Kansas State @ Oklahoma State preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 14, 2018 ) Kansas State 82, Oklahoma State 72

The hottest team in Big 12 play has had a week to forget about a loss to a middling SEC opponent and re-focus on its next league foe. Kansas State seeks its first six-game conference winning streak in nearly six years when it travels to play Oklahoma State on Saturday.

The Wildcats opened conference play with consecutive losses before winning five straight, including three against ranked teams, before stumbling 65-53 against Texas A&M as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge last weekend. Kansas State, one of the best defensive teams in the nation, allowed the Aggies to shoot 58.3 percent after halftime while the Wildcats were limited to 32.8 percent for the game, including 7-of-31 beyond the arc. “It was very surprising,” Wildcats senior forward Dean Wade told the Wichita Eagle. “We have been so locked in the last few weeks, great energy and body language. Coming out and playing like that was a big surprise for us, not good. ... We had no energy. We were dead out there. No one was enthusiastic. It made us play terribly.” Oklahoma State snapped a three-game losing streak with a 74-70 victory over South Carolina in the Big 12/SEC Challenge last Saturday, as junior Thomas Dziagwa tied his career highs with 19 points and five 3-pointers.

TV: 6 p.m. ESPNU

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (15-5, 5-2 Big 12): The Wildcats allowed 51 percent shooting for the game last Saturday - just the second time this season an opponent has shot better than 50 percent and first since Marquette connected on an opponent-high 56.8 percent on Dec. 1. Wade led three Wildcats in double figures with 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting against the Aggies, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, to go with seven rebounds, while Cartier Diarra and Barry Brown, Jr. added 14 and 11 points, respectively. Brown leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points, while Wade is averaging 13.6 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds.

ABOUT OKLAHOMA STATE (9-11, 2-5): Lindy Waters III (12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds) scored 17 points, collected six rebounds and went 4-for-4 from the foul line to run his streak to 21 straight made free throws and improve to 53-of-55 for the season. Yor Anei (6.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 blocks) had eight points, 11 rebounds and blocked at least three shots for the seventh time this season, while Cameron McGriff (13.5 points, 7.9 rebounds) scored 14 points. Oklahoma State has held eight of its last nine opponents to 41.8 percent shooting or lower, and its 40.8 percent mark in league play is second only to Texas Tech (40.1).

TIP-INS

1. Kansas State leads the overall series 81-53, but Oklahoma State has a 33-26 edge in Stillwater. Prior to last year's sweep by the Wildcats, these programs split the regular-season series in each of the past five seasons.

2. The Wildcats have rattled off five consecutive victories in Big 12 play for the first time since winning six straight Feb. 18 - March 5, 2013. It is the second streak of its kind during the Bruce Weber era.

3. The junior trio of Waters, Dziagwa and McGriff has combined to hit 299 3-pointers on 39.7 percent shooting over their careers.

PREDICTION: Kansas State 68, Oklahoma State 64