carry the Wildcats, as they are holding opponents to just 59.3 points (59.9 points in Big 12 games) on 41.3 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range. K-State has held 17 of 30 opponents (8 Big 12 foes) to 60 points or less with just two eclipsing 70. The team ranks among the Top 50 in several defensive categories, including fourth in scoring defense, 56th in field goal percentage defense and 44th in 3-point field goal percentage defense. The Wildcats are averaging 17.3 points off 14.8 opponent turnovers this season, including 16.9 points in Big 12 play.
