SB Nation - Luis Colon

Mizzou Links, 12-21-09

Bill C. — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 11:44:10 -0000

More photos » by L.G. Patterson - AP

5 days ago: Missouri's Marcus Denmon dunks the ball during the first half their NCAA college basketball game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009, in Columbia, Mo. Missouri won the game 88-70. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

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Helluva Recruiting Weekend, Huh?

KC Star: Marcus Lucas commits to Missouri

Lucas, who is 6 feet 5 and 195 pounds, is rated by Rivals as the No. 14 wide-receiver recruit in the nation. He is also ranked as the No. 113th best player overall and the No. 2 recruit in the state of Missouri.

Missouri already had commitments from No. 1 — Nick Demien, an offensive lineman from Wentzville — and No. 3 — defensive end Kony Ealy out of New Madrid.
...
Lucas, who gave out the news electronically while cloistered with a group of football recruits at Missouri’s basketball game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Mizzou Arena, was the second wide receiver to commit to the Tigers on Saturday.

Denton (Texas) Ryan’s Bud Sasser also confirmed via text message that he had given his commitment to Missouri.
KC Star: Liberty's Lucas Tops Mizzou Recruiting Class; MU Class Rank up to No. 14
PowerMizzou: Bud Sasser knew it all along
PowerMizzou: Matt Hoch makes changes in commitment, position

Texas Bowl and Other Mizzou Football Links

Post-Dispatch: On the edge of a New Frontier
The Trib: Blaine Gabbert has shone bright
The Missourian: Gabbert brothers have more in common than Missouri football
KC Star: With Danario Alexander exiting, who's next in line at receiver?
PowerMizzou: Redshirt reports: Adam Burton
MWC Connection: Wyoming pulls out Double OT thriller in New Mexico Bowl
Post-Dispatch: Ex-MU assistant coaches Wyoming to bowl win

Big 12 Football Links

Manhattan Mercury: KSU coach discusses his first season back on the sidelines

Mizzou is better than UA-Pine Bluff at Basketball

The Missourian: Missouri men's basketball guard shines on graduation day
Post-Dispatch: Home cooking offers Mizzou little challenge
KC Star: Tigers rout Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Post-Dispatch (Bryan Burwell): Mizzou's sweet music for Kim English (awesome, AWESOME job by Burwell)

So now Little Kim is not so little anymore. He is a 6-foot-6-inch sophomore guard at the University of Missouri with a sweet jump shot that looks a whole lot like the old man's. So now Big Kim occasionally makes the road trip from suburban Baltimore to watch his son play ball just like he taught him. His seat in the Mizzou Arena is in the low corner near the Missouri bench, and he does not make much of a fuss while his son is filling up the place with sweet string music. Instead, he quietly observes, noting the body language of basketball. He checks the way the ball comes off his son's finger tips, he notices release points, body lean and other subtleties only ballers understand.

The dad, who 30 years ago was a 6-foot-3 first-team All-Metro swing man from Baltimore County's Woodlawn High School (27-point average as a senior), exchanges quiet glances and hand gestures with the son. A shot goes up, and the ball rattles off the rim. The dad flicks his right fingers off the left finger tips like he's brushing dust off a table.

The son nods and trots back down the floor.
Photo Galleries
The Missourian
Post-Dispatch

Big 12 Basketball Links

Clone Chronicles: Iowa State Beats Bradley Up A Little Bit
KC Star: K-State's Colon ready to make impact for Cats

Big Ten?

