Tip: 2:30 PM, ABC

It’s a chilly 32 degrees outside the Erwin Center, but inside my tent I’m cooking up a hot and fresh game preview. That was a pretty shitty lead, but then again, I can’t really feel my toes.

Today’s game is being called a split national telecast, but come on. It’s two games being shown regionally. And, according to this coverage map, Alaska and Hawaii are smack in the middle of the North Carolina region. Allllllrighty.

At the helm for Kansas State is infamous coach Bob Huggins. Love him or hate him, he’s the sports story of the year in Kansas and he’s gotten interest in Wildcat hoops back on the rise. One of six new coaches in the Big 12, Huggy Bear is planning to threaten the Jayhawks’ dominance in the near future. It doesn’t look like it’s going to happen this year, but with his squad at 5-2 in conference play, they are already competing for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

The Wildcats play a style of ball similar to Billy Gillispie’s Aggies and are going to look to force the game into a physical, defensive battle. If Texas gets stuck settling for half-court sets, they will playing right into their opponent’s hands. Burnt Orange Nation took a look at Ken Pomeroy’s statistical analysis earlier this week to quantitatively show the things we’ve been seeing all along, including our reliance on transition and the need to stay away from that half-court game.

Fans of Texas basketball will remember K-State’s Cartier Martin, if only because the announcers of last year’s game said his name more times than they showed Jim Woolridge flailing aroud in his neck brace. This year, Martin is a sixth-man for the purple and grey, and is still just as effective. He is scoring 15.8 points in his nine games coming off the pine and is giving Huggins roughly 27 minutes a game.

For the past five games, the Wildcats have sported the same starting lineup — guards Clent Stewart, Lance Harris, Akeem Wright, and forwards David Hoskins and Luis Colon. Despite only starting two big men, K-State is third in the conference in rebounding advantage (+5.4). Although Texas leads the league in this category, this is going to be one of the toughest battles on the glass that the Horns have had thus far.

Hoskins and Martin are the key men on offense, according to Ken Pomeroy’s metrics. They combine to end possessions for the ‘Cats over 50 percent of the time, which indicates their importance to the (admittedly) anemic offense. Granted, K-State’s offense has seen an upswing with the recent stability of their starting lineup, but this is definitely a team that relies on their defense.

In their current six-game winning streak, the Wildcats are holding opponents to an average of 59 points per game. They are holding league foes to a 39.7 shooting percentage, good enough for fourth in the conference. As earlier stated, Texas cannot afford to let the score stay as low as Kansas State wants.

In the middle, freshman big man Jason Bennett towers over the lane at 7-foot, 3-inches. In only 13.6 minutes per game, he’s averaging 2.3 blocks. If our guards try to penetrate against this guy, we might have a few balls rejected into the mezzanine.

While I’d love to see Big Dex play against this good rebounding squad, I’m not sure he can keep up with the pace we’re going to want. If we can get three to four minutes out of him per half and utilize him inside during those stretches, he will have done his part. Damion James and Connor Atchley are going to have to step up and stop Martin and Colon, while getting the offensive rebounds to keep our possessions alive.

A quick recap of the keys to the game:

Play our tempo – The half-court set does nothing for Texas, particularly in these next two games against defensive-minded opponents. The Horns need to have a good transition game and also keep the Wildcats from capitalizing on their own turnovers.

Fight on the boards – This is particularly important on the offensive end, because K-State is going to likely force more misses from the Horns than they are used to. They’ll need to be nails on the offensive glass if they want to get the second- and third-chance points they’ll need.

Draw fouls – D.J. Augustin and Kevin Durant are particularly effective at getting to the rack and then the line. With Kansas State’s physical style of play, the Horns need to try to take advantage of the home-court whistles and get the key Wildcat players on the bench in foul trouble.

Tip is at a little after 2:30 on ABC, but there’s still activity at the ticket window on Red River. So buy up some mezzanine tickets, pack the Drum, and let’s send Huggy Bear back home with a loss — where he can continue to not graduate his players.