The Kansas State Wildcats open up conference play on the road against the Missouri Tigers on Saturday, January 9th. The game will tip at 1PM and will be televised on ESPN2.
Winners of ten straight games, the Wildcats won’t have an easy game against the Tigers who are improving game by game.
Both teams are coming off blowout wins, Missouri over Savannah State and Kansas State over South Dakota.
The Missouri Tigers are coming into the game holding a 12-3 overall record and are riding a 7-game winning streak. Last year the Missouri Tigers finished the season with a 12-4 Big 12 conference record and defeated the Wildcats in Columbia.
However they are not the same Missouri team they were a year ago. The Tigers struggle on the boards. In all three of their losses, their opponents out-rebounded them. In those three losses, the Tigers have averaged just 26.6 rebounds per game.
Kansas State is coming in with a lot of confidence. Not only are they riding a 10-game winning streak, but they have already matched their second-best start in school history at 13-1. It has been over a half-century since the Wildcats started the season so strongly.
Kansas State should be able to win against Missouri if they take care of business and focus on a few key areas:
Limit Turnovers
The Tigers live off turnovers. They force many turnovers per game and they have a great transition offense. If the guards of Kansas State can limit the turnovers and handle the ball with care, K-State should emerge with the win.
Don’t force the action
The Tigers love it when teams try to play into their style because usually it leads to many mistakes and many turnovers. If the Wildcats play “Kansas State Basketball” for all 40 minutes they should have a good chance of coming away with the victory.
Out-Rebound the Tigers
The Tigers have problems getting rebounds when their opponents box out properly. In all three of their losses, the Tigers were kept off the glass. With the size difference in the post it should be a realistic goal for the Wildcats to dominate the boards.
Get the bench involved
The bench for the Wildcats plays a key role in their success. In their only loss of the season, the bench players scored a total of 15 points and snagged 11 rebounds. K-State lost by 12. In recent games the bench has been much more involved and is one of the reasons why the Wildcats are riding a 10-game wining streak.
Sink Free Throws
The Wildcats are first in the nation in free throw attempts, but they have only shot a measly 65 percent from the line. Only four players on the team shoot 70 percent or better from the line. If the Wildcats want to defeat the Tigers in Columbia, they need to be able to sink at least 20 free throws. The Tigers are most likely going to foul a lot with their physical play, so making 20 free throws should be an attainable goal.
With the Wildcats’ streaky shooting and their dominant defense I believe they will come out of Columbia with a win. The Tigers’ offense comes from their defense. They are not a team which will set up their offense to control the game. By forcing the Tigers out of their normal transition offense the Wildcats will have the game at hand.
In addition, the Wildcats should out-rebound the Tigers, forcing them out of their own style of play. This should lead to Missouri turnovers, mistakes, hurried offense and most importantly, a Wildcat victory.
