Colorado (9-20) At Kansas State (20-10)
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GAME NOTES: With a lot still to be determined in the Big 12 Conference, the Kansas State Wildcats host the Colorado Buffaloes at Bramlage Coliseum today. The Wildcats are 8-7 in conference and can finish as high as fourth place and as low as eighth depending on the outcome of this game and the rest of the games on the weekend docket. KSU enters the tilt on a low note, however, falling at Oklahoma State on Tuesday in a 77-71 final. It was the second loss in three games by KSU, which is now 20-10 overall. As for Colorado, it has very little to play for considering it is guaranteed a last-place finish at 1-14. Since beating Iowa State back on January 27th, the Buffs have suffered 10 straight losses, including a 72-66 setback against Texas A&M on Wednesday. To make matters worse, the team now hits the road where it has gone winless at 0-9. In regard to the head-to-head series, KSU holds a commanding 94-44 lead over CU, but it needed overtime to defeat the Buffs in the first meeting of the season (77-75).
The Buffaloes lost the battle on the boards, 37-27, and were outscored at the foul line, 19-8, in their loss to Texas A&M on Wednesday. Cory Higgins, though, continued to shine for Colorado and he dropped in 27 points, to go with six boards and three steals. It was another great effort by Higgins, who has done a little of everything for the Buffaloes this season. Higgins not only leads CU in scoring (17.6 ppg), but he also paces the squad with 5.6 rpg and 56 steals. Dwight Thorne II has given the team another option at the offensive end with his 11.9 ppg, and he is a 41.3 percent shooter from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats turned the ball over 13 times and those miscues resulted in 18 points for Oklahoma State in a 77-71 setback to the Cowboys on Tuesday. K- State shot 43.4 percent from the floor, but allowed the Pokes to hit on an even better 48.9 percent. Denis Clemente guided the team in defeat with 18 points and five assists, while Darren Kent posted 14 points and six boards. On the season, Clemente leads the way for the Wildcats with 15.3 ppg and he is also dishing out 3.3 apg and shooting 38.8 percent from downtown. Jacob Pullen has formed a nice one-two punch with Clemente and he adds 13.5 ppg and a team- high 3.4 apg the lineup.
K-State is clearly the better team here and it should have no trouble blowing past the Buffaloes for the win today.
Predicted OutcomeKansas State 75, Colorado 60Copyright 2009 Courtesy of The Sports Network.
