Kansas State vs Kansas: Sunflower Showdown Pt. 1 Open Game Thread

Your Kansas State Wildcats head into the very unfriendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse to face the Kansas Jayhawks tonight in part one of the 2017 basketball edition of the Sunflower Showdown.

History, as has been the case the past several decades, does not favor the Wildcats in this matchup. The Wildcats have won in Lawrence just twice since the oldest member of the Wildcat basketball squad has even been alive (DJ was born in ‘93). Things do not look good for the Wildcats.

KU enters tonights game with a 12-1 record and 1-0 mark in Big 12 play after running their winning streak to 12 in a row with an 86-80 victory at TCU on Friday; the Jayhawks haven’t lost since their season opener, a 103-99 overtime loss to Indiana. KU is paced by four players averaging double-figures, led by senior guard Frank Mason’s nearly 20 points per game. Luckily for the Cats, KU has had some injury issues inside, and Bill Self will be forced to play with smaller lineup than he would normally go with.

The Cats will need far more production from the bench if they hope to have a chance against the Jayhawks. While the Wildcats pulled off a victory against the Texas Longhorns to open Big 12 play, all 65 points were scored by the five Wildcat starters. Barry Brown is still pacing the team in scoring for the season, but is losing ground to Welsey Iwundu and D.J. Johnson every game. The Cats are currently on a 7-game win streak, and during the streak are averaging 75 points on 48 percent shooting, including 37 percent from 3-point range, with 5 players averaging in double figures led by forwards D.J. Johnson and Dean Wade. The duo have identical 12.4 points per game averages and have combined to shoot 66 percent during the streak.

The game, scheduled for 8:00pm CST, will be broadcast on ESPN2, with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) on the call, and streaming may be available to you (depending on your location and provider/package) at WatchESPN.com. Audio, as always, is available on the K-State Sports Network (Sirius 84/XM 84 (KU Broadcast)) and streaming online at K-StateSports.com.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

RV/RV Kansas State
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown
G: #25 Wesley Iwundu
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #4 D.J. Johnson

3/2 Kansas
G: #0 Frank Mason III
G: #4 Devonte Graham
G: #10 Svi Mykhailiuk
G: #11 Josh Jackson
C: #33 Landen Lucas

Go Cats!!