Blog Entry
Pre-Game: Kansas State vs. Nebraska
February 2, 2010 by Bret Nellor, under Husker Basketball Pre-game, News.
#11 Kansas State Wildcats 17-4 (4-3) vs.
Nebraska Cornhuskers 13-8 (1-5)
February 2 – 7 p.m. tipoff
TV: Big 12 Network
#11 Kansas State rolls into Lincoln to face Nebraska on Tuesday night. The Huskers are coming off their first conference win after beating Oklahoma. While NU picked up a win this past Saturday, the Wildcats were beaten by in-state rival Kansas in overtime.
KSU Coach Frank Martin has seen his team put together a strong season despite being a little up and down since their upset of then #1 Texas. They’ve dropped 2 home games (Oklahoma St. and Kansas) but grabbed a win on the road at Baylor. But with a favorable schedule remaining, K-State looks like they are poised for a top 3 finish in the conference.
They are led by their guards Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente, who not only are scorers but are capable of dictating the tempo of the game.
KSU leading scorers
Jacob Pullen 19.3 ppg
Denis Clemente 14.6 ppg
Jamar Samuels 11.7 ppg
NU leading scorers
Ryan Anderson 10.7 ppg
Christian Standhardinger 9.0 ppg
Brandon Richardson 8.9 ppg
Nebraska has to feel like they got the monkey off their back after their win over Oklahoma. For Doc Sadler though, the best thing about the win has to be the fact that the team was rewarded for bringing the effort necessary for this team to be successful.
Can the Huskers build on the win and string 2 victories together? NU should have regained some confidence and be ready to put up a very solid effort on their home court. The big question is did they learn enough from the Oklahoma game? I think they’ll give the Wildcats some trouble defensively, but I don’t think the Huskers will be able to generate enough offense. Not only that, but I expect that Pullen and Clemente will be able to handle the defensive pressure and hit big shots to propel KSU to the win.
My pick: Kansas State
