Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang on the Wildcats’ loss to BYU
Kansas State basketball coach Jerome Tang credits BYU for outplaying his Wildcats.
BYU Athletics
Kansas State’s basketball team wraps up its two-game road trip Monday with an 8 p.m. visit to Salt Lake City to take on Utah at the Huntsman Center.
The Wildcats (13-12, 7-7 Big 12) had won six straight games, including two in a row on the road, before falling flat Saturday in an 80-65 loss to Brigham Young in Provo, Utah. They will try to avoid back-to-back losses for the first time since ending a six-game skid with a victory over West Virginia on Jan. 25.
Utah (14-11, 6-8) will try to make it two in a row against teams from the Sunflower State after knocking off Kansas at home Saturday, 74-67. The Utes are 13-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12 this season at the Huntsman Center.
Watch Kansas State basketball vs Utah live on Fubo (free trial)
K-State and Utah have not met since 1983 and never before as Big 12 members. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 2-1.
Here are three things to know, plus a prediction, for Saturday’s game.
Kansas State running out of time
K-State’s recent six-game winning streak pushed the Wildcats into the conversation for a NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but a second straight loss could deal a serious blow to their chances.
Before falling at BYU, K-State had risen to the list of next four out in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s most recent projections. But the Wildcats now have 12 losses, which does not leave much margin for error going forward.
On the other hand, if they get past Utah, they have a series of winnable games coming up, starting with Arizona State at home Saturday.
A closer look at the Utah Utes
Utah has had an up-and-down first season in the Big 12 after posting an 8-3 nonconference schedule.
Craig Smith is in his fourth season coaching the Utes after spending the three years before that at Utah State.
Fifth-year guard Gabe Madson leads the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game and East Carolina transfer forward Ezra Ausar adds 11.0, but Utes’ strength is their depth. Nine different players average between 16 and 29 minutes.
K-State’s Coleman Hawkins in shooting slump
K-State do-it-all forward Coleman Hawkins, a key player in the Wildcats’ recent surge, suddenly has gone ice-cold on offense the last two games. After scoring in double figures in each of the first five victories during the streak, he managed just six points each against Arizona and BYU.
What’s worse, Hawkins was a combined 4-for-20 shooting, including 0 of 7 from 3-point range during those games. He did have eight rebounds but no assists and four turnovers at BYU, and only two rebounds against Arizona.
The Wildcats have been at their best when both Hawkins and point guard Dug McDaniel are on their game.
Prediction: Kansas State 75, Utah 73
K-State has been resilient during its hot streak, but this could be a major gut check for the Wildcats, who have a lot riding on the outcome. It is imperative that they get off to a strong start, considering they led at halftime in each of the six straight games they won and were down by 18 at halftime against BYU.
Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on X (formerly Twitter) at @arnegreen.