Bring On the Cats: Why the Big 12 Needs to Do Everything It Can to Keep Missouri (Part One)
Bring On the Cats: Why the Big 12 Needs to Do Everything It Can to Keep Missouri (Part Two)
Detroit News: Best match for Big Ten expansion: Show me Missouri

Kansas State: Know Your Rival

Bill C. — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 14:00:12 -0000

Game 1 of the Keep Kansas From Winning the Conference Tour tips off tonight in Mizzou Arena, where Mizzou will play in its second revenge game of the year. The first one resulted in a 28-point road-to-home swing. Tonight's will need to result in at least a 17-point swing for Mizzou to move to Game 2 in Lawrence on Sunday.

vs Big 12
Kansas State: 7-5

	KSU	Opp
Points Per Minute	1.69	1.73
Points Per Possession (PPP)	1.03	1.05
Points Per Shot (PPS)	1.15	1.37
2-PT FG%	45.3%	46.4%
3-PT FG%	36.2%	40.7%
FT%	66.5%	70.7%
True Shooting %	50.4%	56.3%

	KSU	Opp
Assists	147	163
Steals	75	69
Turnovers	170	181
Ball Control Index (Assists + Steals) / TO	1.31	1.28

	KSU	Opp
Expected Offensive Rebounds	163	136
Offensive Rebounds	179	122
Difference	+16	-14

Here's why stats are so interesting and entertaining--this line right here tells you everything you need to know about Kansas State. They are a poor, poor shooting team that is occasionally careless with the ball, but they play solid pressure defense (BCI!) and crash the boards hard.
These Big 12 numbers should put into perspective just how far over their heads KSU played last time these teams met. Needless to say, KSU's Big 12 numbers are at least slightly dampened by a poor start to conference play, but regardless--62.5% true shooting %, 54.5% from 3-point range? Rare. If Mizzou holds KSU to its conference-play shooting averages, they should be in control of this game. If.
Mizzou will also have to shoot pretty well themselves, as they probably won't win the rebounding battle. Frank Martin has a team whose offensive talent is focused mostly on just 2-3 players, but the whole team rebounds well, especially the bench guys.

Stats by StatSheet.com

Player	AdjGS*	GmSc/Min	Line
Denis Clemente (Jr)	15.05	0.46	17.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.3 APG
Jacob Pullen (So)	9.78	0.30	12.6 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.6 APG
Darren Kent (Sr)	9.03	0.36	9.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 1.5 APG
Jamar Samuels (Fr)	8.75	0.43	7.7 PPG, 4.8 RPG
Fred Brown (So)	6.08	0.27	7.2 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 1.5 APG
Dominique Sutton (So)	5.73	0.26	5.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 APG
Luis Colon (Jr)	4.37	0.20	4.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG
Ron Anderson (So)	4.33	0.21	2.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG
Buchi Awaji (Jr)	3.47	0.45	2.3 PPG, 1.3 RPG
Chris Merriewether (Jr)	1.59	0.21	1.0 PPG, 2.1 RPG
Victor Ojeleye (Fr)	-0.35	-0.53	2 minutes
Justin Werner (Fr)	-0.53	-0.21	5 minutes

* AdjGS = a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition here) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It does the same thing my previous measure of choice did (it takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game), only the formula is more used and accepted. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.

Denis Clemente is the patented "crazy guy in a fight." You don't really know what he's going to do, but you're not too enthusiastic about finding out. He might drop 40 on you, he might decide somebody's cheap-shotting him when they're not, he might be a game-changer, he might be a non-factor. No matter what, this will probably be a "Hey JT Tiller, I want to know what kind of chewing gum Mr. Clemente is chewing," situation.
Meanwhile, if you were to ask me where Jacob Pullen was from (and I didn't already know the answer), by looking at his stat line, I'd answer "Chicago" with no hesitation. He's got that Chicago game--lots of shots, low shooting %, decent assist numbers, lots of turnovers, lots of steals, big juevos--that we've seen in quite a few guys over the years (most recently Stefhon Hannah and Patrick Beverley). He'll shoot KSU into a game, and then shoot them out of it. He's not lacking in confidence, though, and KSU's identity is somewhat a reflection of his.
Jamar Samuels is an interesting freshman. He doesn't take a lot of shots (0.26 per minute), but he's efficient with the ball, and he'll be the best offensive rebounder on the court tonight. He averages 0.12 OR's per minute--for comparison, Mizzou's best in that category (Keith Ramsey) only averages 0.09.
KSU's front line--Kent and Colon--are rather offensively challenged (big men usually average in the 1.30-1.50 points per shot range--Kent averages 1.17, Colon 0.98), but they're very good at rebounding and muscling guys around. Though DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons both ended up with decent stats last time around, while the game was actually close Kent and Colon were neutralizing the two well enough for KSU's guards to get away with overplaying the ball against Zaire Taylor and J.T. Tiller, who combined for 8 turnovers.

