Read our full Preview & Prediction for Kansas State's Big 12 Conference road test at Iowa State.

Saturday, February 8, 2020 >> 7:05 p.m., CT >> Hilton Coliseum (14,384) >> Ames, Iowa

TELEVISION

ESPN2 / WatchESPN

Mark Neely (play-by-play)Jon Sundvold (analyst)David Ashbock (producer)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580

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

Satellite Radio: XM 380 / Internet 970

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

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (9-13)

G: #4 David Sloan

G: #3 DaJuan Gordon

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #23 Montavious Murphy

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Iowa State (9-13)

G: #33 Tyrese Haliburton

G: #3 Tre Jackson

G: #45 Rasir Bolton

F: #12 Michael Jacobson

F: #4 George Conditt IV

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (9-13, 2-7 Big 12) begins the second half of Big 12 play on Saturday night, as the Wildcats travel to Ames, Iowa to take Iowa State (9-13, 2-7 Big 12) at 7 p.m., CT at Hilton Coliseum. It will mark the first meeting of 2020 by the schools, whose rivalry dates to 1909. The game will tip at 7:05 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Jon Sundvold (analyst) on the call.

-K-State Athletics Communications

K-State travels to Ames on Saturday to take on Iowa State for the first time this season. The Cyclones are having a similar disappointing season, with an identical 9-13 record overall and 2-7 in the Big 12. Iowa State does have a nice win over Seton Hall in the non conference, and the Clones also beat Alabama in Ames.

Iowa State currently has the worst efficiency, eFG%, 2PT%, and 3PT% defense in the Big 12, and the Clones are average or below average in every other category. Offensively, this isn't a typical Cyclone team, as they are average from three and only slightly better than K-State in efficiency.

ISU is decent at forcing turnovers and keeping opponents off the offensive glass.

The Cyclones are led by returner Tyrese Haliburton and Penn State transfer Rasir Bolton. Haliburton has a nice efficiency of 1.10, leads ISU in assists, and shoots 40% from deep. Bolton isn't nearly as efficiency (under 1.0), but shoots 42% from three. The two combine for over 10 attempts from three per game in Big 12 play.

After those two, no other Cyclone player averages more than 7 points per game.

Solomon Young is ISU's best scoring big and a solid rebounder. Michael Jacobson is a former transfer from Nebraska and has the ability to step out and shoot the three, though he's below 30% this year. The final starter is freshman Tre Jackson, though he's only started the last two games. He does shoot 42% from behind the arc on nearly three attempts per game. Jackson replaced Colorado State transfer Prentiss Nixon in the starting line up; Nixon's efficiency is below 0.90 in Big 12 play, as he only shoots 13% from three on more than attempts per game.

Conditt provides depth in the post off the bench, while Griffin and Lewis provide depth on the wing.

Finally, former K-State recruit in Caleb Grill has played a reduced roll as the season goes along and is only at 8% from threee in Big 12 games.

1.Take advantage of the worst efficiency defense in the Big 12: Offense has been a major issue for this K-State team. Typically in a season the Cats have an efficiency of 1.00 or better two-thirds of the time and 1.10 or better one-thirds of the time. This year only seven games are 1.00 or better (32%) and only three are 1.10 or better (14%). ISU is also worst in the league against twos, an area K-State has struggled some this year. In Ames the Cats should be able to eclipse 50%, hopefully with a big game inside from Makol Mawien.

2. Get to the FT line: Another advantage for K-State is FT rate. K-State is second in the league on offense while the Cyclones only rank No. 6 defensively. Even though K-State isn't a great FT% team (66%, seventh), getting to the foul line often is the more important stat. It can be tougher on the road, but this is also a good indicator of the K-State offense being more aggressive. When you don't shoot it great, and are TO prone, you have to make up for those deficiencies somewhere. FT rate is one way to do that.

3. Take care of the ball: With this K-State team turnovers are always key, because forcing them is the thing this team does best. The biggest blip for this team has been the worst TO rate of any Cat team in the Bruce Weber era, so the advantage gained by pressure defense becomes negated. The key here is producing a gap of 5% or better; if that happens K-State likely wins points off turnovers, and it gives the Cats a much better shot to win this game.

These have been two very, very similar teams, and throughout this season I've picked against K-State where it feels like a toss up and/or the Wildcats are playing away from home. K-State does feel slightly more confident, however, in the team it feels its growing in to, and Weber hasn't been afraid to stress publicly the importance of this game.

I think the Wildcats break a pair of trends in both winning a road game and finding ways to make winning plays down the stretch of a close contest.

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