Three points: Kansas State vs. Texas A&M
By Andrew Towne
Nov 24, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; The Sprint Center in Kansas City is the site of Saturday’s Wildcat Classic between Kansas State and Texas A&M. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Old Big 12 foes will once again renew their rivalry Saturday evening at the Sprint Center in Kansas City in the seventh annual Wildcat Classic when the Kansas State Wildcats and Texas A&M Aggies meet on the basketball court.
The Wildcats are 17-7 all time against the Aggies and have won four out of the last five meetings.
K-State is 5-1 all time in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center and 2-0 against SEC teams with wins over Alabama (2011) and Florida (2012).
Three keys to victory for Kansas State, and I’m afraid are much as the same as last time:
Defense – The Aggies are averaging 72.7 points on 48.8 percent shooting. The Wildcats cannot allow the Texas A&M to hang around as long as they allowed Savannah State did on Sunday if they expect to come away victorious. The numbers show the Aggies are a much better team than the SSU Tigers. Texas A&M has a balanced scoring team with five players averaging better than seven points per game, led by junior Jalen Jones’ 13.4 points per game.
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Turnovers – Same song, different verse. K-State continues to struggle hanging onto the ball. It cost them one game and allowed two teams to stay in the game, when maybe they shouldn’t have. They turned the ball over 22 times in a loss against Tennessee and 17 times in a win against Bradley and Savannah State.
“Home-court advantage” – Yes, the game is being played on a neutral court, but it technically is a home game for the Wildcats. They need to get what should be a predominately pro-Wildcat crowd to get behind them early. One of the ways K-State can do that is by bringing that second-half pop they showed in the win against Savannah State in the first half this time around.
The Wildcats and the Aggies tipoff at 6 p.m. Central time in Kansas City. The game will be televised on ESPNU.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (6-4)
G – #1 Jevon Thomas (7.1 ppg., 3.8 apg.)
G – #2 Marcus Foster (15.3 ppg., 2.4 rpg.)
G – #14 Justin Edwards (6.0 ppg., 3.5 rpg.)
F – #11 Nino Williams (12.8 ppg., 5.1 rpg.)
F – #42 Thomas Gipson (11.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.)
Texas A&M (7-2)
G – #21 Alex Caruso (9.0 ppg., 5.9 apg.)
G – #23 Danuel House (12.7 ppg., 3.7 rpg.)
G – #5 Jordan Green (7.3 ppg., 2.1 rpg.)
F – #12 Jalen Jones (13.4 ppg., 6.1 rpg.)
F – #14 Kourtney Roberson (7.2 ppg., 5.1 rpg.)