The first two rounds of the NCAA tournament for the Kansas State women's basketball team take place in Lexington, Kentucky. Normally, that's not necessarily a talking point. Higher seeding determines the hosting venues at this stage of March Madness. In effect, this means that KSU will play a road game for their next matchup against UK.
After the opening games, however, the royal purple Wildcats should feel confident in their chances of advancing to the Sweet 16. While K-State overcame a slow second quarter to rout Fairfield, Kentucky pulled out a nail-biter victory against Liberty.
Not that this necessarily translates to the next game; after all, styles make fights, like in boxing. It does show, however, that coach Jeff Mittie has his team playing better at the moment. With a strong Ayoka Lee performance in her first game back from a foot injury, the upside of K-State is hard to overlook.
Going into a hostile environment often takes a multi-pronged approach to take the crowd out of the game and ultimately seize victory as the underdog. With Lee looking like her usual self, the frontcourt for coach Mittie becomes an instant force for every team to deal with, regardless of where. There isn't anything much more demoralizing than giving up an offensive rebound and then getting scored on off a putback. It was a limited 15-minute sample size, but the KSU center showed this even in limited minutes during the First Round matchup.
Incorporating someone with the caliber of Lee also opens up another aspect for the offense. The high-low game between her and Serena Sundell worked and is something that the royal purple Wildcats are likely to stick with. If she wins her matchup down low, it will force the double team. This would then allow her to kick out to her aforementioned teammate, Temira Poindexter, Jaelyn Glenn, or Taryn Sides. All of the players listed here are capable of knocking down outside shots and opening things up for Lee down low again if the defense elects to double her in the paint.
Higher offensive potential for Kansas State
While the defense led the way for a lot of the game against Fairfield, there were plenty of opportunities for more points in their upcoming Kentucky fixture. Poindexter, for example, is shooting 40.7% from range on the season. She was only able to go 1-for-8 from the field against the Stags. It's safe to say there won't be too many games in which the senior only knocks down one outside shot.
Sundell also showed her ability to score in a number of ways, particularly in the second half when the rest of the starters made their way to the bench. Between her ability to set up teammates and score herself, the offense will always be in good hands.
Coach Mittie would, of course, have preferred more time together with this current group during the season. All things considered, however, gaining the boost with Lee's return and the rest of the team playing well, particularly on defense, Kansas State advancing past Kentucky shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.