Keys to the Game

Turnovers. Mizzou is a BCI team--it is very rare that they have more turnovers than their opponent, but led by the 8 from Tiller and Taylor, that's exactly what they encountered in Bramlage almost exactly a month ago. (The Tigers haven't lost for almost a month?? Damn!) KSU had a wonderful gameplan of getting into Mizzou's comfort zone before Mizzou could do the same. It worked in Manhattan, but it's much less likely to work a second time now that Mizzou knows it's coming.

It's Tiller/Taylor vs Clemente/Pullen, and whoever controls the ball better, wins.
The first 15 minutes. Average halftime score of a Mizzou loss: Opponents 38, Mizzou 26. Average halftime score of a Mizzou win: Mizzou 40, Opponents 29. Average score at the 15-minute mark of the last three Mizzou losses: Opponents 27, Mizzou 16. If you're going to strike Mizzou, strike early.
The 3-pointer. That's right, two of the three keys are the same as those from the Colorado game.

Mizzou's perimeter defense has been outstanding in conference play--opponents have only hit 66 of 215 3-pointers against them (30.7%). Without the first KSU game, that number falls to 28.0%. K-State hit 12 of 22 3-pointers at Bramlage (Jacob Pullen and Fred Brown: 10-for-14). They hit 9-of-12 during a stretch late in the first half and early in the second half, when the game was salted away.

There's no question that KSU has improved since the beginning of conference season, but the unmissable 3's were the main reason I called the trip to Bramlage "just one of those games." And that's fine if it was just one of those games...as long as it doesn't happen again. KSU makes 30% (or less) of their 3-pointers, Mizzou probably wins.

Prediction

I've got two conflicting feelings going on about this game. First, the game in Manhattan was more out of character for KSU than Mizzou. They're not a wonderful shooting team, but they couldn't miss that night, and Mizzou had an uncharacteristic number of turnovers. If both teams play an average game, Mizzou wins.

However, there's no question that K-State is a team that simply matches up very well with Mizzou. Some teams do, some don't...KSU does. They have confident, aggressive (and sometimes crazy) guards and a couple of strong bigs who can push DeMarre and Leo around a bit. While I think Mizzou will win this game--the revenge factor is strong, Mizzou plays extremely well at home, etc.--due to matchups things will probably be pretty tight (unless Pullen and Clemente hit an extremely cold stretch).

K-State hasn't played wonderfully since beating MU and Texas, back-to-back, in late-January to salvage their season. Pretty or not, though, they've continued to win. Overall, they've won 7 of 8 conference games and continue to fight for their NCAA Tourney lives. You never want to fight a desperate and crazy guy, and that's how KSU is looking right now. That said, Mizzou's depth and home court advantage are too much. Mizzou finally starts to pull away around the 6:00 or 8:00 mark of the second half and wins it, 79-71.

Poll

Biggest key for tonight?

Turnovers

27 votes

The first 15 minutes

23 votes

The 3-pointer

10 votes

Good Leo making an appearance

24 votes

Containing Denis Clemente

12 votes

96 votes | Poll has closed

A KenPom Preview: Kansas State (Again)

rockchalk — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:14:44 -0000

Here we go, the second go-around of a Kansas State preview. I won't go over the same sort of stuff, because we went over just about all of it here, the first K-State KenPom preview.

