Kansas State looks for a victory that would boost its NCAA Tournament hopes Saturday afternoon when the Wildcats visit Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla.
The Wildcats (14-11, 6-7 Big 12) are in fifth place in the conference standings. They have won four of their past five, including defeating Iowa State on the road and West Virginia at home Saturday and Monday.
Kansas State beat Oklahoma State (12-13, 5-8) at home on Feb. 2 on Nijel Pack’s 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left.
A victory on Saturday or in their road game at sixth-ranked Kansas next week — both of which will be listed as Quad 1 games — would strengthen the Wildcats’ case to earn a berth. Kansas State is 5-4 on the road this season, and is 4-8 in Quad 1 games.
“On the road you have to be cut in,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said recently. “You have to be focused, all those words coaches use and now they’re maybe figuring that out.”
Pack scored 22 points to lead the Wildcats in that previous encounter against Oklahoma State and has scored in double figures in 16 consecutive games.
Balance continues to be the key for the Cowboys, who fell for the sixth time in eight games with a 76-62 setback at Kansas on Monday.
Bryce Thompson led Oklahoma State with 22 points the previous time it played Kansas State, and Rondel Walker had 18.
Oklahoma State, which is ineligible for the postseason, has seven players averaging at least six points a game. Avery Anderson III leads that group with 11.4 points per contest.
Anderson totaled 15 points while Thompson, a transfer from Kansas before the season, scored 11 during their loss to the Jayhawks.
“Obviously everybody knows the reality is that things are winding down for this group,” Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “(We’re) trying to salvage every moment and every opportunity we get.”
–Field Level Media
