Hoops preview: Kansas State

Texas (18-12, 7-10 Big 12) vs. Kansas State (15-15, 8-9 Big 12)

Saturday, March 7 – 3:00PM (CST)

The game will be televised on ESPN2.

PREDICTION

With wins over Iowa State and Kansas, the Wildcats have a first class ticket on the hot streak train. However, those games were both at home. On the road, KSU is ice cold.

When the team leaves Manhattan, they have suffer inexplicable losses, including to TCU, Texas Tech and Long Beach State. But the Wildcats have plenty to play for in Austin – if they beat Texas on Saturday, they will have beaten every team in the Big 12 at least once. Kansas is the only other conference team that can claim that feat.

Texas doesn’t stand to gain much from this game, but they can lose significantly. They must beat KSU to stay in the conversation for the field of 68. The prospect of losing and missing a tourney invitation also bodes poorly for Rick Barnes to keep his job.

The good news for UT fans is that the swagger seems to be back for this team. If that is the case, this is the ideal time for it to come back.

Beating Kansas State would earn Texas the 7th seed and a probable game against Iowa State in the Big 12 quarterfinals. I think Texas gets the job done.

Texas 72 – Kansas State 64

TEXAS-KSU SERIES‘”

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[*]K-State leads, 17-12 (Texas leads 13-12 in Big 12 era).

 

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[*]Last meeting: Texas 61-57.

 

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[*]Texas is 7-6 against the Wildcats in games played in Austin.

 

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TEXAS NOTES‘”

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[*]Junior guard Demarcus Holland has scored in double figures for three consecutive games. In the last 3 contests, Holland is averaging 13.7 ppg and is shooting 68.4% from the floor.

 

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[*]Texas continued it’s winning trend when keeping opponents below 40% FG shooting this year when the held Baylor to 33.3% FG shooting Monday. The Horns are now 16-4 when the opposition shoots less than 40%.

 

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[*]Saturday’s game is Senior Day and will be the final home game for Jonathan Holmes. Per UT: Holmes has played in 123 career games (104 starts). He has posted career totals of 1,117 points (27th in UT history), 725 rebounds (ninth in UT history) and 104 blocks (11th in UT history). Holmes is on pace to graduate this May with a degree in applied learning and development with a minor in educational psychology.

 

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KANSAS STATE NOTES‘”

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[*]K-State will be the No. 6 seed in the conference tournament with a win over Texas, but the No. 8 seed with a loss.

 

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[*]The Wildcats are 2-11 away from Manhattan, including a 1-7 mark in Big 12 games.

 

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[*]KSU is coming off consecutive wins over Top 15 opponents, and a key part of those victories has been the Wildcat’s bench. In the last two games, the KSU bench scored nearly half the team’s points (67 of 140), including 37 by sophomore guard Nigel Johnson.

 

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