This post was written by contributing sports editor Sean Hurd.
Who: Kansas State
Where: Fred Bramlage Coliseum
When: Dec. 31, 3 p.m.
Last season, the men’s basketball team fell just short of upsetting Kansas State at the Smith Center after relinquishing a slim lead with five minutes left to play. The Colonials would go on to finish the season 13-17, while the Wildcats would go on to win the Big 12 title with head coach Bruce Weber getting the nod for Big 12 coach of the year in his first season at the helm.
But with two very different looking teams taking the floor on Tuesday, the Colonials have yet another chance to strengthen their non-conference credentials with a win that could possibly propel them into the top 25.
Case for Kansas State:
The Wildcats enter Tuesday’s matchup having won their last seven games, with an upset win over No. 21 Gonzaga, as well as a win over a very good Ole Miss team.
Struggling with an inconsistent offense so far this season (67.0 ppg – 287th in the country), the Wildcats have found their strength on the defensive side, allowing just 58.1 points per game.
Kansas State ranks 80th in the nation in rebounds, pulling in 38.3 rebounds per game. Three players are averaging at least five rebounds per game with junior Thomas Gipson leading Kansas State at 5.7. The Wildcats are strong on the offensive glass, averaging 14.4 offensive rebounds per game – ranking second in the Big 12 – and are coming off a win over Tulane in which they pulled in 21 offensive boards.
Against an average Hofstra team, GW allowed 17 offensive rebounds. If the Wildcats can capitalize on second-chance opportunities they can find themselves with an edge Tuesday.
Kansas State ranks 83rd in the nation in assists at 14.8 assists per game and has been fairly efficient with the ball averaging just 12 turnovers per game. The Wildcats are led offensively by freshman Marcus Foster and Gipson who are averaging 13.7 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
If the Wildcats offense chooses to show up and their defense plays stingy as usual, fans will be in store for a very close matchup that goes down to the wire once again.
Case for GW:
Despite winning their last seven games, there are dents in Kansas State’s schedule that should come as a concern. The Wildcats started the season 2-3 with a questionable loss to Northern Colorado in their season opener. Another red flag was raised when Kansas State barely escaped with a win over a 3-9 South Dakota team.
Additionally, the Kansas State team taking the floor Tuesday is much different than the team that narrowly beat GW last season. The Wildcats are without point guard Angel Rodriguez, who transferred to Miami, and shooting guard Rodney McGruder who graduated last May. Both players led the Kansas State offense last season and were the leading scorers in last year’s 65-62 victory over GW.
On the flipside, the Colonials are much improved from last season, entering Tuesday’s game having won six straight, with one of the strongest backcourts in the Atlantic 10 in graduate student Maurice Creek and sophomores Kethan Savage and Joe McDonald. Creek ranks seventh in the A-10 in points per game (16.3) and second in three point percentage (.471), Savage is eighth in the conference in field goal percentage (.547) and sixth in steals (1.8), and McDonald leads the A-10 in assist to turnover ratio at 3.2.
With both teams yielding strong defenses it may be GW’s stronger offense that will ultimately give the Colonials the victory. The Colonials currently have four players averaging in double figures, led by Creek. GW is 56th in the nation in field goal percentage, shooting 47.7 from the field, and 79th in the country in scoring, averaging 77.7 points per game.
If the Colonials can spread the floor and find success in the paint and behind the arc like they have in the past, the scales should tip in their favor.
