Game time: Feb. 17, 9:00 p.m.
Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS
TV: ESPN2
VITALS: Kansas State is coming off its 11th consecutive loss against No. 3 Houston. Even with the loss, the Wildcats showed a valiant effort against one of the nation's top units, illustrating at least some sense of urgency after their disastrous Cincinnati loss. Still, it felt somewhat like a wasted opportunity, with sloppy turnovers and scoring droughts holding back a potential upset victory.
Junior guard PJ Haggerty still leads the nation in scoring behind BYU standout AJ Dybantsa, averaging 23.3 points this season. The Wildcats face a Baylor team that is also struggling in the Big 12, having lost seven of its last nine. Still, most were against ranked opponents, knocking the Bears down to nearly the same level as Kansas State.
PROJECTED STARTERS
WILDCATS
G P.J. Haggerty: 23.3 PTS, 5.1 REB, 4.0 AST
G David Castillo: 11.4 PTS, 2.3 REB, 1.8 AST
G Nate Johnson: 11.1 PTS, 4.8 REB, 4.4 AST
G Taj Manning: 3.7 PTS, 4.7 REB, 0.7 STL
F Khamari McGriff: 9.5 PTS, 4.1 REB, 1.1 BLK
BEARS
G Cameron Carr: 19.2 PTS, 5.8 REB, 2.8 AST
G Tounde Yessoufou: 18.4 PTS, 5.7 REB, 2.1 STL
G Obi Agbim: 11.1 PTS, 2.4 REB, 3.2 AST
G Isaac Williams IV: 9.8 PTS, 2.2 REB, 2.8 AST
F Caden Powell: 6.7 PTS, 6.6 REB, 1.1 BLK
KEY STATS
WILDCATS
SCORING OFFENSE: 80.2 POINTS/GAME (8th in Big 12)
SCORING DEFENSE: 80.7 POINTS/GAME (15th in Big 12)
TEAM 3-POINT SHOOTING: 36.4% (4th in Big 12)
OPPONENT 3-POINT SHOOTING: 34.1% (11th in Big 12)
REBOUNDING: 34.8 REBOUNDS/GAME (13th in Big 12)
OPPONENT REBOUNDING: 36.6 REBOUNDS/GAME (15th in Big 12)
BEARS
SCORING OFFENSE: 83.4 POINTS/GAME (5th in Big 12)
SCORING DEFENSE: 76.1 POINTS/GAME (10th in Big 12)
TEAM 3-POINT SHOOTING: 35.4% (7th in Big 12)
OPPONENT 3-POINT SHOOTING: 34.0% (10th in Big 12)
REBOUNDING: 37.8 REBOUNDS/GAME (4th in Big 12)
OPPONENT REBOUNDING: 32.7 REBOUNDS/GAME (5th in Big 12)
QUOTABLE: "We've got this portion of our season left before we go to the Big 12 tournament, and this is a chapter in our life," Wildcats coach Jerome Tang said in his Houston postgame interview. "We can either be the victims or the victors, and we’re choosing to be the victors. They have a really positive mindset. These things that you go through, sometimes they can fracture you, or they can refine you. As a team, we're choosing to be refined. So just really proud of the way they’ve prepared, and I’m really excited to see what we do tomorrow."