K-State Basketball Preview: At George Washington

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

Although the Wildcats have seven games under their belt, they’re yet to play a true road game with the only competition away from home being two neutral site games in Madison Square Garden (although with Michigan fans outnumbering K-Staters about 5:1, their championship bout with the Wolverines certainly felt like a road game). The Wildcats have done nothing to instill confidence this year, as they were never in the game during the second half of their Michigan matchup. Although they’ve reached a 6-1 record, none of their six wins will be generating any RPI respect.

The Wildcats have a chance to earn a victory against a tested, if not decent GW program. The Colonials are only 4-4 but have played an arguably harder schedule with Notre Dame and the MVC’s Bradley on their early slate. K-State rebounded from their big loss to Michigan by easily handling South Carolina Upstate last week, and hopes to do the same against the Colonials in a tune-up before taking on #10 Gonzaga next week, with #6 Florida set to visit the week after that.

George Washington starts three freshmen, and is led in scoring by 6-9 senior forward Isaiah Armwood. All five starters average between seven and 13 points per game, providing one of the most balanced squads in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Expect another game low on scoring highlights, as GW plays good defense but has trouble finding the rim. K-State’s defense should get an additional boost of confidence in its ability to create turnovers, with GW giving up the third most steals per game in the nation. As such, the Colonials are currently averaging 18 turnovers per game.

The game will be a homecoming of sorts for senior guard Rodney McGruder, who is a native of Washington D.C.