PREVIEW: Kentucky WBB and Kansas State meet for a spot in the Sweet 16

Kentucky scraped by Liberty, surviving and advancing to play Kansas State, the 5-seed in the Spokane 4 region. The two programs have only met once before — a 60-49 win for Kentucky back on Dec. 3, 2020.

Get to know the purple Wildcats with KSR’s game preview.

Bio Blast

K-State is making its 19th NCAA Tournament appearance and its 11th in the Round of 32. As a 5-seed, the Wildcats are 3-2, but against 4-seeds, the team is 0-2. If K-State wins on Sunday, the team would be making its third With a 27-7 overall record, Kansas State is one of the better teams in the nation, however, the Wildcats fell to West Virginia in round two of the Big 12 Championship.

This year, the Wildcats set a new record for points scored in a season, with 2,701 total so far. The next closest K-State scoring total came in the 1979-80 season, with 2,635 points. K-State is a really good scoring team, shooting 53.2% from the field in three games this season. Against Fairfield in the first round of the tournament, the Wildcats shot 53.1% from the field, which was the fourth highest field goal percentage in their NCAA Tournament history. The team also set new school records for single season assists (728) and single season blocks (187).

Head Coach Jeff Mittie is also one of the winningest active coaches in NCAA Division 1 basketball, boasting a 671-377 record in 33 years as a coach. In his 11 seasons at K-State, Mittie holds a 217-142 record, and has won 19 or more games in eight of his 11 seasons. Mittie has also only coached a losing season twice in 33 years, and is 5-5 in NCAA Tournament appearances with Kansas State. However, Mittie’s teams at Kansas State, TCU, and Arkansas State have never made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But, this year might be the team’s best shot.

Kansas State Projected Starters

• #1 – G Zyanna Walker (8.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG)
• #2 – F Temira Poindexter (12.4 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG)
• #3 – G Jaelyn Glenn (9.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.0 APG)
• #4 – G Serena Sundell (13.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 7.1 APG)
• #50 – C Ayoka Lee (15.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 0.3 APG)

Scouting Report

First and foremost, Kansas State is probably the best team in the country when it comes to sharing the basketball (and doing so efficiently). Jeff Mittie’s squad ranks second in the nation in both assist/turnover ratio (1.66) and assists per game (21.4).

The catalyst for that is guard Serena Sundell, who averages 7.1 assists per game (second in the nation as well). On top of that, the 6-foot-2 senior average 13.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. There’s also Temira Poindexter, who averages 12.4 points per game on 39.6% shooting from three-point range.

However, their best player is 6-foot-6 center Ayoka Lee, who puts up 15.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, knocking down 65.6% of her shots. Lee suffered a foot fracture in January, missed a month, re-injured that foot when she returned against Kansas on Feb. 22, then proceeded to put up 17 points and 10 boards on 7-10 shooting in her latest return against Fairfield in the first round.

Kansas State Wildcats Roster

Projected Kentucky Starters

#3 – Georgia Amoore

5-FOOT-6 – GUARD – GRADUATE STUDENT

19.6 PPG – 6.9 APG – 2.2 RPG

#7 – Teonni Key

6-FOOT-4 – FORWARD – JUNIOR

11.3 PPG – 8.0 RPG – 1.7 BPG

#10 – Dazia Lawrence

5-FOOT-8 – GUARD – REDSHIRT SENIOR

12.8 PPG – 2.3 RPG – 2.1 APG

#13 – Clara Strack

6-FOOT-5 – CENTER – SOPHOMORE

15.2 PPG – 9.7 RPG – 2.6 APG

#32 – Amelia Hassett

6-FOOT-3 – FORWARD – JUNIOR

8.7 PPG – 7.9 RPG – 1.9 APG

Betting Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook)

Teams	Spread	Moneyline	Total
Kansas State	-2.5 (-108)	-148	O 140.5 (-110)
Kentucky	+2.5 (-112)	+120	U 140.5 (-110)

How to Watch/Listen

Location	Tipoff	TV	Radio	Live Stats
Historic Memorial Coliseum (Lexington, KY)	2 p.m. ET	ESPN (Sam Gore and Tamika Catchings)	630 WLAP, 790 WKRD (Darren Headrick)	StatBroadcast

Follow Along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG

Unable to watch the game? Don’t worry — we’ll be providing real-time updates throughout to keep you informed on the action. Follow along with KSR’s LIVE BLOG, which will get rolling on the website an hour before the game starts.

Join The Discussion on KSBoard

Want to interact with the KSR crew during tonight’s game? Consider joining the conversation on KSBoard, where we’ll be sharing live updates while also answering questions and providing real-time analysis (and probably complaining about the officiating).