Kansas State @ Texas preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 2, 2019 ) Texas 67, Kansas State 47

Not since legendary coach Jack Hartman was roaming the sidelines and 66-year-old current Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger was a senior guard for Kansas State have the Wildcats enjoyed the kind of in-conference success they are experiencing this season. Kansas State attempts to win a ninth consecutive Big 12 contest and avenge its most lopsided defeat of the season Tuesday when it visits Texas.

The Wildcats did not appear poised to be in a position to end Kansas' 14-year run of winning at least a share of the Big 12 title when they began the league slate with back-to-back losses to Texas and Texas Tech in early January. Kansas State has not dropped a conference game since, however, and knocked off one of its closest competitors atop the league standings Saturday with a 70-63 triumph at Baylor, stretching its lead atop the Big 12 to 1 1/2 games with eight regular-season contests remaining. The Longhorns are 2 1/2 games behind the Wildcats but remain in the hunt with wins in three of their last four. Texas, which opened league play with a 67-47 road victory over a shorthanded Kansas State team on Jan. 2, is coming off a 75-53 rout at West Virginia and has knocked off conference powers Oklahoma, Kansas and Baylor in its last three home contests.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT KANSAS STATE (18-5, 8-2 Big 12): The Wildcats were without second-leading scorer Dean Wade (14.0 points, team-high 6.8 rebounds) and Kamau Stokes (10.3 points) due to injury in the first meeting. Stokes had one of his best games of the campaign Saturday, snapping a six-game streak during which he failed to reach double figures by tying a season high with 20 points while adding a season-high six rebounds and four assists. Fellow senior Barry Brown Jr. (team-high 15.3 points, 1.9 steals) joined Stokes for the team lead with three 3-pointers and tallied 13 points against Baylor, reaching double figures for the 19th time this season. He also played in his 128th consecutive game, breaking the school record held by Steve Henson (1987-90).

ABOUT TEXAS (14-10, 6-5): Kerwin Roach II (team-high 14.8 points), who failed to top his season scoring average for only the second time in 11 contests Saturday with 14 points, is 13-for-19 from the field over his last two outings following a two-game stretch in which he shot 8-for-28. Freshman guard Courtney Ramey (7.1 points) leads the team in 3-point percentage (40.2) and tied season highs for the second time in five contests with five 3-pointers and 19 points versus the Mountaineers. Freshman forward Jaxson Hayes (10.5 points, 2.4 blocks, 75.2 field-goal percentage) continued to close the gap on Central Florida's Tacko Fall (76.1) for the Division I lead in field-goal percentage by going 4-for-4 on Saturday, but he logged a season-low 11 minutes after picking up three fouls.

TIP-INS

1. Kansas State's conference winning streak is the school's longest since an 11-game run in 1973-74.

2. The Longhorns' 22-point margin of victory was their largest in a Big 12 game under fourth-year coach Shaka Smart, breaking the mark they set after defeating the Wildcats in the first meeting.

3. The Wildcats have topped 70 points in three straight after reaching that mark twice in their first eight league contests.

PREDICTION: Kansas State 65, Texas 61