KU Predictions: Kansas State

No editorializing on my part.  If you want to see my prediction, head over to BotC and catch it in the Q&A.  If you want to see fetch predict the game, check out his preview.

KU Grad 08: I thought about picking KState for a variety of reasons. It is their Super Bowl, their players and fans will actually give a crap (and they'll have their lone sell out for the season). We have played really crappy on the road lately. The effort against TCU wasn't that inspiring. Alexander is in a funk. Mason looks worn down. I feel like we haven't gotten the WTF out of our system yet and are due for another dud or two. The list goes on.

All of that being said, KState is playing so completely horrible lately I'm going to put all that concern aside and pick KU to win. Clearly there are some issues going on in their locker room. Last year they beat us simply due to fluke shooting - a horrible three point shooting team shot over 50% (!) from three. I don't see that happening two years in a row. I'll take Kansas in an ugly game we never put away, but pull out. Kansas 62, Kansas State 55.

jbrooks: I have Kansas winning a TIGHT one and redeeming themselves after the West Virginia road letdown. Yes, The Octagon of Doom will be shaking. Yes, the Kansas State student body will be loud. Yes, the Kansas State players will be juiced up to win this game. No, Kansas State will not have Frank Mason and Perry Ellis. Kansas 70, Kansas State 66

Jim Hammen: KU hasn't handed out very many of the classic road game beat-downs that they have made such a staple in the Bill Self era. Partly because the Big 12 is so tough top-to-bottom, and partly because I just don't think this year's squad has it in them. On paper, K-State is terrible, their season is falling apart, and this game should qualify as a potential blowout for the Jayhawks. But like I said, I don't think this year's team has it in them. Kansas 68, Kansas State 64.

PenHawk: There's absolutely no reason this should even be a competitive game. We shoot better, we defend better, we're more athletic, more talented, and better coached. So naturally, this will probably be a nail-biter. K-State fans are frustrated about how this season has gone, given the high expectations, and they're looking for any reason to be excited about their basketball team. I expect them to be about as angry, loud and vicious as they can get tonight. If we win the opening tipoff, I fully expect them to boo and accuse the referee of tossing the ball in our favor. The longer we let them hang in, the angrier that crowd is going to get, and I fear, the weirder this game will be. Unfortunately, letting overmatched teams hang in is somewhat of a specialty for this year's Jayhawks. I don't think this will be enough for a K-State team this bad to actually beat us, but it's enough to make me worry. I'm predicting this will turn into a slow-paced slugfest and come down to the last few minutes. Kansas 62, Kansas State 58

dnoll5: I think KU wins this, and for some reason, I can't really see any way that K-State even competes. That said, they will because the games in Manhattan always seem close. I think KU holds it down and wins this one going away. The key: get the crowd out of it early and defend. The baskets should come. Kansas 77, K-State 66.

Fizzle406: I do not share mikeville's enthusiasm. KU hasn't played awesome on the road. I see them having a rough first half and getting back into it in the second. Kstate sucks but Kansas often fails to capitalize on opportunities and doesn't have that killer instinct. I'll go Kansas 62, Kstate 55

mikeville: All y'all are fools. KState is awful. They've been playing awful lately. They got smoked by TCU and Baylor (admittedly both on the road). Weber has lost control of this team and I don't think he'll be in Manhattan next year (unfortunately for us). Maybe they keep it close for the first 10 minutes or so - give or take five minutes - but if we don't win this game against this awful team by at least 20, my neighbors will be calling the cops for the verbal abuse that will be unleashed toward my TV. How this team beat Oklahoma twice this year is beyond me. (Fortunately for Lon Kruger, losing to them isn't a fireable offense in his AD's eyes. Why, I dunno.)

I don't wanna hear about the "famed" Octagon of Doom. (This is their one chance to sellout their arena this year and they may not even get that done.) What a stupid name anyway. That'd be like if we called Memorial Stadium "The Rectangle of Destruction." It just doesn't make any sense. And I don't wanna hear about the "atmosphere" or the live chickens in the pregrame. Go out there and show little brother who the boss is.

Let's treat them the way Bill Snyder treats us in that other sport. Bill Self can't sling a dead cat without hitting some underperforming Jayhawks, and it's time that changed. This is our in-state rival, and we need to stomp on their throats whenever we have the opportunity. It's time to sling this cat up against the wall a few times and then take it to the vet and have it put down. Get pumped, yo. Kansas 111, K-State 55.