Kansas State-Oklahoma basketball preview

6 p.m. Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

ESPN2; WHB (810 AM)

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Lon Kruger, but he hasn’t encountered much trouble with a young roster this season. No. 25 Oklahoma has exceeded most expectations so far, and it enters Tuesday’s game with loads of momentum. The Sooners handed Iowa State its first loss on Saturday. They are also off to a 2-1 start in conference play despite a difficult schedule, which has included games at Texas and at home against Kansas and Iowa State. All five members of the starting lineup average 10.9 or more points. They are also the Big 12’s top-scoring team, averaging 87 points.

The Wildcats were riding high before falling hard at Kansas over the weekend. Can they quickly regain the form that helped them win 10 straight games and climb into the top 25? Or will a poor performance against the Jayhawks carry over into Tuesday’s game against the Sooners? Coach Bruce Weber hopes his team will be in high spirits when it takes the court. It will need to play well, particularly on offense, to defeat Oklahoma. Though K-State leads the Big 12 in defensive scoring (59.8 points) it ranks last in offense (67.2 points). K-State didn’t play well defensively against Kansas. That will also need to change. This will be the third time Weber and Kruger have faced each other in the Big 12. Weber won both meetings last year, and is 3-0 against Kruger.

This is the type of game that could come down to the final play. One team leads the Big 12 in scoring. The other leads the Big 12 in defense. And they have similar records. The team that makes more effort plays will likely win.

This story was originally published January 13, 2014 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Kansas State-Oklahoma basketball preview."