Texas basketball preview, prediction: Longhorns hope to rebound against Kansas State
Texas doesn’t have much time to lick its wounds from Saturday’s loss to Houston. The Longhorns (16-9, 5-7 Big 12) face desperate Kansas State (15-10, 5-7) at Moody Center on Monday (8 p.m., ESPN, 1300 AM). The magic win number for an NCAA berth may be eight conference wins, and neither team can afford many more stumbles in the final six games of the regular season.
Here's what you need to know about the matchup:
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Dylan Disu: Ready to put Houston in rearview mirror
Moments after his team’s loss to Houston on Saturday, Texas forward Dylan Disu said he welcomed the quick turnaround. “We're ready to put this one behind us, for sure,” he said. “We'll come in and we'll watch our clips (Sunday) and look at what we did good and what we did bad and try to apply that to the next game. We're excited for our next challenge of Kansas State.”
Monday’s game will mark just the second time this season that Texas followed up a Saturday game with a Monday contest, although the team did play back-to-back games against Louisville and Connecticut at the Empire Classic in New York in November.
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NCAA Tournament update: Loss to Houston doesn’t hurt Horns
While a blowout loss in Houston on Saturday certainly stung the Longhorns’ pride, the setback didn’t do much to damage their NCAA Tournament hopes. Texas dropped from No. 31 to No. 33 in the latest NET ratings, the primary metric used by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. That means Texas continues to lurk around a projected No. 8 or No. 9 seed, according to various tournament prognosticators. A home loss to Kansas State would be painful, though. The slumping Wildcats, No. 80 in the NET ratings, have slipped off the NCAA Tournament radar and need to string together several upsets in the final three weeks of the season in order to make a strong at-large bid.
Kansas State: Turnovers, poor shooting plague team
The Wildcats, who have lost six of their past seven games, dropped a home heartbreaker Saturday when TCU’s Jameer Nelson Jr. nailed a 3-pointer with 1.1 seconds left to lift the Horned Frogs to a 75-72 win. Turnovers have plagued Kansas State all season; it ranks last in the conference in total turnovers and turnover margin and is 339th in the nation with 15 turnovers a game. Guards Cam Carter and Tylor Perry each average more than 15 points a game, but the volume shooters connect on 40.8% and 34.6%, respectively, for a team that ranks last in the Big 12 in shooting.
Texas vs. Kansas State prediction
Texas. The Longhorns have shown the ability to hound opposing guards with tenacious ball pressure from Tyrese Hunter and Chendall Weaver, and that should lead to some easy transition baskets against a K-State team with careless tendencies.
— Thomas Jones
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas basketball preview, prediction: Longhorns host Kansas State
