The Kansas State Wildcats shocked the basketball world last Monday night when they knocked of the topped ranked Kansas Jayhawks. Since then Oklahoma has lost a heart breaker to the Nebraska Cornhuskers and reasserted themselves as one of the worst teams in the Big 12. Could it be Oklahoma can catch Kansas State cat napping this afternoon?
The Wildcats were picked as the preseason favorites to win the Big 12 but struggled to start conference play, going 2-5 over the first seven games. Things seem to have been corrected and based on their performance against the Jayhawks, Kansas State is living up to their potential.
The main problem for the Wildcats has been shooting. They currently rank 10th in the Big 12 in shooting percentage at 42%. They're decent from three-point range and from the free throw line, shooting 36% and 71% from those two areas. Kansas State allows opponents to score an average of 69.5 points per game (5th in the Big 12) and shoot an average of 46% from the floor (9th in the Big 12). They excel in rebounding with a +3.6 margin for the season (3rd in the Big 12) so if your shots aren't falling there won't be many second chance points.
Senior guard Jacob Pullen leads the Wildcats in scoring with 18.8 points per game. Sophomore guard Rodney McGruder averages 10.9 points per game along with a team high 6.3 rebounds. Forwards Jamar Samuels and Curtis Kelly contribute 9.4 points per game.
Kansas State is 13-1 at home this season with that lone loss coming at the hands of the Colorado Buffaloes. Gotta believe, right?