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Baylor vs. Kansas State: 2019-20 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

By Holden Walter-Warner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 07: Guard Jared Butler #12 of the Baylor Bears handles the ball against guard Terrence Shannon #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first half of the college basketball game on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - JANUARY 07: Guard Jared Butler #12 of the Baylor Bears handles the ball against guard Terrence Shannon #1 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders during the first half of the college basketball game on January 07, 2020 at United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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The Baylor Bears play their first game since the loss to Kansas against one of the Big 12’s worst teams, the Kansas State Wildcats.

TV Schedule: Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 8:00 PM ET, ESPN+

Location: Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas

Well, the genie is officially out of the bottle. After a 23-game winning streak, the Big 12 has never before seen, the Baylor Bears are back in the loss column for the first time since the beginning of the season.

It’s not for lack of effort. While Udoka Azubuike and the Kansas Jayhawks were in control for much of Saturday’s hyped contest, the Bears kept fighting throughout, falling a three-point prayer shy of sending the game into overtime. A 64-61 loss to the new No. 1 team in the country is nothing to pout about.

Still, Baylor – who only dropped one spot in the AP poll to No. 2 this week – will be looking to excise some of Saturday’s demons during Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas State Wildcats. It isn’t the Wildcats’ fault that they directly follow Kansas into the Waco den, but they will be punished for it.

Outside of the loss, Scott Drew likely took some encouragement in the form of MaCio Teague. The guard had missed the previous two games with a right wrist injury and didn’t look all the way back against Kansas. But he wasn’t bad either, scoring eight points in 28 minutes, a performance to build off of as he continues to return to full health.

As it stands, the Wildcats have enough issues of their own. Kansas State is having one of their worst seasons in recent memory, as they have yet to reach the 10-win mark and sit at the bottom of the Big 12 with a 2-12 conference record. They haven’t won a game in February and the losing has had its toll, creating a particularly ugly image last week when Bruce Weber and Cartier Diarra got into a screaming match.

There would be a lot less screaming in Manhattan, Kansas if more points were being scored by the Wildcats. The Wildcats are the worst scoring team in the Big 12, averaging just 64.3 points per game. Diarra is one of just two Kansas State players averaging double figures in scoring, with the other being forward Xavier Sneed. The third-leading scorer on the team is averaging just 7.5 points per game.

Kansas State hasn’t scored 70 points since January 25 (a loss to Alabama) and their leading scorer in each of the last three games has been Sneed at exactly 15 points each game.

All of this being said, the Wildcats battled Baylor hard in Manhattan back on February 3, a 73-67 Baylor win. Sneed had one of his best games of the season that day, scoring 23 points and grabbing eight rebounds, nailing four three-pointers on eight attempts. Baylor led wire-to-wire in that one; a key for Kansas State will be to try to grab a lead and hold on to it.

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It’s just hard to see these Baylor Bears letting that happen on Tuesday.

Prediction: Baylor 83, Kansas State 57

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