Kansas State Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks Tip off in Sunflower Showdown

Where: Lawrence, KS (Allen Fieldhouse)

Time: 7:00 pm

TV: Big 12 TV

Line: Kansas -8.5

The Kansas State Wildcats come into Lawrence with an 11-1 record and are ranked No. 22 in the country. The Wildcats have won six straight games and are playing their best basketball of the season. Rodney McGruder leads the Wildcats with 12.5 points per game.

Kansas State’s only loss was in double overtime to West Virginia in Wichita. Their best win was a 69-61 victory at Virginia Tech.

Nobody starts conference play with a tougher schedule then the Wildcats. Kansas State will face Kansas, Missouri and Baylor in consecutive games. Those three teams have a combined record of 38-3 and all are ranked in the Top 15.

The Jayhawks enter tonight’s game with a 10-3 record and a ranking of No. 15 in the country. Few teams have challenged themselves the way Kansas has. The Jayhawks have played No. 2 Kentucky, No. 9 Georgetown, No. 3 Duke and No. 7 Ohio State.

Thomas Robinson leads Kansas with 17.7 points and 12.2 rebounds. Guard Tyshawn Taylor averages 15.3 points and has a team-high 5.2 assists per game.

Taylor struggled with turnovers earlier in the season, but during the last three games, he has averaged 6.33 assists and only two turnovers per game.

For the Jayhawks to have success during the conference season, Taylor needs to play under control and limit the turnovers. Robinson might be the best player on the Jayhawks roster, but Taylor is the most important.