Kansas State vs. Baylor: 2018-19 college basketball game preview, TV schedule
By Chris Kern
The game of the day in the Big 12 is between the Baylor Bears and the Kansas State Wildcats. Both teams are still competing for a Big 12 championship and it’s a must win for Baylor if they want a chance at a share.
Tv Schedule: March 2nd, 8:00 PM ET. ESPN2
Location: Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two schools. Kansas State won the previous meeting in Waco 70-63. That was when Baylor was without both Makai Mason and King McClure though so we can expect them to play better this time around. The Wildcats are coming off of a tough loss on the road against Kansas in which they played terribly so they’ll be looking to respond at home.
The Baylor Bears are coming off of three straight victories and they’re going to look to keep that momentum going. They’ve been doing it without McClure but they have had Mason out there but he hasn’t been contributing like he normally does. In the last three games, he has combined for 24 points and 14 of that was in the win over Iowa State. His efficiency hasn’t been good though as he is a combined 5-35 from the field including 3-16 from three-point range.
The reason they’ve been winning is the emergence of some of the other guys. Mario Kegler has been playing at a high level recently as he has started to score the ball at a high clip both inside and out. We’ve also seen Jared Butler and Devonte Bandoo have started playing like the talented guards we expected them to be when they arrived at Baylor. They will likely need more out of Mason to win on the road but the way these guys are playing right now Kansas State better come to play.
The Kansas State Wildcats are coming off one of their worst performances in a long time in their 49-64 loss on the road against Kansas. They had a chance to make a statement by sweeping the Jayhawks but they weren’t able to get going offensively all game. They had some issues earlier in the season and they were on full display in that game. Nobody stepped up in the game when they needed them too. This is a team full of veteran studs but they sure didn’t play like that.
That has been the big issue for this Kansas State team all year. They’re very inconsistent on the offensive end of the floor and it has led to some frustrating offensive performances throughout the season. They truly are one of the best defensive teams in the country which will keep them in ball games. Expect the Wildcats to bounce back at home in front of their home crowd in what is a monster game.
Barry Brown was looking like the favorite for Big 12 Player of the Year before the Kansas game so they’ll need for him to step up going forward. Then they have the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year in Dean Wade who has had some consistency issues this season largely due to injuries. The Wildcats have the talent for sure but they need to start playing like they’re capable of, to get some momentum going into March if they want to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
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This will be another close game just as the previous meeting in Waco. The Kansas State upperclassmen will get into a rhythm at home and their offense will look much better than it did on Monday night. Expect Baylor to continue playing at a high level but unless Maki Mason flips a switch and plays like the star he is they won’t win this game. He will play better than he has recently but it won’t be enough