Kansas State at Kansas: Preview and Players to Watch
Overview
If you watched the first episode of this year's Sunflower Showdown, you very likely remember how it went. Kansas had to rally from behind to overcome their largest halftime deficit ever faced in a win. At the time, K-State was coming off two straight upset victories, but looking at their season as a whole to that point, it seemed like maybe they just hit a lucky streak. A month later, it's looking more and more like KSU is a pretty solid basketball team.
The Wildcats are almost certainly not making the NCAA Tournament, but they sit at 6-8 in a tough Big 12 conference. Since those back to back wins over Texas and Texas Tech, it should be noted that the teams they're beating are those sitting at or near the bottom of the conference. Since the Jayhawks beat them in Manhattan, they've lost twice to Baylor, suffered a bad loss to Mississippi, and are coming off a rough overtime loss to Oklahoma State.
Where most Bruce Weber teams tend to rely on scrappy defense, this team has actually struggled more on that end of the court in Big 12 play, ranking 8th in the league in defensive efficiency, while their offense ranks 5th. K-State isn't playing good two point defense, doesn't force turnovers, allows too many offensive boards, and fouls quite a bit. Offensively they've avoided turnovers and heated up from three point range, ranking first in the Big 12 in 3P%.
Players to Watch
Nijel Pack, 6'0 sophomore guard
If you watched the first game, I don't need to warn you about Pack. He lit up the Jayhawks for 35 in January, going 8-12 from three. He's hitting 43% from distance this year and leads the team in offensive rating.
Markquis Norwell, 5'8 junior point guard
Norwell wasn't as hot as Pack in the first game, but still left his fingerprints all over the near-upset. He scored 16 with six assists and three steals, and he's first in the Big 12 in assist rate while ranking 2nd in steal rate.
Mark Smith, 6'4 senior wing
There's a big dropoff in production after the two aforementioned players, but Smith is capable of having an impact on a game. He leads the team in minutes, and despite standing 6'4, is far and away the team's best rebounder. He also hits 34% from range, so you can't forget him on the perimeter, either.
Prediction
Bruce Weber just finds a way to coach pesky teams, regardless of what the roster looks like. K-State has been up and down this year, but they just don't have the feel of a team you can look past. I don't think they have much chance at all of coming into Allen Fieldhouse and winning, but I could see this one never really turning into a blowout where you can rest your main guys.
Kansas 80, Kansas State 70
