3 things to watch as Kansas State continues season against Cleveland State

3 things to watch as Kansas State continues season against Cleveland State

(Photo by © Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports)

Kansas State men’s basketball will continue their season on Saturday afternoon against Cleveland State.

Cleveland State opened their season on Monday with a 101-53 loss to Michigan. The Wolverines shot 68.4 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent from three-point range in the win, while Cleveland State shot just 30 percent. On Wednesday, Cleveland State picked up their first win, defeating Baldwin Wallace 91-53.

Historically, Cleveland State has been a consistent threat in the Horizon League under head coaches Dennis Gates and Daniyal Robinson. Since 2020, the Vikings are a combined 102-48, including an NCAA Tournament birth in 2020-21.

K-State should win this game fairly comfortably, as Cleveland State currently ranks 208th in the country by KenPom’s rankings. For context, the Wildcats are ranked 48th.

Regardless of the comfortable result expected, the Wildcats will be looking to improve from an up-and-down performance in their season opener against New Orleans. Despite winning by 24 points, the Wildcats struggled to start the game and even trailed by double-digits with about ten minutes remaining in the first half.

Here are three things to watch as K-State prepares to host Cleveland State at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

How fast can K-State start?

There was a lid over the rim early in the season opener. Despite getting solid looks on offense, the Wildcats struggled to shoot the ball well, starting the game 3-for-13 from the floor. That slow start allowed New Orleans, who scored on six of their first ten shot attempts, to build a comfortable lead.

While K-State had the talent to overwhelm New Orleans, slow starts can be a dagger against better teams. And even if K-State has a similar talent advantage against Cleveland State despite a slow start, the Wildcats need to start the season with an exclamation point.

To some degree, the committee weighs margin of victory…

Source link : https://kansasstate.rivals.com/news/3-things-to-watch-as-kansas-state-continues-season-against-cleveland-state?yptr=yahoo

Author : EMAW Online

Publish date : 2024-11-08 19:17:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.