The Kansas State men’s basketball team will look to keep a three game winning streak rolling as they travel south to Norman, Oklahoma, to face off against the University of Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPNU.
K-State sits in a tie for third in the conference with three games to go, as they are tied with West Virginia University at 9-6 in Big 12 play. Both those teams are one game behind Texas Tech — who is 10-5 — and two games behind Kansas at 11-4.
The game will have postseason implications as the Wildcats are on the bubble in many experts’ NCAA bracket predications.
The Wildcats are coming off a win on Wednesday night against the University of Texas.
K-State didn’t shoot particularly well, but used a 16-4 run to close out the game. Junior Barry Brown led the crusade in the 58-48 win.
The Wildcats now turn their attention to the Oklahoma Sooners, who have been on a downhill slope as of late, which started with a loss at K-State on Jan. 16.
K-State has played very well since then, but the then-No. 4 Oklahoma is barely still in the tournament projections after stumbling in since that loss in Manhattan.
The defense for K-State, led by Brown, played well against star freshman Trae Young, who scored only 20 points in the loss. Young shot just 2-10 from the three point line and 8-21 overall. The Wildcats will need to keep him quiet on Saturday to come out with a win.
Oklahoma freshman Brady Manek had 12 points in the game and has been a pleasant surprise for the Sooners since Young began to struggle.
Brown and junior Dean Wade led K-State with 24 and 21 points, respectively. Freshman Cartier Diarra had 16 points, and sophomore Xavier Sneed provided 13 in the winning effort.
The Sooners have lost six straight games and are in a tie for seventh with Oklahoma State and Texas at 6-9.
K-State is looking to avenge a 30-point loss in Norman just one year ago and sweep the Sooners for the first time since the 2014-2015 season.
