Game 28: No. 16 Kansas State at No. 15 Kansas – Preview and Prediction

Due to prior work commitments, I was not able to see Saturday’s massacre in Lubbock, so I will not try to mention it or dwell on it too much. The loss certainly hurt KU’s chances at a 15th straight Big 12 title, but they aren’t fully gone yet. A win on Monday night over Kansas State would pull the Jayhawks back to one game of first place with three games left. Somehow, some way, this team has a shot… but it doesn’t have any room for error. Monday night is a must win.

Game Info and Notes:

• Saturday, February 25th, 2019, 8:00 PM CDT
• Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kan.
• ESPN or WatchESPN App
• At 9-5, No. 15 Kansas is tied with Baylor for third in the Big 12 race with four games left in the league season. KU is two games behind Kansas State (11-3) and one behind Texas Tech (10-4).
• KU leads the overall series with Kansas State, 196-94, including an 89-35 record in meetings in Lawrence (48-18 in Allen Fieldhouse). KU has won eight of the last nine match-ups and, since Feb. 12, 1994, Kansas has won 57 of the last 63 meetings with K-State.
• Kansas’ 196 wins against Kansas State are the most for any team against an opponent in NCAA DI history.
• Kansas 90-12 following a loss in the Bill Self era, including 5-1 this season.
• Since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996-97, Kansas is 67-18 all-time on ESPN Big Monday (38-1 at home and 29-17 on the road), including 49-12 under head coach Bill Self (28-0 at home and 21-12 on the road). KU has won 32-straight Big Monday games in Allen Fieldhouse
• Kansas is 786-113 in Allen Fieldhouse and the Feb. 25 contest against Kansas State will be the 900th men’s basketball game played in the venue. This includes regular-season and postseason games (i.e. first round contests of the Big Eight Tournament).
• At 9-5, Kansas is vying to win its 10th conference game for the 25th consecutive season, a run which started in 1995 and is the longest active streak in the nation.

About the Wildcats

Kansas State has been the hottest team in the Big 12, as they’ve won 11 of their last 13 ball games. They have already taken down the Jayhawks once this year in Manhattan in a game that KU gift-wrapped them with many many many costly turnovers and missed shots. The Wildcats certainly have aspirations of winning the Big 12 and stopping KU’s streak in the process, and a win on Monday would certainly take care of the latter.

Wildcats to Watch

Dean Wade – Senior, Forward, 6’8″

There is no doubt the impact Wade has on the Wildcats. While he was out, the Wildcats were having trouble to score. K-State is a completely different team when he’s off the floor. K-State is actually 11-0 in conference games when Wade starts and finishes healthy. He’s second on the team in scoring at 13.1 PPG and leads them in rebounding at 6.3 RPG. He’s also dishing out 2.3 APG. In the first matchup, KU did a decent job at limiting him, as he had 12 points and nine boards on 5-15 from the field.

Barry Brown Jr. – Senior, Guard, 6’3″

Brown leads the Wildcats in scoring at 15.7 PPG. He’s been dynamite in Big 12 play at 17.5 PPG (only Dedric Lawson averages more). He thrives at getting to the basket, and he might be college basketball’s best guard defender. Where he can be had is three-point shooting, as he makes just 31% of his threes. But Kansas has got the best of Brown in eight career games. Against KU, he’s averaging just 8.3 PPG and owns a record of 1-8.

Prediction

Kansas 79 – Kansas State 67

These are games Kansas doesn’t lose. Expect Allen Fieldhouse to be a madhouse. I wouldn’t be shocked if the Jayhawks completely flip the script from Saturday and play one of their better games of the year. It’s hard to imagine Ochai Agbaji, Devon Dotson and Dedric Lawson combining for 23 points again. Give me KU in an inspired performance and lift the hopes up for a 15th straight Big 12 title.