Opening Thoughts

Is it just me, or are you all rivalled-out, too? It's like we exuded all of our effort trying to take on our cousin, only to have our little brother come on and attack us while we're down. Except, unlike not all-that-long ago, little brother can fight, too. Sure, these Powercats aren't as good or dangerous as last year's team, with Michael Beasley and Billy Walker, but they are still scary. They've won six in a row, and are incredibly hard to slow down. Once they get running, they are dangerous enough to beat a lot of teams. A lot of teams. So, yeah, this isn't going to be too much fun, methinks. We're still recovering from that epic showdown with cousin, and now our dangerous little brother gets to take us on. Ugh. Plus, this is a huge game for lil' bro: with a win, K-State probably jumps to the right side of the bubble, considering they'd had won seven in a row including W's over Missouri, Texas and Kansas.

So, yeah, boo. Get past this game, though, and we should be 11-1 going into Norman. Yeah, that's the game that I wanna get up for. Not this one. It's a game we probably all should be getting up for, but we just can't. Or, at least, I can't. I'm too tired, too exhausted, too wiped out from MIssouri. I just hope our team isn't feeling the same way, or the Powercats'll wipe the floor.

Yeah, that would suck.

The rest of the abbreviated preview after the jump...

The Background

Entering our first matchup, K-State had NIT written all over it. Their non-con was incredibly barren, and it was agreed upon that it would take an awesome conference season to sneak into the NCAAs. And, after their expected L's to Boomer Sooner and in Lawrence, things didn't get any better. They got destroyed up in Lincoln (by 22), then came home and lost by 18 to a not-that-great Baylor squad. Yuck. At 0-4, their hopes of a good conference season were quickly sliding away. But then, in a game they had to have in the worst of ways, they were able to survive a last-second shot that would have tied the game in overtime against Colorado. They followed that up with a tremendous shooting performance and 17-point win against the Tiggers in Manhattan, then tripped down to Austin and upset the Longhorns in OT. Came home to narrowly escape the Cyclones, travelled down to College Station to take down the Aggies and, just on Wednesday, rushed out to an early lead against the Red Raiders and survived the comeback. Bam. An 0-4 start quickly turned into 6-4 in conference play, and an opportunity on Saturday to get on the right side of the bubble. Even if they lose tomorrow, they still figure to be in good shape. Every remaining game on the schedule, save a trip to Columbia, is entirely winnable. And if they lose tomorrow and lose to Missouri, they can still end up going 10-6 in conference play. That should be plenty good enough.

The Offense

Four Factors

Effective FG% (143rd) -- This is significantly worse than what they were coming into Allen Field House (106th), and is obviously a more accurate representation. They take plenty of stupid shots (particularly Denis Clemente), but when they're falling they are awesome offensively. Like, when their eFG% was 62.1% against Missouri, compared to their overall mark of 49.8%. What? So, let's all just hope they don't go ballistic again, and we shouldn't be too worried. They did only shoot 43% against us last time, though, so that's good.
Turnover % (120th) -- Nothing terribly special, nothing terrible, just well below average. We can turn them over a bunch; if so, we should win. If not, and they hold on to the ball, they have a chance.
Offensive Rebounding % (3rd) -- This is their strength of the entire team. They eat you up on the offensive glass. We actually did a pretty good job, overall, when we played 'em; only gave them 38% of their opportunities, compared to their 42% season average. They might be better at home, but I'm also positive that the Law Firm (Morris, Morris & Little) are much better than they were then. So, that should be something interesting to watch; to see the difference. With all of the shots they miss, as long as you don't let them get a billion second-chance points you should be OK.
FTA/FGA (54th) -- They shoot more free throws than most teams, particularly Jamar Sameuls, who draws the 11th most fouls per 40 minutes (7.2). Darren Kent and Ron Anderson both get fouled quite a bit, but not nearly as many as JamSam, or whatever the hell they call him.

