Kansas State basketball team trying to see how good it really is
Remember that gifted Kansas State team with Michael Beasley two seasons ago? Remember the one that was relegated to the NIT last season?
This season, Kansas State is figuring out how it will be remembered.
The Wildcats have taken some impressively long strides recently.
Kansas State was picked in preseason polls to finish around the middle of a talented Big 12 Conference.
A narrow loss to Mississippi and a victory against Dayton in Puerto Rico had some thinking the Wildcats would be just fine. But as recently as Dec. 1, Manhattan, Kan., seemed as if it must sit on a fault line based on the Wildcats’ play in an 83-76 victory against Fort Hays State. (Anyone know where that is?)
Lately, though, the Wildcats appear to have jelled with consecutive victories against Xavier (yes, the same one that just upset Cincinnati) and Nevada Las Vegas (yep, the one that beat Arizona and Louisville).
Jacob Pullen, a junior guard who scored 28 points against UNLV, is averaging 19.2 points a game while shooting nearly 40% on three-point shots.
As important to the Wildcats’ direction is senior guard Denis Clemente, who averages 14.8 points a game.
Winning again on Saturday at Alabama, which just tested Purdue in a loss, won’t be easy. But it might help further define just how good the Wildcats are this season.
Swish of the week
Ramon Martinez, New Mexico. The senior forward has scored at least 20 points in the last three games. He shot seven for 13 for 22 points in an upset of Texas A&M.
Martinez is the team’s only senior and he’s acting like a leader.
Thanks to his 17.3 points per game, New Mexico is 10-0 for the first time since 1995-96.
Brick of the week
Favored Big East teams. Temple knocked off Villanova; Xavier upset Cincinnati; Western Carolina beat Louisville; Loyola Marymount took down Luke Harangody and Notre Dame.
Game to watch
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 10 North Carolina in Arlington, Texas, Saturday.
Big state, big arena, big game.
The meeting is a Texas-style showdown in Cowboys Stadium and might provide a glimpse of a Final Four matchup in Indianapolis.
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