8:00 PM EST, BIG XII Network/ESPN+ – Line: Kansas -8.5, Over/Under: 145.5
Bitter rivals meet for the second time in two weeks, as the surprising seventh-ranked Kansas State Wildcats look to keep pace in the competitive Big XII, while the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks hope that they’ve put the worst behind them, with a chance for payback on their minds in this battle from Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. Coming into this showdown at the Phog, there are SIX different teams within one game of first place in the Big XII, though Kansas State (18-3, 6-2 in Big XII) currently shares the top spot with two others, namely Texas and Iowa State. The Wildcats have defeated the former (116-103), yet were beaten by the latter (76-80), though all the talk coming into this rematch with their instate rivals will revolve around their narrow 83-82 triumph in Manhattan back on January 17th. On that day, (Head Coach) Jerome Tang’s troops led by as many fourteen points, though were nonetheless forced fend off a furious rally from the visiting ‘Hawks that sent the affair into overtime. From there, the hosts scored all but four of their points from the free-throw line, though (Senior Forward) Keyontae Johnson’s dunk with twenty-four seconds remaining gave the ‘Cats the lead for good. In the end, these foes were remarkable equal across the board, though the home side was far more efficient from beyond the arc, knocking down 7-of-17 attempts (41.2%), while their opponent couldn’t throw it in the ocean on a miserable 6-of-29 shooting (20.7%). Johnson (pictured above) had himself a man-sized game, sharing the team lead in points (24), while calmly knocking down 8-of-9 free-throws (88.9%), along with eight rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals, and a block. (Senior Guard) Desi Sills, poured in a season-high twenty-four points off the bench, with eight free-throws of his own and three steals. Unranked to begin the campaign, the K-State has grown exponentially in a short period of time under the leadership of Tang, who in his first season in the Little Apple has guided his team to their first appearance in the top-ten of the AP Poll since 2012-2013 on the strength of four victories over ranked opposition, including the last two National Champions, Kansas and Baylor. After spending nearly two decades in Waco, the 56-year-old hit the transfer portal hard last Spring, bringing in the likes of Johnson and Sills from Florida and Arkansas State respectively, while (Sophomore Guard) Camryn Carter and (Junior Forward) David N’Guessan arrived via Mississippi State and Virginia Tech. roughly halfway through their league schedule, the Wildcats have been the Big XII’s most prolific offensive outfit, leading the conference in points (81.9) and assists (17.0), while sitting at second in three-point field goals (8.3) and three-point percentage (38.6%), as well as free-throws made (19.1). With that being said, this is a team that deals in volume too, for no team in the league has attempted more field goals than them (59.0). Looking to tonight’s rematch in Lawrence, these teams have met 183 times, with the ‘Cats often getting the short end of the proverbial stick with a 58-125 record (.317), with that aforementioned thriller at Bramlage Coliseum snapping a seven-game losing streak in the series. In fact, this is a program that has lost all but two of their last seventeen meetings with their bitter rival, with their last victory at the Phog coming back in 2006. From a betting perspective, K-State has been money against the spread over their last ten outings, covering all but two of those contests regardless of the venue. Though they’re a middling 5-5 straight-up in their last ten games away from Manhattan, they’ve been better from a spread point of view, posting a 7-3 mark away from the Little Apple. Furthermore, as one-sided as their rivalry with Kansas has been over the years, they have covered the spread in four of their last five encounters, though that has NOT been the case when they’ve made the short trip to Lawrence, where they’ve failed to cover FIVE straight affairs. However, Tuesday nights have been kind to those who have placed a wager on these cats, who have covered six straight games on this particular day of the week. Tonight’s battle kicks off a crucial triumvirate of games for Tang & Co, for after this dalliance at the Phog, they will host (No. 10) Texas and (No. 11) TCU in a span of just four days, meaning that the league standings could look VERY different in a week’s time.
