College Basketball Preview: Kansas State Wildcats at Oklahoma State Cowboys

Date: Saturday, Jan 8
Time: 12:00pm CT
TV: ESPN2

The Big 12 tips off its conference play featuring two teams that have gotten fat on easy non-conferences cupcakes and not able to defeat the big teams on their schedules.  

This could describe nearly the entire Big 12 so far this year, and with the exception of Kansas, every team is a little bit questionable going into conference play.

Kansas State hasn’t played up to expectations, and their record couldn’t be more overrated.  They barely beat Washington State, and that’s their best win.  Their last two games against teams with a pulse (Florida and UNLV) were both losses, and the offense absolutely sputtered with only 44 points against the Gators.  

Given, some stars have been missing from these games, including Curtis Kelly, who remains out with a suspension for receiving benefits.  G Jacob Pullen leads the team in points per game (17.2), assists per game (3.9), and steals per game (1.7).   He is coming off of a three-game suspension for the same reason as Kelly.  

KSU has struggled on both sides of the ball, especially at the free-throw line with only 56.1 percent, ranking at 344th in the nation.  They do shoot the three well, and that has kept them in games and has given them a boost in team points per game.

Oklahoma State has beaten bigger foes in non-conference play (Stanford and Alabama) but nothing to really get excited about.  

Currently, they aren’t ranked, but the RPI at 44 isn’t far behind KSU’s RPI of 31.  Even though KSU’s offense is higher statistically, OSU has played against better opponents and have putten up over 60 points a game except their recent loss to Gonzaga.  Unlike KSU, this team gets their points from an average field goal percentage inside the arch (46.4) and tend to stay away from the three point line, ranking 214th overall in the nation at 33 percent.  

Stars to watch are starting forward Marshall Moses, who averages 17.1 points per game and 58 percent field goal shooting, and forward Darrell Williams, who comes off the bench and is a beast on the defensive end with 8.3 rebounds per game and 8 blocks.

Both defenses rank in the mid-40s in the nation, so expect a lower scoring game by both teams compared to their average, but it should be a close one throughout.  

The Wildcats will focus on the threes, while the Cowboys will focus on pounding it inside, and whichever one can stop the other more often will come out with their first conference victory of the season.

Prediction: Oklahoma State