Texas @ Kansas State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2020 ) Kansas State 50, Texas 64

Texas looks to keep its faint NCAA Tournament hopes alive when it visits Kansas State on Saturday. The Longhorns ended a four-game losing skid with a 70-56 win against TCU on Wednesday, and they hope to avoid a damaging loss to their tournament resume by sweeping the season series with the Wildcats following a 64-50 victory on Jan. 11.

“We need to continue to make progress through self determination,” Texas coach Shaka Smart told reporters. “We stuck together, found a way to win and now we have another game on Saturday where we want to move forward.” Kansas State is left to pick up the pieces following a 69-62 loss to Texas Tech on Wednesday. The Wildcats, who earned a share of the Big 12 Conference regular-season championship in 2018-19, have dropped six consecutive games for the first time since 2005, and they hope to salvage some pride by securing their first win in the month of February. “I feel for our guys but all I can ask from them is their best,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber told reporters. “We’ve got to go after it and keep battling and keep fighting.”

TIME: 2 p.m. ET. TV: CBS

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (9-17, 2-11 Big 12): Xavier Sneed registered 15 points and four steals against Texas Tech to overtake Chuckie Williams (1,364) in 11th place on the program’s all-time scoring list with 1,379 points. Antonio Gordon went 6-of-7 from the floor en route to a career-high 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds while Cartier Diarra had 10 points and four assists in the loss to the Red Raiders. “I’m never happy about a loss but I’m proud of how hard our guys played,” Weber said. “Antonio played really well and he played really hard.”

ABOUT TEXAS (15-11, 5-8): Andrew Jones went 3-of-5 from 3-point range en route to a career-high 21 points as the Longhorns shot a season-best 60 percent from beyond the arc in the win against TCU. Will Baker scored a career-high 20 points filling in for Jericho Sims, who suffered a season-ending back injury in mid February, while Courtney Ramey added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists against the Horned Frogs. Matt Coleman II, who is averaging 12.5 points and 3.8 assists this season, could return to the lineup on Saturday after missing the previous games with a bruised heel.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Texas is 5-0 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.

2. Sneed has made 59 consecutive starts.

3. The Longhorns have been held to fewer than 60 points in four of their last five games.

PREDICTION: Texas 69, Kansas State 61