Game Primer: How to Watch, Key Players and Important Information for Kansas at Oklahoma State

The Kansas Jayhawks are one of the biggest surprises of the season so far as they nearly finished out non-conference play with an undefeated record, falling in triple overtime to Nebraska in their last outing.

But the Jayhawks have some impressive results this season, and they will look to transfer that into conference play against the Cowgirls..

Overview

The Jayhawks used two dominant performances, one from Zakiyah Franklin and the other from Taiyanna Jackson, to get huge victories in both of their games away from home, but they will look to feed off the energy of a big home crowd to get the biggest win of the year.

The Kansas Jayhawks are ranked #22, maintaining their ranking despite a triple overtime loss to Nebraska. Oklahoma State is not receiving votes.

The Jayhawks and Cowgirls have played 78 times, with Oklahoma State leading the series 41-37, including a 18-14 edge in Stillwater. However, Kansas swept the series last season.

Here are the essentials:

The Numbers

Editor's Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are provided by CBB Analytics. CBB Analytics is a new stats website in college hoops, covering both men and women's basketball in D-I, D-II and D-III. You can follow them on Twitter @CBBAnalytics

Kansas: 10-1 (CBB Analytics Net Rating - 26th overall, 56th offense, 16th defense)

Oklahoma State: 10-2 (Net Rating - 32nd overall, 21st offense, 112th defense)

Line: KU -1.5

O/U: 135.5

How to Watch

Saturday, December 31st, 4:00 p.m. CST

Stillwater, OK: Gallagher-Iba Arena

TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+

- Mike Wolfe (Play-by-Play), Latricia Trammell (Analyst)

Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

- Steven Davis (Play-by-Play)

Webcast: Kansas Online Radio

Game Coverage

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Opponent Team Form

The Cowgirls are coached by head coach Jacie Hoyt, who is in her first season at Oklahoma State. The program made a coaching change after going 9-20 overall and 3-15 in Big 12 play last year.

A huge turnover on the roster has done quite a bit to turn around their fortunes so far.

According to CBB Analytics, they improved from the 319th best offense last year to the 21st rated offense this season on a per possession basis. The defense only slightly improved it's ranking (113th to 112th) but the rating got better by three whole points (89.1 last season to 86.1 this season).

On the season, the team is shooting 45.9% overall, including 37.1% from three-point range. But they only hit 66.7% of their shots from the line. Interestingly, they also shoot 37.1% of their shots from beyond the arc.

Oklahoma State averages 79.0 points per game, 40.3 rebounds per game, 16.4 assists each game and they turn the ball over an average of 11.7 times per game.

Players to Watch

The Cowgirls are a guard-heavy team, with the three leading scorers and four of the top five lining up on the perimeter. Naomie Alnatas leads the team in points (13.3), assists (4.3) and steals (1.6) per game, while hitting 39.4% from three. Joining her on the perimeter is Claire Chastain, who rebounds well from the guard spot, and Lexy Keys, who has stepped up a few times.

Down in the post, the main big is Taylen Colins who leads the team in rebounding with 9.5 per game. She is joined in the post by Lior Garzon, who not only is a physical presence down low, but she also has range, hitting 45.5% of her three pointers.

Matchups to Watch

This is a balanced team that will give Kansas problems, especially as they try to find ways to score. That will make Taiyanna Jackson all the more important as she looks to be a consistent scoring threat on the inside.

On the perimeter, the Jayhawks will have their hands full with a team that is just as likely to pull up for a long three as drive past you to try and score in the lane. The defense of Holly Kersgieter and Zakiyah Franklin will need to make it difficult for the home team. And Franklin will need to continue her scoring ways to take some pressure off the rest of the team.

Prediction

Franklin has been the best player on the roster for the Jayhawks in the last few weeks, and it's hard to imagine that she is going to slow down any time soon without a concerted effort from Oklahoma State. But if they shift to try and help, Kansas has plenty of other options that can make life difficult. Give me Chandler Prater in a breakout performance to lead the Jayhawks, with Jackson and Franklin right behind. The Jayhawks get the win and keep climbing the polls.

Kansas 71, Oklahoma State 67.

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