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The No.15 Kansas Jayhawks will host their conference foe, the Kansas State Wildcats, in a Big 12 showdown on Tuesday night.
There is certainly no love lost between their two in-state rivals. The last time they faced off, the game ended in one of the worst brawls ever seen in college basketball. Four players were granted suspensions immediately after the infamous incident.
More information about last season's brawl can be found here.
Match Details
Fixture: Kansas State Wildcats vs Kansas Jayhawks - NCAA Men's Basketball
Date & Time: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021, 8 PM ET
Venue: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
Kansas Jayhawks Preview
The Kansas Jayhawks are coming off a loss to the No.18 Tennessee Volunteers on Sunday night, 80-61 and have now lost four of their last five games. The last time they suffered a losing five-game stretch was in the 1988-89 season when Roy Williams' was the coach.
However, the Jayhawks schedule did not help them out much coming into the game against the Volunteers. They played on Thursday night against TCU and then had to Tennessee to play at the weekend.
Kansas' coach, Bill Self, does not want to blame the loss solely on the team's quick turnaround, but he certainly felt it played a role. Here is what he had to say, via ESPN:
The quick turnaround didn't help us, and it's not the reason why we got beat. But it didn't help us.
If the Jayhawks do not want to blame their travel schedule, they can certainly place it on their shooting. Kansas went 6 of 24 from three and shot just 68% from the charity stripe.
If the Kansas Jayhawks are to get back on track and defeat the Kansas State Wildcats, they will need to find become more efficient on the offensive side of the ball.
Key Player - Ochai Agbaji
Ochai Agbaji is the key player for the Kansas Jayhawks as they prepare to face the Kansas State Wildcats. The junior guard has been the team's most consistent scorer, averaging a team-leading 14.1 points per game.
Agbaji's play this season has made him one of the ten finalists for the 2021 Jerry West Award, via MokanBasketball,
As great as Agbaji has been this season, the Kansas Jayhawks will need him to notch his play up even move to put them back amongst the leaders of the Big 12. They are currently 3.5 games out of first place.
Kansas Jayhawks Predicted Lineup
F Dajuan Harris Jr., C David McCormack, G Marcus Garrett, G Ochai Agbaji G Christian Braun
Kansas State Wildcats Preview
The Kansas State Wildcats have looked atrocious since the start of conference play. They have a 1-8 record in the Big 12 and have been outscored by 152 points during that stretch.
The issue for the Wildcats this season has been their offensive game plan. They are extremely stagnant when they have the basketball in their hands and do not have nearly enough off-ball movement.
According to Kenpom.com, the Kansas State Wildcats are in the in the bottom 11% of Division I for speed of play with 65.6 possession per 40 minutes.
If they are to defeats their in-state rival, the Kansas Jayhawks, they will need to improve their offensive movements and work harder off the ball.
Key Player - Nijel Pack
The key player for the Kansas State Wildcats is Nijel Pack. The freshman guard played in just his second game of the season due to missing four matches because of health and safety protocols.
Pack went off for a career-high 26 points and submitted himself in the record books with eight three-pointers against the Texas A&M Aggies in his last outing, via Ryan Black,
If Pack can continue to stay hot from the perimeter and the Kansas State Wildcats can improve their offensive sets, they will have a chance at upsetting the Kansas Jayhawks on Tuesday night.
Kansas State Wildcats Predicted Lineup
F Kaosi Ezeagu, C Davion Bradford, G Mike McGuirl, G DaJuan Gordon, G Nijel Pack
Kansas State vs Kansas Prediction
Expect the game to be tightly contested as both teams will be playing with high energy. But at the end of the day, the Kansas Jayhawks will pull away from the Kansas State Wildcats due to their superior talent.
Expect a big game from Ochai Agbaji as he will have an advantage on the perimeter against the Wildcats' guards.
Where to watch Kansas State vs Kansas
The game will be available for live stream on ESPN+.
