After a two-game losing streak, the Wildcats need to hold serve with a home win against the Aggies if they want to avoid slipping further down the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Feb 4, 2012 - After two consecutive last-minute losses in Big 12 play, the 15-6 Kansas State Wildcats have fallen out of the top 25 and right back into the NCAA Tournament bubble.
With impressive scalps like Alabama and Missouri already on the wall, Kansas State's biggest concern over the next two months is avoiding losses to teams like the Texas A&M Aggies that are lower on the Big 12 pecking order.
They host Texas A&M at 3:00 PM Saturday in a game that will be broadcast regionally by the Big 12 Sports Network and streamed live on the internet on ESPN3.
The 12-9 Aggies, coming off of six consecutive Tournament appearances, were expected to be pre-season contenders for the conference championship, but they were dealt devastating blows when new coach Billy Kennedy was diagnosed with Parkinson's before the season started while star SF Khris Middleton, a pre-season first-team All-Big 12 selection, has been hobbled by a knee injury all season.
Middleton hasn't played in the last three games, but the Aggies have showed a surprising amount of fight, losing 63-60 to No. 6 Baylor in Waco on a last-second Pierre Jackson three-pointer.
In his absence, Texas A&M's primary offensive option has been 6'8 senior PF David Loubeau, who presents an interesting match-up problem for Frank Martin, as he's bigger than Jamar Samuels and faster than Jordan Henriquez.
However, without Middleton, the Aggies don't have a lot of scoring punch, which means big games from the Wildcats back-court duo of Rodney Macgruder and Will Spradling should be enough to put Kansas State over the top and get them back to .500 in Big 12 conference play.
Bring On The Cats has you covered for all the latest news and analysis on Kansas State basketball, while I Am The 12th Man has in-depth coverage on everything related to Texas A&M athletics.
0 comments