Meanwhile, as we alluded to earlier, Kansas (17-4, 5-3 in Big XII) hopes that the worst is indeed behind them as they just snapped the longest losing streak of the Bill Self era, which came to a merciful end with last weekend’s 77-68 victory at Kentucky. Needless to say, this doesn’t happen very often to the Jayhawks, who endured a three-game losing streak that began with that aforementioned defeat in Manhattan, marking the longest skid in school history since dropping four in a row back in 1989. So, what in the name of Danny Manning happened to Rock Chalk Jayhawk, you ask? Well, it’s rarely ever one factor when we’re talking about a midseason swoon and that is the case for Self’s troops, who struggled on both ends of the hardwood. The ‘Hawks weren’t great offensively, shooting only 42.7% from the field, and were particularly problematic from long-range, where they knocked down just 26.1% of their attempts, while committing nearly as many turnovers (15.0) as assists (15.7), which is never a recipe for success, no matter what level of the game were referring to. However, their play on defense was well below their typical standard, for even in the past when they hard time getting buckets, you could always count on them managing to steamroll the opposition going the other way. However, that wasn’t the case against the likes of Kansas State (82-83), TCU (60-83), and Baylor (69-75), who together averaged 80.3 points on 44.1% shooting from the field, including a healthy 38.7% from three, while also getting to the charity stripe with ease (24.7 FTA), which affords them the luxury of dictating the tempo of play and keeping Kansas out of transition. Thankfully, that victory over Kentucky saw a return to form from the reigning National Champions, as the visitors lit up Lexington on a stellar 49.2% shooting, including a far more reasonable 6-of-16 from the perimeter (37.5%), outscoring the hosts by twelve points in that regard. Sure, they continued their troubling knack for fouling, sending the Wildcats to the line for twenty-three free-throws, but that proved to be inconsequential given their advantage on the glass (31-26) and a far healthier assist/turnover differential (18-10). Four different players scored in double-figures for the Jayhawks, led by (Junior Forward) Jalen Wilson (pictured above), who topped twenty points for the twelfth time this year, totaling twenty-two on an efficient 9-of-18 shooting (50.0%), along with eight rebounds, and a pair of assists and steals apiece. Say what you will about his team over the last four games, but you can’t say anything but positive things about the veteran Forward, who has averaged 28.3 points on 52.5% shooting, with 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists during this soul-searching stretch. As a team, the ‘Hawks look like a reigning champion who lost a number of upperclassmen, with the likes of Ochai Agbaji and Christain Braun selected in the NBA Draft, while David McCormack and Remy Martin graduated. That’s four out five starters gone, with Self looking to grow the next line of stars, which apart from Wilson is still very much a work in progress. That’s been no more evident than in conference play, where this group is middle of the pack on both ends of the hardwood; KU ranks fifth in both points (71.5) and points allowed (72.1) in conference play thus far. Looking to tonight’s encounter with Kansas State, Kansas is a staggering 38-7 (.844) against their instate rivals since Self arrived back in 2003, which includes an insane 21-1 mark (.954) against them at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Tonight’s meeting will be only the eleventh time in which both teams are ranked at the time of crossing paths, and just the third occasion in the last eight years. From a betting perspective, the Jayhawks have been .500 against the spread over their last ten games regardless of the venue and have covered the spread in just three of their last ten outings in Lawrence. 3-2 against the line in their last five meetings with the Wildcats, the Jayhawks have covered each of their last five played at the Phog. However, they have been rather cold when it comes to covering the number, for Kansas has failed to cover five consecutive home games and are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games overall. Furthermore, they’ve matched that record in their last six outings against teams with a win percentage above .600, which is the case tonight. As is the case with their rivals, this contest kicks off a crucial string of affairs for Self & Co, who travel to Aimes this weekend to face (No. 12) Iowa State before following that up with a midweek clash with (No. 10) Texas, meaning that we’re about to see if this team is truly out of the woods or still trying to find their way home.