Let's talk K-State

[Sooner-Bred]

Anyone concerned about this game? I am a bit.

K-State is sneaky good, they hang around in games and can beat you if you let them.

WVU needed double-OT to beat them in Manhattan.

 

[Big Old Booger]

Anyone concerned about this game? I am a bit.

K-State is sneaky good, they hang around in games and can beat you if you let them.

WVU needed double-OT to beat them in Manhattan.

Their best player, Kamau Stokes, the point guard is out for the rest of the season for knee surgery. So, that helps us.

 

[sperry]

They aren't TCU level bad, meaning if we play poorly they could win. If we play a solid game, we should win by double digits.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

Their best player, Kamau Stokes, the point guard is out for the rest of the season for knee surgery. So, that helps us.

I had not heard that.

Good news indeed for us, but terrible for the young man.

 

[Zimwillett]

I'm absolutely worried. Start with the fact that it's a road game. To illustrate how tough it is to win on the road in CBB, Pomeroy says, "Beating the 90th-ranked team on the road is about as difficult as beating the 50th-best team on a neutral floor, which is roughly as difficult as beating the 20th-best team on one’s home floor." K-State is presently #46 in KenPom (51 RPI).

Despite those solid metrics, KSU is still in desperate need of a marquee win on their tournament resume. Their team and their fans will be fired up to take down the #1 team.

All that said, this is obviously a game OU can win if they play well.

 

[Big Old Booger]

I had not heard that.

Good news indeed for us, but terrible for the young man.

Just announced this morning.

 

[Sooner-Bred]

I'm absolutely worried. Start with the fact that it's a road game. To illustrate how tough it is to win on the road in CBB, Pomeroy says, "Beating the 90th-ranked team on the road is about as difficult as beating the 50th-best team on a neutral floor, which is roughly as difficult as beating the 20th-best team on one’s home floor." K-State is presently #46 in KenPom (51 RPI).

Despite those solid metrics, KSU is still in desperate need of a marquee win on their tournament resume. Their team and their fans will be fired up to take down the #1 team.

All that said, this is obviously a game OU can win if they play well.

Agreed.

Although K-State is not sniffing the tournament this season.

Already at 13-9, with 9 games remaining in the Big 12....I bet they finish 4-14 in the league

 

[Big Old Booger]

Agreed.

Although K-State is not sniffing the tournament this season.

Already at 13-9, with 9 games remaining in the Big 12....I bet they finish 4-14 in the league

I saw a tweet last night from one of the national college basketball guys, or may have been Jerry Palm or one of the stats guys. Anyway, it said KSU will finish in the low 40's in RPI but could finish 4-14 or 6-12 in conference play. Then they said that's how good is the big 12 this year.

 

[TheMont]

I remember last year in Manhattan (and in Norman, for that matter) vividly. I'm sure the guys do too. The mildcats kept us from winning the conference.

 

[DenverSooner]

I am not worried at all. OU is really good. It is time for some of you to simply believe. That doesn't mean OU will go undefeated for the rest of the season but they have excellent chance to do that.

 

[WaymanFan]

Bruce Weber's issue has always been recruiting. However, he's a heck of a bench coach...doesn't get out-coached. KSU will be ready to play. When you're #1, you're the hunted. The good news is that OU will be ready to play as well...doubt anyone is looking ahead to Monday night.

 

[Mookie]

I remember last year in Manhattan (and in Norman, for that matter) vividly. I'm sure the guys do too. The mildcats kept us from winning the conference.

our guys remember too....trust me.

OU

 

[Larry72]

KSU played hard and effectively against KU for about 32 min.
We must play better defense against them especially if out shooting is off.

 

[DenverSooner]

Bruce Weber's issue has always been recruiting. However, he's a heck of a bench coach...doesn't get out-coached. KSU will be ready to play. When you're #1, you're the hunted. The good news is that OU will be ready to play as well...doubt anyone is looking ahead to Monday night.

