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Shane Southwell scored 13 points to help lead the Kansas State Wildcats to a 65-46 win over Texas Tech.
Kansas State won its second game in a row defeating Texas Tech 65-46 in a physical and at times sloppy matcup. Neither team was on the mark from the field and combined to shoot 66 free throw attempts.
Kansas State came out on top despite making just 15-50 shot attempts. The Wildcats made up for their poor shooting touch by making 30-40 free throw attempts in the game. Shane Southwell led the way for the Wildcats scoring 13 points off the bench. Rodney McGruder and Will Spradling added 10 points each.
Texas Tech made 11-38 shots from the floor and was 20-26 from the charity stripe in the game. They however were undone by 22 turnovers. Luke Adams led the Red Raiders in scoring with 15 points off the bench and was joined in double figures by Jordan Tolbert's 11.
With the win, Kansas State improves to 17-6 overall and back over the .500 mark in the Big 12 at 6-5. Texas Tech falls to 7-16 and a dubious 0-11 in Big 12 play.
For more on this game Wildcats fans should visit Bring On The Cats and Red Raiders fans should stop by Double-T Nation. For more college basketball news and analysis head on over to SB Nation's College Basketball page.
The Kansas State Wildcats take a 31-17 lead into halftime of their matchup with the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a rather sloppy contest that saw both teams combine for just 12 made field goals in the first half.
Kansas State hit just 6-26 shots but benefited from 13 first-half turnovers and a 15-5 advantage in made free throws in the first half. Martavious Irving led the way for the Wildcats with eight points off the bench while Shane Southwell added seven. Rodney McGruder scored five points in the first 20 minutes but was just 1-5 from the field before picking up two personal fouls.
Texas Tech was just 6-20 in the first half which combined with 13 turnovers leads to offensive struggles. Jaye Crockett scored five points off the bench to lead the Red Raiders while Jordan Tolbert and Luke Adams each finished the half with four.
For more on this game Wildcats fans should visit Bring On The Cats and Red Raiders fans should stop by Double-T Nation. For more college basketball news and analysis head on over to SB Nation's College Basketball page.
For a Kansas State team sitting squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble as March approaches, Tuesday night's home game against Texas Tech is more challenge than opportunity.
A loss to the Red Raiders, who are 0-10 in Big 12 play in their first year under coach Billy Gillispie, would be a scarlet letter they would carry on their resume the rest of the season.
The Wildcats have already beaten them in Lubbock this year, winning 69-47 on Jan. 25. Kansas State was carried by their experienced back-court duo of Rodney McGruder and Martavious Irving, who combined to score 29 points on 12-23 shooting.
Only two of the Red Raiders starters -- 6'7 freshman forward Jordan Tolbert and 5'8 freshman guard Kevin Wagner -- scored in the game that was never really in doubt, with the Wildcats outscoring Texas Tech by more than ten points in each half.
Former coach Pat Knight didn't leave much in the cupboard for Gillispie, who is making a comeback to D1 basketball after his once meteoric career flamed out in Kentucky amidst off-the-court rumors about alcoholism.
Gillispie is the man who turned the Texas A&M basketball program earlier in the decade, putting the Aggies on a map and starting a streak of six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
A win at Kansas State would be a huge start to the foundation he's trying to build in Lubbock, in the same way that a loss would be devastating for Frank Martin's program, trying to make its third straight trip to the Big Dance.
The 7:00 PM game will be broadcast regionally on the Big 12 Sports Network and streamed online at ESPN3.
For more on Kansas State basketball, head over to Bring On The Cats while Double T Nation has you covered for everything Texas Tech sports related.
Big 12 Basketball Standings: Kansas Vs. Baylor Matchup Will Eliminate One From Conference Title Contention
The Baylor Bears and the Kansas Jayhawks will square off against one another on Wednesday night with the Big 12 championship in the balance. The Missouri Tigers currently have a 1/2 game lead over the two schools do to their win over the Oklahoma Sooners on Monday. If Baylor loses to Kansas, that will be their second loss to the Jayhawks. Missouri also beat Baylor last month, and will face the Bears right after Kansas does.
Here are the full conference standings going into Wednesday night:
For more on the Tigers, Jayhawks and Wildcats stay tuned to SB Nation Kansas City. For more college basketball news and analysis head on over to SB Nation's College Basketball page.
Feb 08 5:51p by Eddie Maisonet