Kansas-Kansas State Preview: Wildcats Are The Way Too Obvious Pick

The Kansas Jayhawks (19-5 ovr. 8-1 conf.) will make the hour and 45 minute bus ride to Manhattan, Kansas to take on the K-State Wildcats (17-7 ovr. 6-4 conf.) in what should be a solid matchup. 

Prior to losing to Missouri, and for most of the game against Missouri, Kansas has seemed to control its own in-game destiny with a combination of rock solid defense and a developed patience on offense. Missouri was able to knock KU out of the latter and you all saw the result on Monday night. 

K-State on the other hand has seen both the highs and lows of its conference schedule, starting off 0-4 before going on this incredible six-game winning streak. 

K-State will be looking to get its second win against Kansas in as many years at Bramlage Coliseum. Prior to the loss, Kansas had won every game since the arena opened. 

The Wildcats have had two impressive wins on their six-game winning streak, including an overtime victory in Austin, and a thorough 16 point victory at home to Missouri. 

Kansas cruised through its first eight conference games with only minimal fuss from an emerging Nebraska squad in Lincoln. I picked the Jayhawks to win their first eight, simply because I thought their squad had the quality to navigate through what was a pretty favorable schedule. 

Then the Jayhawks ran into the much hyped "Rivalry Week," which I must admit made me cringe. Seeing back-to-back away contests against their biggest rivals—Missouri and Kansas State—didn't make picking a 10-0 record too easy. 

Kansas was put to the test in the second half and made some uncharacteristic mistakes against a Missouri team that seemed to just have the belief that they were going to come away with the victory. 

A mid-afternoon contest away to in-state rivals K-State after a heartbreaking loss to hated rival Mizzou makes a KU loss a sexy pick for most sportswriters. I can tell you from first hand experience, the sexy pick typically comes with a lot of baggage. 

The folks at ESPN.com have tipped the Wildcats to win because Wildcat fans will be treating the game like a "purple-clad Super Bowl." Okay, sure it will be loud in Bramlage tomorrow afternoon, and it will be the second straight game in which the nerves of the KU freshman are tested. 

Maybe it isn't the freshman KU fans need to be worried about. Juniors Sherron Collins and Brady Morningstar made enough careless errors between the two of them on Monday that had they cut the mistakes in half, KU would have won by six or more. 

I have plenty of K-State fans and now that the basketball program has had the privilege of having a potential No. 1 draft pick, they are raising their basketball expectations. 

I remember how devastated I was last year when KU lost in Bramlage for the first time. The problem for me was that I wasn't mad because we lost to K-State, I was mad because we were no longer undefeated on their home court. 

Alright enough editorializing—let me get to the meat and potatoes of a game that is sure to entertain. 

KEYS TO THE GAME

Kansas enters the game as arguably the best defensive team in the league. They will have to replicate the suffocated defense they put on display in Columbia. Doing so will keep the Wildcats from getting good looks, and consequently they will have to rush their offense. 

ESPN.com points to the Collins-Clemente matchup as something to look for. Okay, again, it's the sexy pick. Collins struggled against Missouri, but he's the undisputed leader of the team. And Clemente hung 44 on Texas in K-State's recent victory over the Longhorns.

I can't generate any excitement for that matchup. No one hangs up 44 on a Bill Self Kansas team. KU's perimeter defense is just too good, in order to score a bunch of points against KU, you've got to get to the basket, and make your open jumpers when you have them.

Michael Beasley scored 25 on KU last year in the Wildcat victory over Kansas in Bramlage Coliseum and I swore it felt like he dropped 50 on us. 

Clemente won't come close to 44, in fact I doubt he'll get 20. Now that has to bring me to Collins. 

The likelihood of Sherron Collins having back-to-back putrid performances is about as likely as I am to take SI covergirl Bar Rafaeli to a nice dinner. It just won't happen. 

I don't think he'll have a monster game, but you can expect him to eclipse the 15 point mark. 

One thing to look for will be timeout management. If both coaches can keep three going into the second half, we'll have a great game on our hands. 

The final key for Kansas is whether or not they can get the offensive production out of center Cole Aldrich. Since he has had to wear that protective face mask, his offensive numbers have dwindled. Hopefully a new, sleeker version will help him out. 

The final key for K-State, and I must agree with ESPN.com, is that they have to leave it all out on the floor. They have enough talent, coupled with the crowd to win this game. 

WATCH FOR THIS

The sideline huddles during this game are going to be great to watch. Normally you don't pay attention to these, but during conference season, the cameras tend to linger closer to the huddles during timeouts. 

Frank Martin swears and yells at his players more than anyone I've ever seen or witnessed. He makes Bobby Knight look like a disgruntled third grader. 

For instance, on Wednesday night, Pat Knight called a very early timeout in Manhattan after his team looked utterly lost. The camera instead of focusing on Knight's huddle focused on Martin's. 

K-State jumped out to an early lead, and instead of remaining relatively calm he was absolutely chewing a player out, lip-readable profanities and all.

Frank Martin makes the basketball huddle watchable, and you know its watchable, because his team can be up 20 and he's still just chewing his team out. 

Bill Self on the other hand is a bit more of a players coach when his team is succeeding during the game. 

What you have to watch for in Self's huddle is the shade of his face. He can be tearing into one of the Morris twins, but if his face is dark pink, they are probably facing a correction. 

When Self's face reaches that lavender color however, your skin had better be armadillo-like in order to tolerate the verbal abuse he's handing to you. 

NUMBERS DON'T LIE

ONE: The number of games in which K-State has beaten Kansas Bramlage Coliseum. KU will be looking to keep that Wildcat win total in tact.

TWO: The number wins Kansas State has against Kansas since the inception of the Big 12. 

THREE: The number of wins Kansas will need to maintain Bill Self's smallest Big 12 win total in tact if the Jayhawks beat K-State.

Self's worst season in the Big 12 is 12-4, a record that he has achieved twice and only once resulted in a second place Big 12 finish in his tenure at KU.

PREDICTION

The crowd will be tough, likely louder than the fans in Columbia. Frank Martin will have had to come up with new swear words by the first half under-four TV timeout. K-State has a good as chance as any to upset the Jayhawks. 

Should the Wildcats do it, this week will have felt more like ESPN's "Feast Week" than "Rivalry Week" for the Jayhawks. 

I just think the advantage of having lost a close game to a hated rival on a national stage, as well as the unspoken advantage of having two more days rest than their opponent will help KU to victory in this one. 

Not unlike most of KU's close wins this year, I wouldn't be shocked if they got ahead by 10 or 11 before letting K-State come back and make it a contest. 

My better judgement tells me that Bill Self will have his guys ready for this one.

Kansas 73 Kansas State 67