Round Two Preview: Kansas State

by J Lou on Mar 14, 2008 12:02 PM CDT in Basketball

Texas A&M (23-9) vs.Kansas State (20-10)

vs.

March 14, 2008 | 8:20pm

Sprint Center | Kansas City, MO Television:

PROBABLE STARTERS:


Texas A&M	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Dominique Kirk	6-4	185	G	SR-3L	Dallas, TX	7.8	3.4	3.5
Donald Sloan	6-3	205	G	SO-1L	Dallas, TX	9.7	4	3.2
Josh Carter	6-7	200	G/F	JR-2L	Dallas, TX	12.7	4.2	1.5
Joseph Jones	6-9	255	F/C	SR-3L	Normangee, TX	10.7	5.2	1.3
DeAndre Jordan	7-0	260	C	FR-HS	Houston, TX	8.9	6.6	0.4


Kansas State	Ht.	Wt.	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown	PPG	RPG	APG
Bill Walker	6-6	220	F	FR	Huntington, WV	16	6.5	1.8
Blake Young	6-2	195	G	SR	Orlando, FL	6.2	3.4	1.9
Dominique Sutton	6-5	205	G	FR	Durham, NC	3.4	2.7	-
Michael Beasley	6-10	235	F	FR	Washington, DC	26.5	12.5	2.9
Clent Stewart	6-4	195	G	SR	Tulsa, OK	7.0	3.0	3.2

Last Time They Met: Kansas State was completely more athletic than the Aggies and it showed. ``They were quicker to the ball,'' Texas A&M head coach Mark Turgeon said at the time. ``We looked like quicksand compared to them. (Beasley) was in foul trouble all night and never lost his rhythm, and he draws fouls better than anybody that I've been around.'' Michael Beasley dominated even though playing with early fouls and ended up with 21 points. When Beasley sat, Bill Walker took care of the rest contributing 19 points, including 5 three pointers.

What this Game Means: Kansas State is the No. 3 seed in a conference that will get at least 5 teams into the dance, they are playing for pride and a higher seed. Texas A&M all but locked up a bid last night, not because they played that well vs. Iowa State, but b/c 8 Bubble Teams couldn't do what they did, win when it mattered. A win by the Aggies may help them to score an 8 or 9 seed if other Bubble Teams keep slipping up.

What KSU has to do to win: Get Bill Walker involved early. Beasley is going to get his points, it is Bill Walker that will be the difference maker in this one. The Aggies don't have enough scoring power to keep up with the Wildcats if both of these guys score 20 points apiece.

What A&M has to do to win: We need Joe Jones to be a force down low, and as always, we need Donald Sloan to really be able to control the tempo of the game. He has to be steady for us. If he can resist the temptation to force the ball into tight places, we are at our best. Josh Carter hitting shots early and often would be an added bonus as well.

Prediction: Sloan continues on, in what has become a big time story line, as he leads A&M deeper into the Big 12 Tournament as he pays tribute to his fallen mother. He plays the game of his life, and Josh scores 15+ as the Aggies find a way to win an ugly game.

**** The 12MC sends out our thoughts and prayers to Donald and his family****

Our own "HILDY" is in KC as we speak and he will be providing some insight throughout the weeekend?

THIS WILL SERVE AS OUR OPEN GAME THREAD SO PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW

0 recs | Comment 4 comments

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Comments

Projection

Aggies need to be able to keep Beasley off the boards and control Walker. Your right, the Ags can't score enough to keep up with Walker and Beasley. Keeping Beasley off the offensive boards might keep him under 30 points.

On offense Sloan needs to continue to play well, and they have to feed the big fella everytime. Feeding Jones/Jordan/Davis/Elonu will force Beasley to work on the defensive end (hopefully resulting in tired offensive play), put fouls on their big guys (ie Beasley), and get our guards open shots and driving lanes.

If the Ags will feed the big fellas, keep Beasley off the boards, and control Walker the win will be easy. Anything else and we can start to prepare for next weekend.

by CoachDale on Mar 14, 2008 1:16 PM CDT 0 recs

i agree

but there is nothing easy about keeping beasley off the boards and controlling walker

all year it should have been easy to feed our bigs, but as we know that hasn't been the case

here's to new beginnings...

by J Lou on Mar 14, 2008 1:34 PM CDT up 0 recs

Great 1st Half

If you told me that we would shoot 56% from the field in the first half, I wouldn't have believed you. We are playing as well on the offense side of the court as you could imagine. Beasley has proven a handful of times why he is a top NBA pick, and we are still on top of the Wildcats. Sloan can do more than he has, as can our big men.

I like our chances at this point.

by J Lou on Mar 14, 2008 9:38 PM CDT 0 recs

Wrong reason, Right outcome

I thought that Sloan would play better than he did. Never thought we would beat KSU if Sloan had 5 turnovers. It is encouraging to be playing this well and still have room for improvement at the foul line and handling the ball.

by J Lou on Mar 15, 2008 6:48 AM CDT 0 recs