Miscellaneous

As a team, despite getting there a bunch, they are godawful from the free throw line: 65%. Yuck. So, don't be too scared at them going to the FT line.

The Defense

Four Factors

Effective FG% (80th) -- Not exceptional, but they won't give you a boatload of open, good looks. We could really use some open threes actually falling, so please make 'em, Brady and Tyrel. We really, really could use some.
Turnover % (22nd) -- The real strength of their defense, they turn you over a bunch. Really, that's their entire defensive philosophy. They didn't turn us over much at all in Allen, and that played a large role in how we won. Whatever the case, just don't have another disastrous 27 turnover game like in Columbia. Say what you will, but that was the main reason we lost. That is just embarrassing. Don't let it happen again.
Offensive Rebounding % (106th) -- Again, this is where the Law Firm's improvement comes in to play. If they can be huge offensive contributors because of their second-chance points (particularly McMorris and Kieffer), we should be in great shape. If not, the pressure's on Cole and Sherron and open threes.
FTA/FGA (333rd) -- With how many turnovers they go for, this isn't all that surprising. However, this is just ridiculous. They foul you a shitload. In fact, on average, take your field goals attempted and divide by two, and that's how many freebies you shoot. Honestly. That is just ludicrous. So, make your throws, and we should be fine. It could be just as simple as that.

The Players

I didn't do it particularly well the first time, but I don't want to completely rehash the player-by-player previews. So, here are just some quick notes:

Guards -- The leaders of this team, the best players, all of that, are Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente. Together, the shoot more than 55% of the team's shots. That is ludicrous. Clemente is the better three-point shooter (39% to Pullen's 30%), but both still prefer to drive the ball into the lane. That's their game. But Tyshawn on Pullen, Sherron on Clemente and tell 'em both to keep them out of the lane and you should be OK. Pullen is the much better defender, so there's that. Oh, and then there is Fred Brown. Freddie Brown is the real three-point shooter on the team (45% on over 100 shots), so watch out for him.
Forwards -- The forwards are kind of under-the-radar types. Darren Kent, a.k.a the travelling machine, is pretty solid on the boards. He isn't terribly efficient on offense, though, so whatever. Ron Anderson, on the other hand, is a much better rebounder on both sides of the ball. Close to awesome, really. Moving out to the wing, you have the best athlete on the team, Dominique Sutton. Dominique is yet another slasher, and is highest on the teams in steal %. He can explode, but is also really inconsistent (a lot like Denis Clemente, really), so hopefully he doesn't get too crazy. The other key minute-earner at the forward slot is Jamar Samuels. I like JamSam as a player, another athletic specimen who is still developing as a player. Like we mentioned earlier, he gets fouled all of the time, so hopefully the Law Firm can keep their hands off, for the most part. JamSam is another excellent offensive rebounder, and rarely turns the ball over. Finally, in the regular minutes category, we've got Luis Colon. Mostly, he's just another damn good rebounder, and is largely irrelevant on offense. Still, we have to pay attention, because he can pile up the boards.

The Keys

Make Your Throws -- With how often they foul you, a lot of it simply comes down to how many freebies you can hit. We've had a roller-coaster ride at the free throw line as a team, having some excellent games and having some where we couldn't get anything to go. The Morris twins, at least, are starting to become money from there, to along with the awesome freebie talents of Tyrel Reed, Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich. Tyshawn is getting better, too. So, I'm not terribly worried about this, but it is definitely a key.
Hit Your Open Threes -- They give you a bunch of open threes, ranking 204th in the country in opposing 3-point%. So, when we are presented with the inevitable open threes, the ones we consistently missed against Okie State and Missouri, we've gotta hit them. We hit those, we are in tremendous shape. If not, their D can capitalize on our unbalanced offensive performance (everything in the lane), and force a bunch of turnovers, and we could be upset. Let's just make them, OK?
Box the Hell Out -- Law Firm, I'm looking at you. Come on. Box out. This K-State team makes their living off of second-chance points. They get into the NCAA Tournament, it'll be because of their offensive glass prowess. So, I'm not expecting zero second-chance points from the Powercats. But, just don't get consistently destroyed by them. Box out, go up and grab the ball when it's up there, don't give away easy ones. We rebound with them, and their offense should struggle, big-time.

