Kansas State @ Texas A&M preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 12, 2015 ) Kansas State 68, Texas A&M 78

Sitting on a five-game Big 12 winning streak for the first time in nearly six years, Kansas State takes a break from conference play to visit struggling Texas A&M on Saturday in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge. The Wildcats held No. 13 Texas Tech to its lowest point total in over four years in Tuesday's 58-45 victory - their third victory over a Top 25 team during its current winning streak.

Kansas State, which holds opponents to 58.5 points and 40.2 percent shooting for the season, limited the Red Raiders to a season-low 32.7 percent shooting as they became the third opponent of the last four to score a season low (Iowa State, TCU). With 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, senior guard Barry Brown Jr. scored in double figures for the sixth straight game and also added seven rebounds to go along with three steals, while Dean Wade chipped in 13 points as the Wildcats improved to 5-2 in the Big 12. “Well, we dug out of the hole (in the conference) and not only were we 0-2, but the next one, West Virginia, we were down 21 points,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “You gotta give credit to Barry and his leadership, well really, all the guys." Texas A&M dropped its third straight 81-72 at Florida on Tuesday, but scored three more points in the first half than it did in the entire game in its previous contest, a 66-43 home defeat against Missouri, and showed coach Billy Kennedy some life he hadn't seen since an 81-80 road victory over Alabama two weeks ago.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, ESPN

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (15-4): Brown, who is averaging 20.4 points on 40-of-76 shooting, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.2 steals during the win streak, scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the first half as the Wildcats took an eight-point lead at the break and were never seriously challenged after intermission. “Everyone is coming to win and play their best game," Brown said after the contest. "Especially knowing you've won five straight, everyone is trying to stop your momentum.” Brown leads the team in scoring (15.4 points) and steals (1.9), Wade contributes 13.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists and Kamau Stokes (10.3 points) and Xavier Sneed (10.1) score in double figures and are the top 3-point shot makers on the team.

ABOUT TEXAS A&M (7-10): The Aggies were outscored by the Gators 48-26 after the break and yielded 18 3-point baskets. Junior College transfer Wendell Mitchell (11.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, team-high 27 3-pointers) led the Aggies with a season-high 25 points and seven 3-pointers - tying the second-best all-time single-game total in school history - while Jay Jay Chandler (8.8 points) added 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting. TJ Starks, a shoot-first point guard forced to play the position, leads the team in scoring at 12.9 points per game but is shooting just over 34 percent from the floor and 22 percent beyond the arc, and has five more turnovers than assists (65-60).

TIP-INS

1. The Wildcats lead the all-time series 18-8 but have won just three times in 10 trips to College Station.

2. Texas A&M hadn't scored 46 points in the first half of a game since the season opener against Savannah State.

3. The winning streak in league play is the longest for the Wildcats since rattling off six in a row from Feb. 18 to March 5, 2013, and the second such streak under head coach Bruce Weber.

PREDICTION: Kansas State 71, Texas A&M 51