Busting Brackets
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Big 12 Basketball power rankings: Kansas, Baylor clear above others

By Tristan Freeman

MORGANTOWN, WV - FEBRUARY 10: Lindy Waters III #21 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts after hitting a three pointer against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on February 10, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
MORGANTOWN, WV - FEBRUARY 10: Lindy Waters III #21 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys reacts after hitting a three pointer against the West Virginia Mountaineers at the WVU Coliseum on February 10, 2018 in Morgantown, West Virginia. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: The Kansas State Wildcats bench reacts in the second half of play against the UC Irvine Anteaters during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 22: The Kansas State Wildcats bench reacts in the second half of play against the UC Irvine Anteaters during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at SAP Center on March 22, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Yong Teck Lim/Getty Images) /

team. 463. . 5-3. . Wildcats . 10

The Wildcats took advantage of having All-Conference players Dean Wade, Barry Brown, and Kamau Stokes to claim a piece of the regular-season title. The program knew they were going to take a step back – but it looks like it’ll be a large step backwards.

Kansas State hasn’t had the most difficult schedule so far but is still just 5-3, including losses to both Bradley and Pittsburgh. Their best win to date is an overtime victory over a UNLV team who is 4-6 on the season.

The theme for this team once again is the lack of scoring, ranking around 300th nationally. This was the case last year but the Wildcats elite defense combined with veteran leadership allowed them to win close games. That’s not the case this time around. Xavier Sneed and Cartier Diarra have done their best to carry the team but with no one else averaging more than nine points a game so far, Kansas State just doesn’t have enough collective scoring to win against better competition.

In order for this team to get back into the picture, Kansas State will need to find new sources of production. Junior guard Shaun Williams, who was suspended to start the season, along with freshmen Dajuan and Antonio Gordon are the candidates they’ll have to look towards. If the underclassmen, in particular, can improve along with the already solid defense, the Wildcats will be a thorn in the side of Big 12 Basketball opponents.

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