That's all. Prediction-and-more coming in the OGT tomorrow...

Kentucky Wildcats vs. Kansas State Wildcats: Las Vegas Invitational Semifinal

Truzenzuzex — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:39:29 -0000

Here we go, ladies and gentlemen of the Big Blue Nation -- the second semifinal of the Las Vegas Invitational. The first will be Iowa vs. West Virgina, which my wife and I will be attending as well. For most of you in the East, the UK vs. Kansas State game will begin at midnight EST. I know some of you will be up, and there will be an open thread as always for you to post your comments in. I will be showing up in there (Internet connection permitting) from the game if my reception is good enough.

I'll be posting some pics from the game later on or early tomorrow (time permitting). But right now, lets have a quick look at the player stats (all stats courtesy of StatSheet.com. Likely starters are highlighted as always. For more on the Kansas State Wildcats, be sure to check out the excellent Kansas State SB Nation blog Bring on the Cats.

Kentucky Player Stats
Player	GP/GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	3PTFG%	FT%	RPG	APG	TOPG	A/T	SPG	BPG
J. Meeks	4/4	35	24.3	42.10%	33.30%	84.00%	5	1.5	4.3	0.4	1.3	0.3
P. Patterson	4/4	32.8	16	67.50%	0.00%	76.90%	8.5	3.8	1.8	2.1	1.5	2.5
R. Harris	4/3	28	11	62.10%	0.00%	53.30%	3.8	1	3.3	0.3	1.3	0.5
P. Stevenson	4/4	26	7.8	47.10%	0.00%	88.20%	7.3	1.8	1.3	1.4	0.8	2.8
D. Liggins	4/0	20	4.8	50.00%	42.90%	0.00%	3	4.3	4	1.1	1	0.8
D. Miller	4/1	20	6.5	42.90%	14.30%	70.00%	3	1.8	2	0.9	0.5	0.3
M. Porter	4/4	19	4.3	40.00%	33.30%	66.70%	3.8	2.5	2.5	1	0.8	0.3
J. Harrellson	4/0	11.5	4.5	41.20%	0.00%	66.70%	3.5	0.5	0.3	2	0	1.5


Kansas State Player Stats
Player	GP/GS	MPG	PPG	FG%	3PTFG%	FT%	RPG	APG	TOPG	A/T	SPG	BPG
D. Sutton	5/5	27	10.4	52.60%	0.00%	70.60%	7	0.8	1.6	0.5	2.4	0.4
J. Pullen	5/5	26.2	14.8	35.30%	33.30%	77.80%	2	4.6	3	1.5	1.6	0
J. Samuels	5/0	22.6	11	64.70%	0.00%	44.00%	5.8	1.8	0.6	3	0.8	0.8
D. Clemente	5/5	21.6	13.4	44.70%	39.10%	84.20%	1.4	3.8	1.6	2.4	0.8	0
F. Brown	5/0	20.2	10	47.50%	50.00%	50.00%	1.6	2.2	1.8	1.2	0.4	0
D. Kent	5/5	20	9.8	50.00%	33.30%	65.00%	7	1.6	1.2	1.3	1	0.4
R. Anderson	5/0	18.4	4.8	47.10%	0.00%	50.00%	7.2	1.8	1.2	1.5	0.6	0.4
L. Colon	5/5	15.8	5.8	50.00%	0.00%	69.20%	4	0.8	0.4	2	0.2	1.2

Inside the paint

The main inside threat of Kansas State this year is 6'10" 230# Darren Kent, who is both an inside player and one of the leading rebounders. Kent is a senior out of Apple Valley, Minnesota.

