Kansas @ Oklahoma State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 9, 2019 ) Oklahoma State 72, Kansas 84

Given its to-date performance on the road this season, Kansas doesn't have the luxury of overlooking any opponent - even one that has dropped 10 of its last 11 Big 12 contests. The 16th-ranked Jayhawks seek only their third win in 10 true road games Saturday when they visit league-worst Oklahoma State.

Kansas has maintained its usual standard at home (16-0) and earned three Top-10 victories in its only neutral-site games (upending No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 9 Marquette), but success on the road has been fleeting. Perhaps there is no better example of those struggles than last Saturday's 91-62 defeat at No. 11 Texas Tech - a loss that put the Jayhawks two games out of first place and cast doubt on their ability to extend their NCAA-record streak of regular-season titles to 15. Kansas remained in the hunt two days after one of the worst losses of the Bill Self era, cruising past co-conference leader Kansas State 64-49 to move within one game of the Wildcats and Red Raiders in the league with three to play. The shorthanded Cowboys are halfway through a four-game stretch in which they face the top four teams in the Big 12 and have won only twice since Jan. 12, but they showed they still have plenty of fight left Wednesday, burying a school-record 17 3-pointers against Texas Tech before falling 84-80 in overtime.

TV: Noon ET, CBS

ABOUT KANSAS (21-7, 10-5 Big 12): Dedric Lawson (19.0 points, 10.3 rebounds) posted his league-best 17th double-double Monday (18 points and 14 boards) and is vying to become the first Big 12 player to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding since Oklahoma's Blake Griffin in 2008-09. Devon Dotson (12.1 points) is averaging 16.2 points, 4.3 boards and 4.3 assists in his last seven games and is one of only three Division I true freshmen averaging at least 13 points, four assists and four rebounds in conference action. Quentin Grimes (7.6 points) reached double figures in league play for the first time since Jan. 5 with 12 points against Kansas State; the freshman guard scored no more than six points and shot 26.6.percent from the field over his previous seven outings.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (10-18, 3-12): Lindy Waters III (12.1 points, 46.9 3-point percentage) led the Cowboys' long-range barrage Wednesday, knocking down four of his seven triples over the final 55 seconds of regulation to force overtime en route to scoring a career-high 26 points. Fellow junior guard Thomas Dziagwa (11.5, 45.1) continued to increase his sizable lead over the rest of the Big 12 field in 3-pointers, nailing at least six for the third time in four outings to give himself a conference-high 93 for the season. Yor Anei ranks third in the league with 2.1 blocks and has swatted at least one shot in 13 consecutive games to increase his total to 60; he needs five more to match the school record for a freshman, set by Byron Houston in 1988-89.

TIP-INS

1. Kansas, which has held each of its last two opponents to 53 points or fewer, has surrendered an average of 75.1 points in true road games this season.

2. Oklahoma State is one of two teams in the nation (Dartmouth) with two players averaging more than two 3-pointers per game who also shoot at least 45 percent beyond the arc.

3. The Jayhawks hold a 115-59 advantage in the all-time series, but the Cowboys are 35-34 against them in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

PREDICTION: Kansas 81, Oklahoma State 74