As Kansas State hosts Cincinnati on Wednesday night, there aren't many more opportunities it can get to stack victories in a smothering Big 12 slate.

At least there are some outside believers in them tonight. CBS Sports is giving the Wildcats a fighting chance, going up against a struggling Bearcats unit and coming off a valiant effort against TCU.

The article wrote:

"The Wildcats will take to their home court having dropped four straight contests and nine of 10. Coach Jerome Tang's squad opened Tuesday in a last-place tie with Utah, which hosted No. 3 Houston that night. Kansas State was fighting a flu bug spreading through the team during a blowout home loss to No. 8 Iowa State, but the team showed promise at TCU, losing in Texas 84-82 despite a gritty performance by top scorer P.J. Haggerty."

Kansas State dropped an 18-point lead to TCU, fouling 23 times to the tune of 22 Horned Frogs points and falling in the final seconds with sloppy turnovers. PJ Haggerty exploded for 30 points, but ended with four turnovers, one assist, and just one free-throw attempt.

Still, he needs his teammates to help him in games like this. Perhaps Marcus Johnson's 15-point performance (5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range) can help spark something off the bench and help the offensive attack. Wildcats coach Jerome Tang vowed to be better going forward, but many fans are likely searching for results rather than words at this point.

"I'm hurting for them right now. I'm frustrated because there are things I feel like I can do better, and I'm gonna figure that out," Tang said in his postgame interview. "Now we just keep going. This is not how we intended, but this is where we are. Life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you respond. We're gonna respond the right way."

Here is the game preview down below:

Game time: Feb. 11, 9:00 p.m.

Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS

TV: CBS Sports

Betting line: K-State (+2.5)

O/U: 146.5

Money Line: CIN -140, KSU +116

G P.J. Haggerty: 23.3 PTS, 5.2 REB, 4.2 AST

G David Castillo: 11.7 PTS, 2.2 REB, 2.0 AST

G Taj Manning: 3.4 PTS, 4.4 REB, 0.6 BLK

G Nate Johnson: 11.3 PTS, 4.7 REB, 4.4 AST

F Khamari McGriff: 10.0 PTS, 4.2 REB, 1.2 BLK

SCORING OFFENSE: 81.7 POINTS/GAME (8th in Big 12)

SCORING DEFENSE: 80.3 POINTS/GAME (14th in Big 12)

TEAM 3-POINT SHOOTING: 37.1% (4th in Big 12)

OPPONENT 3-POINT SHOOTING: 32.9% (8th in Big 12)

REBOUNDING: 35.0 REBOUNDS/GAME (13th in Big 12)

OPPONENT REBOUNDING: 36.3 REBOUNDS/GAME (14th in Big 12)

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