Last week Kansas State University hit their low-point of the season, losing to Iowa State at home on senior night. The Wildcats had just finished a perfect February and were the No. 5 team in the country. Whispers of a No. 1 seed had begun circulating around the country. Duke, the No. 4 team in the country, lost to Maryland 79-72 and the Cats had the No. 1 seed well within their reach. They went into Lawrence, Kansas, knowing that a win would almost definitely lock it up.

Simply put, that did not happen. After a competitive first half, the Jayhawks mopped the floor with the Wildcats and ended up winning, 82-65. Nobody considered a road loss to the No. 1 ranked Jayhawks a bad loss, but K-State’s next game certainly would be. Enter the Iowa State Cyclones, a team that the Wildcats had already beaten in the season, a team with a sub-.500 winning percentage. There is no way a team like this could beat the No. 5 Wildcats on right? Wrong. In arguably the worst-played game of the season for K-State, Iowa State came to the “Octagon of Doom” and upset K-State on senior day. The Wildcats fell from a No. 1 seed possibility to a possible No. 3 or No. 4 seed depending on how they performed in the Big XII tournament.

The question for many people was simple: How would K-State respond to losing their final two regular-season games? The Wildcats responded in classic fashion by dominating a very solid Oklahoma State team (the same Oklahoma State team that upset K-State in Manhattan after their Texas victory) and a thrilling win against the No. 20 Baylor Bears, setting up a rematch with Kansas in the Big 12 Conference championship game.

A look at the Jayhawks

Guards
KU can be described in one word: Deep. KU and K-State are two very similar teams, at least as far as depth is concerned. The Jayhawks have a very solid guard rotation with senior Sherron Collins and true freshman Xavier Henry. In the semi-final round against No. 24 Texas A&M, Collins and Henry combined for 41 of the Jayhawks’ 76 points. The duo shot an impressive 13 of 27 from the field! These two are complete monsters.

Collins
The senior leader that any team would want to have. His numbers are lower than last season, but that is the result of becoming a better team-player. He leads KU with 15.9 points per game as well as 4.3 assists per game. He is the vocal leader of the Jayhawks. But he is not their only weapon. Even if Collins is taken out of the game, KU can still win with other threats. It’s undeniable, though, that Collins is the heart of KU.

Henry
A true freshman that started Big 12 play very cold, but in the final ten games of the season he finished remarkably strong. He scored in double figures 9 out of the Jayhawks’ final 10 games. In those ten games Henry has shot a blistering 22 of 44 from the 3-point line and has been one of the most clutch freshman in the country. He played poorly by getting into early foul trouble against K-State in the meeting in Manhattan, but he lit the Cats up in Lawrence.

Reserve Guards
The backup guards for KU are not nearly as talented as Henry or Collins, but they have just as much big-shot ability as either of their two stars. Every time KU needs a big shot, it seems one of the two reserves are ready and willing to knock it down.

Forwards/Center
The Jayhawk big men are as good as any in the country. They are led by All-American Cole Aldrich. The Jayhawks are so deep down-low and that causes a huge match-up problem for almost every team in the country. In the first meeting between KSU and KU, Tyshawn Taylor stepped up and had his best game of the season. The next time these two played he was nowhere to be found, but the Morris brothers stepped up. Both play a significant role in the Jayhawks’ dominating post play. Another emerging star for KU is freshman Thomas Robinson, though he has not seen much action this season.

Conclusion
In 1980 the United States hockey team played the Soviet Union two weeks before the “miracle on ice”. What happened in that game? The Soviets destroyed the younger, less experienced Americans 9-1. Take that as a lesson, one that says anything can happen. K-State has very good guard play, just like the Jayhawks, and Wildcats have proved that they can play with KU. The main battle, though, is down low, with the big men. Whoever owns the boards owns the game. Both team’s guards will come to play. If Jamar Samuels, Curtis Kelly, Luis Colon, Dominique Sutton, and Wally Judge can play well in the post, Kansas State can win the biggest game this season.

3 Keys to Victory

Avoid Foul Trouble: It is very important for K-State’s big men to play an entire game. When the down-low threats get into foul trouble, K-State’s offense becomes stagnant and predictable. Quick shots with no passes become the norm. Selfish basketball is not winning basketball. K-State must keep KU off the free throw line, period.

Believe: Kansas doesn’t have a reason to think they are going to lose to Kansas State. They have beat the Wildcats twice already this season, including a pasting just one week ago. The crowd is expected to be mostly pro-Jayhawk, so the Wildcats will have to have faith in themselves to win.

Offensive Rebounds: K-State’s offense has had moments this season where they simply cannot score, sometimes stretching as many as seven to nine minutes. That can’t happen if K-State expects to beat KU in the Big 12 tournament finals. When K-State misses shots, they must crash the boards and put it back up. The Wildcats must be solid down low, and can not expect a foul call. They must make every effort to make their shots, assuming all the while that no foul will be called.

If KU does win this game, there’s no reason for K-State fans to be negative. KU is a great team and deserves credit. That being said, it’s undeniable that K-State has had an incredible season and it is not over yet. No matter the result of the game tonight, the Wildcats are going to be in great shape to make some noise in the NCAA tournament next week.