Kansas State vs. Colorado Preview: Big12 Tournament Edition
Colorado vs. Kansas State Round 3. After losing to Colorado twice in the regular season, K-State gets a shot at revenge today in Kansas City on the big stage. The third game between these two has much more riding on it. Kansas State is currently one of the hottest teams in the nation, has answered any question about its NCAA worthiness, and is in the hunt for the Big12 championship. Colorado is riding the NCAA bubble and knows that a third win against K-State would probably be what puts them in all the way. Continue reading to get a quick recap of the first two games and see what needs to change to make this one a Wildcat Victory.
January 12: Kansas State 66 vs. Colorado 74
The first loss came early in the Big 12 schedule when Colorado was hot and on the heels of more drama in the Wildcat’s program which meant Curtis Kelly was still ineligible. That’s not the reason CU won, but it’s never helpful. The surprise star of the game for Colorado was 6th man Levi Knutson who torched K-State from deep shooting 6-8 behind the arc and finishing with 20 points. Knutson hit huge buckets down the stretch and closed the door when K-state got it close in the final 5 minutes. Burks was held to just 12 points but Colorado out rebounded the Cats 30-27 which was another key to the loss.
February 12: Kansas State 56 @ Colorado 58
The second loss came in Boulder in the middle of February. That was the only loss during the Wildcat’s recent 8-1 stretch and if the game had been 0:00.2 seconds longer, it would have been a win. McGruder’s 3 point basket as time expired was just a little too late and Colorado completed a regular season sweep of K-State. As with the first game Alec Burks was limited to only 8 points but other Colorado players stepped up to fill the void. Knutson did work again finishing with 16 points and guard Cory Higgins stepped up with 17 points to lead all scorers. Pullen was held to 12 points and K-State was out rebounded again in a low scoring contest.
What needs to change:
Rebounding… In both previous games K-State was outrebounded. That’s not the normal modus operandi of the Wildcats and it was an important part of Colorado being able to win. One of those performances came without Curtis Kelly but he’s inconsistent at times so that wasn’t really impactful. For Kansas State to move on to the semi finals they have to get big in the paint and rebound. CK and JHR have been huge lately and this area has steadily improved over the entire season to the point that it isn’t much of a concern anymore.
Free Throws… In the two losses, K-State missed a total of 20 free throws. They lost by a combined total of 10 points. Free throw shooting had been horrible during the non-conference schedule but the ship has been righted recently. Nobody shoots 100% from the line but when those unguarded opportunities arrive the shots need to be sunk.
Losing the Lead… In both games K-State had a lead and let it slip away. In the first game, it was a big lead. In the second game, it was smaller but almost the entire first half was controlled by the Cats. To win game number 3 the Wildcats need to get the lead and control the game from that point on. Getting out to a hot start and keeping Colorado at distance is going to be important against a team that knows they can win.