From inside the arc, a major threat of Kansas State is Dominique Sutton, a smooth and powerful wing player with an excellent mid-range game. Sutton was a 4* Rivals player who joined the K-State Wildcats last year. This year, he is the third leading scorer nd second leading rebounder on the team.

Luis Colon starts at center, and he is a big guy at 6'10"/265#, but Ron Anderson, a 6'8" sophomore power forward and team's leading rebounder will do most of the time in that position if form holds, and neither of these two is a serious scoring threat although Anderson is a much better rebounder. Colon has a tendency to get into foul trouble. Jamar Samuels provides both rebounding and scoring from the bench.

I expect Kentucky to have an advantage at the 1-3 spots. Even though Sutton is a very dangerous player and Kent is big enough to post up, UK has more athletic and dynamic players in the 4 and 5 spot, and at the three, Ramon Harris is capable of handling Sutton.

Backcourt

Kansas State has a dynamic back court consisting of Jacob Pullen and Dennis Clemente, both dynamic scorers who can stroke it from three and score from everywhere else. These two guys will be the biggest challenge that UK will face, along with 3-point specialist Fred Brown who is shooting the long ball at 50% accuracy.

Unfortunately, neither Meeks nor Porter match up particularly well with these guys. Both Pullen and Clemente are small, quick and can penetrate the lane. Kentucky will have some difficulty this year handling smaller guard combos, and this could well be a very difficult team for UK to contain because of the guards. The back court play is likely to decide the game unless Kentucky dominates the front court, and I give the K-State Wildcats a slight edge in the back court.

Team stats

The team stats for these two contestants are as follows:

School	Kentucky	Kansas State	Comments
Conference	SEC	Big 12
State	KY	KS
Founded	1865	1863
School Type	Public	Public
Enrollment	26545	23182
Rankings
Conf Standing	N/A	N/A
AP Rank	0	0
RPI	0.48	0.56
RPI Rank	191	92	That's what 2-2 vs. 5-0 will get you.
SOS	0.52	0.42	UNC is why.
SOS Rank	146	258	Moving up, but still looks weak. KSU weaker, though.
Wins & Losses
Overall	2-2	5-0
Home	2-1	4-0
Away	0-1	1-0
Neutral	0-0	0-0
Conference	0-0	0-0
Top 25	0-1	0-0
Blowout (> 19)	2-0	3-0
Close (< 6)	0-0	0-0
Overtime	0-0	0-0
NCAA Tourney	0-0	0-0
Scoring
Pts Per Game	80.8	83.6	Both due to weak schedules so far.
Shooting
FG Pct	49.8	45.7	We shoot better because we have better inside players.
FT Pct	72.8	61.1
3pt FG Pct	29.9	34.7	This is where we are vulnerable.
Rebounds
Reb Per Game	43.5	46.2
Off Rebs Per Game	12	18	This is where their rebounding edge lies. We have to shut this down.
Def Rebs Per Game	29.3	25
Assists, Steals, & Blocks
Assists Per Game	17.8	19	Close.
Steals Per Game	7.5	9.4	Close.
Blocks Per Game	8.8	3.6	Not close. We are among the best in the NCAA.
Turnovers & Fouls
TO Per Game	21	12.8	Not close. If both are at season's average, KSU wins.
Fouls Per Game	19.3	18	Surprisingly close. Slight advantage UK if FT shooting holds to form.

Conclusion

Kentucky and Kansas State match up very well, and this is an excellent early-season test for the improving Kentucky Wildcats. Kansas State is not the team they were last year with Michael Beasly and Bill Walker, but they are very competent and more than sufficiently talented to test Kentucky, particularly in the back court.

This will be a very interesting game, and will tell us if the last two blowouts have actually included the signs of improvement we all think we see, or just the mirage of competence courtesy of inferior competition. This game will tell us much about the Kentucky Wildcats, for good or ill.