16/15 Kansas State vs RV/RV Baylor: Open Game Thread

The Wildcat offense has not been particularly pretty the last two Monday’s. Two weeks ago, the Wildcats go enough from Barry Brown and a late surge from Xavier Sneed to down the Mountaineers. Last Monday the Cats just couldn’t couple anything positive with their still-stellar defense, and dropped a game that could have potentially sealed both the Wildcats and Jayhawks fates. Now KU still has life, and the Wildcats are still needing to run flat-out.

Right now, Kansas State just needs to win it’s last three and it will do no-less than share the Big 12 title with Texas Tech. The Wildcats have beaten all three of it’s upcoming opponents, but these next two will be far from easy.

Tonight, we’ve got the Baylor Bears on tap. And while the Wildcats are riding a 5-game win streak against the Bears, Baylor is still a dangerous team and still in outside contention for a piece of the Big 12 title. If the Bears can pull off the upset, they would pull even with KU and K-State in second place, with all three a half-game back of Texas Tech. A Wildcat loss would also put them in position hoping for a Texas Tech loss to keep things even, which would also keep the door wide open for KU’s 15th piece of a Big 12 title.

It’s pretty high stakes for both teams.

But if there’s one thing that these Wildcats have shown a knack for in 2019, it’s responding to disappointing losses with several wins in a row. The Cats haven’t dropped two straight since losses at Marquette and at Tulsa back in early December, and are coming off four days of rest tonight against a Baylor squad that needed a late charge to come back against Texas on Wednesday night in Waco.

This game sets up well for the Wildcats, but they’ll have to come out with energy and passion. The Big 12 title is still in their control.

We’ve got the evening game in Bramlage Coliseum today, with the tip-off scheduled for 7:05pm CST tip. The game will be available on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call. You should also be able to access the game on WatchESPN.com/ESPN3.

You will also be able to listen to live audio across much of the K-State Sports Network with with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available streaming for free online via the TuneIn app/TuneIn.com and at www.kstatesports.com/watch. Satellite coverage is also available at Sirius 119 / XM 200 / Internet 954. Live stats are available at k-statesports.com, and Twitter updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage from K-State Athletics.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State Wildcats (21-7, 11-4 Big 12)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown Jr.
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Baylor Bears (19-9, 10-5 Big 12)
G: #10 Makai Mason
G: #12 Jared Butler
G/F: #4 Mario Kegler
F: #11 Mark Vital
F: #33 Freddie Gillespie

Go Cats!