LAWRENCE — The first round of the 2025 Sunflower will see Kansas State basketball travel to Lawrence on Saturday in an effort to end a long losing streak against No. 10 ranked Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
The game will be televised nationally on CBS with tipoff at noon.
K-State (7-9, 1-4 Big 12) has lost its last 18 games to KU (12-4, 3-2). The Wildcats also enter the game on a four-game losing streak after falling to Texas Tech at home Tuesday, 61-57 and have lost 13 straight road games since last January.
Kansas is also coming off a 74-57 loss Wednesday to No. 2 Iowa State, but the Jayhawks are 8-1 at home. The Jayhawks’ only blemish at Allen Fieldhouse was a 62-61 decision against West Virginia in their Big 12 opener.
Kansas is led by graduate center Hunter Dickinson with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, while super senior forward David N’Guessan is averaging 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds for Kansas State .
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Kansas dominated the Sunflower Showdown in Lawrence
Kansas State and Kansas have split their Sunflower Showdown series each of the last two years, with both teams winning at home.
But KU has dominated overall in the Big 12 era, going 58-8 against the Wildcats since the inaugural 1996-97 seasons. K-State hasn’t won at Allen Fieldhouse in its last 18 tries under four different coaches.
The last K-State coach to escape Lawrence with a victory was Jim Wooldridge in his final season, when the Wildcats pulled off a 59-55 upset on January 14, 2006.
The rivalry is one of the oldest in college basketball, dating back to 1907, with KU leading the all-time series, 205-96.
A Closer Look at the Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas has struggled at times on offense, but has remained in and around the top 10 in the national polls thanks to an elite defense.
The Jayhawks are third in the Big 12 and No. 16 nationally in defense, allowing just 62.8 points per game, and are second in the league and sixth nationally in field goal defense percentage. 37.0. They also rank ninth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio.
In addition to center Hunter Dickinson, who leads the team with 15.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo is averaging 14.4 points and point guard Dajuan Harris 9.8 points and 5.4 assists.
K-State looks to the future with young guards
With the game on the line against Texas Tech on Tuesday, K-State coach Jerome Tang had freshman point guard David Castillo and sophomore junior college transfer Mobi Ikegwururka on the court.
Tang said his decision was based on their energy level in practice and also their desire to give the younger guards valuable experience in the future.
The gamble did not work out well for K-State, with Texas Tech scoring the final four points of the game and shutting out the Wildcats over the final 5 minutes and 50 seconds to earn the victory.
Prediction: Kansas 78, Kansas State 65
K-State hasn’t won at Allen Fieldhouse since 2006 and has lost 13 straight road games, so there’s no reason to think the Wildcats will pull off an upset here. Additionally, Kansas will be highly motivated to bounce back from a disappointing 74-57 loss Wednesday at Iowa State.
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.
This article was originally published on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State vs. Kansas Basketball: Scouting Report, Prediction
