Kansas State Men’s Basketball 2019 NCAA Tournament Capsule

March 8, 2019 · CSM Staff
 

Kansas State Wildcats

Big 12 (25-8, 14-4)

 
Kansas State was a quietly good team throughout the 2018-2019 campaign. Despite not garnering too much national attention throughout much of the season, the Wildcats were extremely consistent throughout Big 12 play and ended up winning a share of the conference title.
 
Big Wins: 1/12 at Iowa State (58-57), 1/22 Texas Tech (58-45), 2/5 Kansas (74-67)
Bad Losses: 12/8 at Tulsa (46-47), 1/2 Texas (47-67), 1/26 at Texas A&M (53-65)
Coach: Bruce Weber
 
Why They Can Surprise:
Kansas State has played great defense this year. The opposition shoots just 41.3 percent from the floor and allows a mere 59.1 points per game. The defensive effort is not just about slowing down the play and getting a hand up. The team also ranks first in the Big 12 in total steals and Barry Brown, Xavier Sneed and Kamau Stokes are all consistent threats to nab a steal and get an easy bucket on the other end of the floor. Those three are also the top perimeter scoring threats. Brown leads the way with 14.9 points per game. Sneed and Stokes hover around the ten point per game mark and both are very good shooting threats.
 
Why They Can Disappoint:
Kansas State has not been a consistent shooting team this year. The team shoots just 43.4 percent from the floor and 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. But the most disconcerting shooting numbers come from the charity stripe. Often a team that does not shoot particularly well will attack the basket and find some easier points. That is not the case with KSU. They rank last in the conference in free-throw attempts and free-throw percentage. Dean Wade and Makol Mawien are solid players in the paint, but this team will have to be aggressive and get to the basket if they want to make a deep tournament run.
 
Probable Starters:
Kamu Stokes, Senior, Guard, 10.8 ppg, 3.3 apg
Barry Brown, Senior, Guard, 14.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.9 apg
Xavier Sneed, Junior, Forward, 10.6 ppg, 5.5 rpg
Dean Wade, Senior, Forward, 12.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Makol Mawien, Junior, Forward, 6.8 ppg, 4.6 rpg
 
Key Role Players:
Carter Diarra, Sophomore, Guard, 6.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg
Mike McGuirl, Sophomore, Guard, 3.5 ppg
 
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 65.9 (321st in nation, 10th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 59.1 (4, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.4 (232, 8)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.3 (56, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.0 (245, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.8 (218, 9)
Free-Throw Percentage: 66.2 (317, 10)
Rebound Margin: 1.7 (131, 6)
Assists Per Game: 13.7 (151, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.5 (48, 3)
 
Recent Postseason Appearances:
 
2018 NCAA Round of 64 win over Creighton
2018 NCAA Round of 32 win over UMBC
2018 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Kentucky
2018 NCAA Regional Final loss to Loyola (IL)
2017 NCAA Opening Round win over Wake Forest
2017 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Cincinnati
2014 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Kentucky
2013 NCAA Round of 64 loss to LaSalle
2012 NCAA Round of 64 win over Southern Mississippi
2012 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Syracuse
2011 NCAA Round of 64 win over Utah State
2011 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Wisconsin
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over North Texas
2010 NCAA Round of 32 win over BYU
2010 NCAA Regional Semifinal win over Xavier
2010 NCAA Regional Final loss to Butler
2009 NIT First Round win over Illinois State
2009 NIT Second Round loss to San Diego State
2008 NCAA Round of 64 win over USC
2008 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Wisconsin
2007 NIT First Round win over Vermont
2007 NIT Second Round loss to DePaul
 
*all team stats through 3/10