K-State Men Focused on Toughness in Battle with Baylor
Mar 01, 2019 | Men's Basketball, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
K-State head coach Bruce Weber said it before last Monday's game at Kansas that Baylor would be his team's toughest game. And his reasoning is layered.
If they beat Kansas, the Wildcats would have had to come down from a big high to refocus for another huge task. If they lost, which they did, they would have to bounce back with less margin for error in their quest for a Big 12 title. Baylor is only a game back of the Wildcats and Texas Tech for first, as is Kansas.
"I said it eight, 10 days ago that Baylor was going to be a big game. I knew it would be. They found a way to win last night," Weber said Thursday of Baylor's overtime win against Texas. "They're right in the race, too."
Plus, the Bears simply play with extreme toughness, evidenced statistically by their No. 18 ranking nationally in rebounding margin and 14thin blocked shots per game.
Still, K-State has had Baylor's number as of late. The Wildcats have claimed five straight in the series. Most recently, K-State won 70-63 at Baylor. Not surprisingly, K-State also won the rebounding battle by one.
"We've competed with them toughness-wise, and they had kicked our butt before that. It's about toughness," Weber said. "These guys are probably tougher than his other teams, too."
K-State's streak against Baylor started with a grind-it-out, 56-54 win in 2017 in Waco, Texas, when the Bears were ranked No. 2 in the nation. Weber said he remembers the first meeting that season going a completely different way, with his team losing by nine in Manhattan.
"Points in the paint, it was like 36-16. They had like 18 offensive rebounds, and last night they had 19," he said. "I just said, 'If you guys want to have a chance, you have to stand up and match them.' If we're going to continue that streak, we're going to have to match their physicality and intensity."
Doing so would put K-State one step closer to the team's ultimate goal.
With a road trip to TCU on Monday and a home finale versus Oklahoma, however, the path does not get easier, only shorter. As this week's Big 12 schedule has reinforced with two overtime games, including one between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, and a triple-overtime contest between TCU and West Virginia, nothing comes easy in this conference.
"Their goal is to win the championship. That's everyone's goal. And there are still three or four teams that can probably do it," Weber said. "But you can't win three in a row unless you win the first one."
K-State's Tipoff for TP Continues to Help Community
Before Saturday's two games in Bramlage Coliseum, student-athletes from many different Wildcat teams will be on the concourse with bins to collect items for K-State SAAC's annual Tipoff for TP drive.
Fans are encouraged to bring toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags and any cleaning supplies to donate. The items will be taken to the Manhattan Emergency Shelter, which then passes them along to the more than 500 community members it houses annually.
"These in-kind donations save us from spending money on items that we need at the shelter. At one point we estimated it was about $5,000," Dene' Kaster, MESI's grants and finance officer, said. "That way we can provide these items for people when they're at the shelter."
The goal, obviously, is to donate more and up that total. Still, Kaster said any and all donations are appreciated.
"The K-State family has always been a big support to the shelter. We rely heavily on the community to provide these in-kind donations for us on an annual basis," she said. "Tipoff for TP is just a catchy event that provides necessary items that aren't fun to buy, but it helps us out a lot and saves us a lot of money."
K-State head coach Bruce Weber said it before last Monday's game at Kansas that Baylor would be his team's toughest game. And his reasoning is layered.
If they beat Kansas, the Wildcats would have had to come down from a big high to refocus for another huge task. If they lost, which they did, they would have to bounce back with less margin for error in their quest for a Big 12 title. Baylor is only a game back of the Wildcats and Texas Tech for first, as is Kansas.
"I said it eight, 10 days ago that Baylor was going to be a big game. I knew it would be. They found a way to win last night," Weber said Thursday of Baylor's overtime win against Texas. "They're right in the race, too."
Plus, the Bears simply play with extreme toughness, evidenced statistically by their No. 18 ranking nationally in rebounding margin and 14thin blocked shots per game.
Still, K-State has had Baylor's number as of late. The Wildcats have claimed five straight in the series. Most recently, K-State won 70-63 at Baylor. Not surprisingly, K-State also won the rebounding battle by one.
"We've competed with them toughness-wise, and they had kicked our butt before that. It's about toughness," Weber said. "These guys are probably tougher than his other teams, too."
K-State's streak against Baylor started with a grind-it-out, 56-54 win in 2017 in Waco, Texas, when the Bears were ranked No. 2 in the nation. Weber said he remembers the first meeting that season going a completely different way, with his team losing by nine in Manhattan.
"Points in the paint, it was like 36-16. They had like 18 offensive rebounds, and last night they had 19," he said. "I just said, 'If you guys want to have a chance, you have to stand up and match them.' If we're going to continue that streak, we're going to have to match their physicality and intensity."
Doing so would put K-State one step closer to the team's ultimate goal.
With a road trip to TCU on Monday and a home finale versus Oklahoma, however, the path does not get easier, only shorter. As this week's Big 12 schedule has reinforced with two overtime games, including one between Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, and a triple-overtime contest between TCU and West Virginia, nothing comes easy in this conference.
"Their goal is to win the championship. That's everyone's goal. And there are still three or four teams that can probably do it," Weber said. "But you can't win three in a row unless you win the first one."
K-State's Tipoff for TP Continues to Help Community
Before Saturday's two games in Bramlage Coliseum, student-athletes from many different Wildcat teams will be on the concourse with bins to collect items for K-State SAAC's annual Tipoff for TP drive.
Fans are encouraged to bring toilet paper, paper towels, trash bags and any cleaning supplies to donate. The items will be taken to the Manhattan Emergency Shelter, which then passes them along to the more than 500 community members it houses annually.
"These in-kind donations save us from spending money on items that we need at the shelter. At one point we estimated it was about $5,000," Dene' Kaster, MESI's grants and finance officer, said. "That way we can provide these items for people when they're at the shelter."
The goal, obviously, is to donate more and up that total. Still, Kaster said any and all donations are appreciated.
"The K-State family has always been a big support to the shelter. We rely heavily on the community to provide these in-kind donations for us on an annual basis," she said. "Tipoff for TP is just a catchy event that provides necessary items that aren't fun to buy, but it helps us out a lot and saves us a lot of money."
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