Kansas State has finally hit their stride. After a month where little could be salvaged from the Wildcats’ season, things have really turned around in just a span of two weeks. K-State is coming off two impressive wins over #20 Missouri at home and #8 Texas in Austin. The Wildcats look to finish the 2011 regular season strong with a rematch between Big 12 north rival Iowa State on Senior Day. The Wildcats are currently playing their best basketball of the season, winning 7 of their last 8 games. Within a month the Cats have gone from likely bubble team to NCAA Tournament lock.
This game is crucial for Kansas State as they currently don’t have any bad losses on their resume. Their worst loss came on the road to 18-11 Oklahoma State. K-State, according to Joe Lunardi, has risen to a 6-seed in the latest ESPN Bracketology. K-State still has room to move up, however, by defeating Iowa State and putting together some more wins in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. The ceiling for the Wildcats’ NCAA seed is probably somewhere in the 4 or 5 range.
This will be the second year in a row where Iowa State will attempt to play spoiler on Kansas State’s Senior Day. Only this time, it is not on “Fake Pattys Day” (a Kansas State tradition), meaning a strong, sober student section can be expected to show up for this game and to cheer for seniors Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly. Pullen is currently the school’s 2nd all-time scorer and is just 78 points behind leader Mike Evans.
K-State will clinch at least a 4 seed (and a first-round bye) in the Big 12 tournament with a win over the Cyclones.
A Look at Iowa State
Iowa State has been a streaky team this year. They didn’t play a particularly hard schedule as they have a strength of schedule rating of 81 (according to RealTimeRPI.com). But they have played above expectations coming into this season. The Cyclones lost leaders Craig Brackens (declared for the NBA) and Marquis Gilstrap (graduation). Then Justin Hamilton, Chris Colvin, and Dominique Buckley decided to transfer from the team. Finally, junior guard Charles Boozer was bounced from the team for assaulting a woman. After all that good news they then learned that the head coach decided to accept the position of head coach at Creighton University.
After all of this drama, Iowa State turned to one of its most iconic players in team history to try to help pull them out of the abyss. Enter Fred Hoiberg. No one expected much out of him as they had lost six of their key returning players in one summer. But the Cyclones have turned this season into something to cheer about. They are mathematically eliminated from an NCAA Tournament (unless they pull a Georgia and win the conference tournament) and they are a long shot for the NIT. But at 16-14 the Cyclones have exceeded anyone’s expectations.
Iowa State is playing its best basketball of the season. They are coming off back-to-back wins against NCAA Tournament bubble teams Colorado and Nebraska. Colorado has beaten Kansas State twice and Nebraska nearly beat the Cats in Lincoln.
Iowa State is a senior-led team with four of their main players being seniors. But that shouldn’t scare Cyclone nation as they are bringing in the best “transfer” class in recent memory. Next year Iowa State will bring in 2 former Michigan State players (Chad Allen and Korie Lucious, both former four-star recruits). Lucious won’t be able to play until 2012-13 due to the fact that he played this season for the Spartans. Iowa State will also be bringing in former four-star recruit Anthony Booker who is transferring from Southern Illinois and former Penn State starter Chris Babb (once a three-star recruit). The gem of the transfer class is former five-star recruit Royce White. The Cyclones will be a team ready to contend for an NCAA birth as early as next season.
Last Meeting
The last time these two teams met, Kansas State won on a last-second layup by Pullen. The Wildcats escaped Ames with an 86-85 victory. Iowa State shot a scorching 56% from the field including 7-14 from beyond the arc. The Cyclones shot a staggering 91.7% (22-24) from the free-throw line. The Cyclones were led by David Garrett and Jamie Vanderbeken.
Key Players
David Garrett
Garrett (6’4 190lb junior guard) has really stepped up and turned into a very solid basketball player. Last season Garrett averaged 9.2 points per game for the Cyclones. This season he has turned into an all-Big 12 caliber player, averaging 17.2 points per game.
Scott Christopherson
Christophesron (6’3 200lb junior guard) is the team’s second leading scorer (14.1 ppg). He is a Marquette transfer who put up 22 on the Cats the last time these two teams met.
Jamie Vanderbeken
Vanderbeken (6’11 250 lb senior forward) could not miss the last time these two teams met. Vanderbeken is an athletic forward who is known more for his outside game than his inside game. He shoots a very impressive 44 percent from the three-point line.
3 Keys to Victory
Don’t Foul: The last time these two teams met, Iowa State lit it up from the free-throw line. They shot 12 more free-throws than the Cats did and they made every one count. K-State can’t give Iowa State any opportunity to make this a game. K-State needs to start–and finish–strong.
Hard Defense: Iowa State scored 85 points the last time these two teams met up. They shot over 50 percent from the field, which is just unacceptable. Maybe it was just their day, but I saw it more as Kansas State being lazy. The Cats need to play like “Dobermans” (as said by Mitch Holthus last year).
Stay the Course: Throughout the season Frank Martin has been quoted as saying “stay the course”. The Wildcats have done just that and have all but assured themselves of an NCAA Tournament bid. But now that they have tasted success they cannot sit back and expect everything to be handed to them. They must still attack with that us-against-the-world mentality. If they overlook this game like they did last year, it will come back to bite them. Stay focused and finish strong!
