Kansas State Wildcats vs. Texas Longhorns: Lineups, time, TV and prediction
The details
When/where: 1 p.m. Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas
TV/radio: CBS; KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Texas | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 5 | Royce Hamm | 6-8 | Jr. | 2.2 |
F | 33 | Kamaka Hepa | 6-9 | So. | 2.9 |
G | 3 | Courtney Ramey | 6-3 | So. | 10.5 |
G | 1 | Andrew Jones | 6-4 | So. | 10.9 |
G | 4 | Donovan Williams | 6-6 | Fr. | 3.2 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 14 | Makol Mawien | 6-9 | Sr. | 7.2 |
F | 23 | Montavious Murphy | 6-9 | Fr. | 5.2 |
G | 20 | Xavier Sneed | 6-5 | Sr. | 14.3 |
G | 2 | Cartier Diarra | 6-4 | Jr. | 13.0 |
G | 4 | David Sloan | 6-0 | Jr. | 5.2 |
About Texas (15-11, 5-8 Big 12): It’s been an interesting season for Shaka Smart and the Texas Longhorns. They got off to a terrific start by beating Purdue on the road and winning 10 of their first 12 games, but they have fallen on hard times since. Texas has lost nine of its past 14 games and is now dealing with myriad injury issues, including the indefinite loss of star forward Jericho Sims. The Longhorns lost their last road game 81-52 at Iowa State but bounced back with a home victory over TCU in which freshman forward Will Baker shockingly came off the bench to score 20 points. He had previously scored 16 points all season. Smart may be on the hot seat in Austin and needs some key wins down the stretch to make a case for the postseason.
About Kansas State (9-17, 2-11): The Wildcats have lost six straight games and are coming off a 69-62 road defeat against Texas Tech. But K-State showed some fight in that game and got solid contributions from more players than just senior wing Xavier Sneed. Antonio Gordon came off the bench to contribute 14 points and eight rebounds, while seven different players scored. Bruce Weber said a similar effort would likely be enough to win this weekend’s home game against Texas. The Wildcats lost to the Longhorns 64-50 earlier this season at the Erwin Center.
Prediction: It seems like K-State is catching a break with the timing of this game. Texas is not at full strength and the Longhorns lost their last road game by 29 points at Iowa State.
A good effort from the Wildcats should be enough for them to snap a six-game losing streak and beat the short-handed Longhorns at home.
But the same could have been said before recent games against Oklahoma State and TCU, and K-State was unable to beat those opponents. So this will probably be a toss-up game in the final moments.
Defending Baker will be key for K-State. The freshman forward has been extremely quiet for the Longhorns this season, but he erupted for four three-pointers and 20 points earlier this week in a home victory over the Horned Frogs. The Wildcats can’t let him do the same in Bramlage.
If they contain him and get solid contributions from Xavier Sneed and a few other players, they will win a low-scoring game.
K-State 64, Texas 58.