I don't really get why people say this. He took over a really strong Illinois program. It was 1st in the Big Ten his first two seasons. By his fourth he finished 4th, then 9th. He was tied for second in 2009 but the conference was Michigan State and 8 teams within 2 games of .500. Then it was 5th, tied for 4th and 9th. At KSU it has ben even worse. He won 27 games his first year, 20 his next, 15 his next and 13 (to date).

I don't think he is a very good coach at all.

 

[sdcloud9]

Brown is a really good shooter, he reminds me of OU's guards when they were freshmen.

OU needs to get the game into the 70's. If they do that, they are in good shape.

 

[hoopsaustin]

I'm absolutely worried. Start with the fact that it's a road game. To illustrate how tough it is to win on the road in CBB, Pomeroy says, "Beating the 90th-ranked team on the road is about as difficult as beating the 50th-best team on a neutral floor, which is roughly as difficult as beating the 20th-best team on one’s home floor." K-State is presently #46 in KenPom (51 RPI).

Despite those solid metrics, KSU is still in desperate need of a marquee win on their tournament resume. Their team and their fans will be fired up to take down the #1 team.

All that said, this is obviously a game OU can win if they play well.

Interesting. Quality post.

 

[DenverSooner]

What is the line? I looked for it and couldn't find one. I came across a line of KSU -5 but it was couple of years old. (I was excited and thinking about betting on OU until I realized it was old.)

 

[Zimwillett]

Agreed.

Although K-State is not sniffing the tournament this season.

Already at 13-9, with 9 games remaining in the Big 12....I bet they finish 4-14 in the league

I 100% agree that if you project K-State forward, they're extremely unlikely to be a tournament team. But as it sits right now, they are absolutely "sniffing" a tournament bid. On bracketmatrix.com, they aggregate to the 4th of the "next four out" teams.

As I alluded to, they actually have strong metrics (hovering right around 50 RPI which is traditionally the mark of a bubble team). Their biggest problem is they don't have any quality wins (best are vs. TTU and @ Georgia). What's the best way to solve that problem? Well, beating everyone's #1 team on your home floor would be a pretty damn good start. I expect their coaches, players, and fans to treat this game accordingly.

I'll emphasize that I'm not saying I think OU will lose. Quite the opposite. But I think this game is a lot tougher than a lot of people realize, and will be a higher quality win than most will give OU credit for.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

What is the line? I looked for it and couldn't find one. I came across a line of KSU -5 but it was couple of years old. (I was excited and thinking about betting on OU until I realized it was old.)

The Las Vegas betting line for college basketball games usually does not come out more than 24 hours before tip-off. Sometimes, it is hard to find until the morning of the game.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

Their best player, Kamau Stokes, the point guard is out for the rest of the season for knee surgery. So, that helps us.

He did not play against KU either.

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article58386403.html

Kansas State will have to play the rest of the season without its starting point guard. Bruce Weber said Wednesday that Kamau Stokes will have a surgical procedure on his injured right knee on Thursday and be out for an unknown amount of time.

“We have had some adversity,” Weber said. “Kamau will have a procedure tomorrow and he will probably be out for a while.”

Stokes didn’t play against Kansas after injuring his knee against Mississippi. His presence was missed. The Wildcats lost 23 turnovers with Carlbe Ervin, Barry Brown and Wesley Iwundu working together to fill his normal role.

Stephen Hurt said K-State could have also used Stokes as a shooter. “He’s one of our best shooters,” Hurt said. “He knocks down clutch shots. Carlbe and Barry stepped up, played a lot of point. Wesley, Justin, all of our guards had to make more of a role in bringing the ball up and handling the press. Everybody did a good job.”

Weber hopes K-State can respond without Stokes. “I don’t think they have a choice. Do they? Some miracle that he could come back?” Weber said. “They don’t have a choice. They are going to have to. It’s an opportunity for Carlbe and Barry.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/kansas-state/article58386403.html#storylink=cpy