By Gary Bedore     Jan 27, 2001

Roy Williams realizes there will come a day when Kansas loses to Kansas State in men’s basketball.

He just hopes it’s not today.

“I know the streak is going to end. I know the streak of beating them over there is going to end. I just try to put it off one more year,” said Williams, Kansas’ 13th-year coach.

The No. 4-ranked Jayhawks (16-1, 5-0 Big 12), who meet Kansas State at 3:05 p.m. today at Allen Fieldhouse, have won 19 straight games over the Wildcats (8-8, 2-3).

Overall, Williams has a 28-4 record against KSU and a 12-0 mark in Manhattan, where the Jayhawks have won 17 straight games. It’s made for a one-sided Sunflower State showdown during Williams’ tenure, that’s for sure.

“I don’t feel comfortable talking about KU-Kansas State because they played a million times before I got here,” KU sophomore forward Drew Gooden said. “I know I’m 3-0 against them and would like to make it 4-0.”

The Jayhawks are 26-point favorites against a K-State team that has been reduced to nine healthy bodies. KSU lost guards Galen Morrison and Josh Kimm (transfers), center Joe Leonard and guard Kerry Darting (foot problems) during this, Jim Wooldridge’s first year at KSU.

“I’ve been there, but that doesn’t mean it’s any easier for Jimmy’s team right now,” Williams said, noting he had just eight Jayhawks in uniform for a game against then-No. 1 ranked Oklahoma during his first season at KU.

“When you have more ammunition, your bullets are a bit bigger. When you are down to those kinds of numbers it’s a hard situation.”

Wooldridge realizes it will be tough for his Wildcats to survive the season with depleted numbers.

“We have six or seven weeks left and that’s where the difficulty comes in,” Wooldridge said. “It’s like when you lose a player and a team rallies around, you can handle it easier in the short term. Our challenge is how we can improve our team consistently over the next six to seven weeks, not six to seven days.”

The Wildcats’ nine players football player Rashad Washington has been added to the roster to make 10 but won’t play today possess some talent.

“They have four guys in double figures and one averaging 9.5 or something like that (in Big 12 play). Teams like that are the most difficult to prepare for,” Williams said.

The Wildcats have stunned two ranked teams at home this season, knocking off Iowa and Missouri.

KSU’s leading scorer is Phineas Atchison, a 6-foot-1 former Central Florida CC player who averages 12.9 points off the bench. Travis Reynolds, a 6-7 junior from Junction City and Matt Siebrandt, 6-8 from College of Southern Idaho, average 10.9 points each.

Larry Reid, a 6-0 point guard from Northern Oklahoma Junior College averages 9.6 points and 4.0 assists, while sophomore forward Quentin Buchanan and senior center Kelvin Howell check in at 7.4 and 7.0 points respectively.

Reid has averaged 15 points in KSU’s last three games. He’s made seven of his last 16 threes.

“Reid is playing very well at the point, running the team and scoring,” Williams said.

Can Reid handle the Jayhawks’ pressure?

“Larry has handled most situations this year in terms of meeting defenses, getting us in play pretty well,” Wooldridge said. “This is a real challenge, not just for him. He can’t pass the ball to himself. He has to have people available and working with him.

“We’ve got to go find out, ‘Can Larry handle this?’ I believe he can. I’ve told him he can, but we’ve got to play the game. Kansas tries to expose a bad passer and they really check your team poise. It’s a real aggressive style of play.”

After today, the Jayhawks gear for their other rival Missouri. Tip is 8:05 p.m. Monday in Columbia, Mo.

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