No one seems to be talking much about Kansas State this season, but is it possible that the Wildcats somehow steal a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? It might be if they can win out in the regular season and then win the Big 12 Tournament. However, that might mean beating Kansas twice, which seems unlikely. But a No. 2 NCAA seed seems very realistic.
One of KSU’s four losses this year came against Missouri, but the Wildcats are favored on WagerWeb.com’s NCAA basketball odds in the rematch. Back on Jan. 9 at Mizzou, the Tigers won 74-68 in the Big 12 opener for both teams. That was Missouri’s 30th straight home win, a streak that ended a few games later.
KSU star guard Jacob Pullen had 21 points in the game but shot only 4-for-14 from the field. Pullen leads four KSU four players in double figures at 18.8 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting, including 39.6 percent shooting from 3-point range. He has scored in double figures in all 27 games this season. He and Denis Clemente form one of the nation’s best backcourts. Those two are largely responsible for KSU being off to its best start in more than 50 years. The No. 6 ranking is the school’s highest in the AP poll since 1962 and highest ever in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Missouri will be down a key player for this game and the rest of the season as starting forward Justin Safford suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Wednesday’s win over Colorado. Safford is the Tigers’ fourth-leading scorer (8.6 points per game) and third-leading rebounder (4.1 per game).
The Tigers lead the nation in both steals per game (11.2) and turnovers forced per game (20.1) with their pressure defense. Mizzou is 2-1 vs. ranked foes this year and 8-3 against them the past two years. But it hasn’t beaten a team ranked No. 6 or better since 1994.
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