Gameday Breakdown: No. 9 KU basketball vs. Kansas State – Big 12 tourney semifinals

By Matt Tait     Mar 9, 2018

Nick Krug
Kansas guard Malik Newman (14) gets under Kansas State forward Dean Wade (32) for a bucket late during the second half, Monday, Jan. 29, 2018 at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (25-7) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (22-10)

Time: 6 p.m. | Location: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.

TV: ESPN | Radio: IMG Jayhawk Radio Network

Log on to KUsports.com for our live game blog coverage and follow the KUsports.com staff on Twitter: @KUSports @mctait @TomKeeganLJW @bentonasmith @nightengalejr @chasenscott & @nickkrug

Keys for Kansas

1. Defend the dribble drive

Almost everything Kansas State did well offensively in Thursday’s overtime victory over TCU in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament started with the dribble drive.

Barry Brown and Cartier Diarra were relentless in their focus on attacking the paint and both created easy shots for themselves and easy buckets for teammates as a result of their desire to turn the corner and get downhill.

Fellow K-State point guard Kam Stokes also had his fair share of success getting to the rim against TCU and it’s likely that all three players will make that their focus against Kansas.

With no true rim protector sitting back there waiting to bail them out, it will be incredibly important for guys like Devonte’ Graham, Malik Newman and Marcus Garrett to dig in on defense and slide their feet to cut off the drive from start to finish.

Getting to the paint was a big part of the reason the Wildcats’ started their comeback against TCU and ultimately won the game.

2. Get on the glass

Mitch Lightfoot (6 rebounds) and Silvio De Sousa (8) were great on the boards in Thursday’s win over Oklahoma State and both will need to get after again in this one.

That’s not because the Wildcats pose the same kind of front-line threat that the Cowboys did, but because KSU can be had on the boards and winning that battle makes it much harder for K-State to win the game.

After struggling to compete on the boards throughout much of conference play, the Jayhawks found good fortune during their trip to Manhattan, when they out-rebounded KSU by 10 in a 14-point victory.

Malik Newman (1 rebound on Thursday) had 10 rebounds in that one, while Udoka Azubuike, who will miss a second straight game while recovering from a knee sprain, grabbed just three rebounds in 18 minutes.

Svi Mykhailiuk also had a nice day in the rebounding department on Thursday, crashing the glass hard on most offensive possessions and finishing with six rebounds.

If the Jayhawks take that same kind of relentless approach and total team focus into rebounding in this one, it will go a long way toward earning Kansas a spot in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.

3. No complacency

It may sound ridiculous to say this about a postseason game against an in-state rival, but Friday’s news that K-State junior Dean Wade is likely to miss the Sunflower Showdown tonight because of a foot injury puts Kansas in a very different position than it was in 24 hours ago.

With Wade out, the Wildcats would be missing their leading scorer and rebounder and the one player on the KSU roster who has truly given Kansas fits this season.

Rather than looking at that as a big break — which it is — the Jayhawks need to lock in even further and focus on ramping up their efforts to slow down Diarra, Brown and Stokes, who, no doubt, will look to do more and attack often with Wade out of the lineup.

While taking Wade’s 16.5 points and 6.3 rebounds out of the equation certainly sounds good for KU’s chances of advancing to Saturday’s title game, it also figures to be good news Silvio De Sousa and Mitch Lightfoot, who, if they play hard and play well, could gain even more confidence than they have right now with a big performance in this one.

Mega Matchup

KU junior Lagerald Vick vs. Kansas State sophomore Xavier Sneed

It’s the X Factor against the X Man in a somewhat overlooked matchup that could prove to be pretty important in this one.

After a sluggish and nearly-invisible first half in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over Oklahoma State, Vick responded with a strong second half that started with a two-handed, tough jam over an OSU player and ended with 11 points and four rebounds. Perhaps that’s what he needed to reignite his game and get him back into the flow of where Kansas wants him to be.

Sneed, who played 42 minutes in Kansas State’s overtime win over TCU on Thursday — and looked very confident doing it — shot identical totals to the last time he played Kansas (4-of-12 from the floor, 1-of-7 from 3-point range) and his inability to knock down open looks, and keep taking them, contributed mightily to K-State’s loss to Kansas in Manhattan.

Despite his shooting issues, Sneed is long, active and capable of delivering at just about any spot on the floor. Does that sound a little like Vick?

Sure, Devonte’ Graham vs. Cartier Diarra and Malik Newman vs. Barry Brown Jr., are intriguing and higher-profile battles in this one, but the Vick-Sneed matchup could wind up being just as important and the Jayhawks need Vick to start Friday’s game the way he finished Thursday’s.

Jayhawk Pulse

With relief setting in after finally knocking off Oklahoma State and Kansas likely solidifying its seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament — most pundits have KU as a 1 seed in the West — the Jayhawks are, in some ways, playing with house money in today’s semifinal.

That became even more true when the report about Dean Wade possibly missing the game came out Friday morning, making Kansas an even heavier favorite than it already was.

The line in Las Vegas opened at KU -5 and quickly jumped to KU -8 when news of Wade’s injury surfaced.

None of that matters in the eyes of Bill Self, of course, whose objective will remain the same no matter who is or is not playing in purple. The idea, in Self’s mind, is for his team to build momentum, correct mistakes, develop even more chemistry and get on a little bit of a hot streak heading into next week.

That would be the goal against K-State, Texas Tech, Kentucky or the San Antonio Spurs. And the logic behind it is simple — do the right things and make winning plays and the final score will take care of itself.

There’s no doubt that there will be a ton of juice inside Sprint Center today. And the Wildcats who are playing will show up ready for a fight. If the Jayhawks match that mindset, they should be poised to advance to their 13th Big 12 tournament title game in school history.

Probable Starters

No. 9 Kansas

G – Devonte’ Graham, 6-2, 185, Sr.

G – Malik Newman, 6-3, 190, Soph.

G – Svi Mykhailiuk, 6-8, 205, Sr.

G – Lagerald Vick, 6-5, 175, Jr.

F – Mitch Lightfoot, 6-8, 215, Soph.

Kansas State

G – Cartier Diarra, 6-4, 190, Fr.

G – Barry Brown, 6-3, 195, Jr.

G – Xavier Sneed, 6-5, 212, Soph.

F – Levi Stockard III, 6-8, 239, Fr.

F – Makol Mawien, 6-9, 225, Soph.

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.