Kansas State Wildcats Host George Washington Colonials

Kansas State (9-3) will return to the Midwest after defeating Tulane in Brooklyn on the 28th to face George Washington (11-1) at home in Manhattan. Kansas State is starting to look better and better during the Christmas break and will need to continue that against the one-loss Colonials to push their 6-game winning streak to 7.

Here is all the information you need to catch the game:

Dec 28, 2013; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Kansas State Wildcats guard

(1) drives past Tulane Green Wave guard

(24) during the second half at Barclays Center. Kansas State Wildcats won 72-41. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Who: George Washington Colonials (Atlantic 10); Washington, D.C.

The Colonials are coming off of a 13-17 season, finishing tied for 11th with a 7-9 record in the tough Atlantic 10 Conference (13 teams. Athletic conferences really need to figure this counting thing out.). This season, 3rd-year coach Mike Lonergan and the Colonials are much improved though as they have 4 of their top 5 scorers returning and have added transfer Maurice Creek. This is one of those experienced, talented mid-major teams that could cause a good few upsets during the season if they can stay healthy, and yet will have a tough time getting to the NCAA Tournament out of the bursting-at-the-seams A-10.

Keys to the Game:

1: Turnovers: The Wildcats have done an incredible job taking care of the ball and have just 10 turnovers combined over the last 2 games. They’ll need to keep this up, and make their offensive possessions count. The Colonials are better on offense than K-State, as will be the case for the Wildcats all season most likely even though

they are improving, and preventing points off turnovers will help to keep the score down a little extra in combination with the regularly stingy defense.

New point guard Jevon Thomas (4 assists, 0 turnovers) showed flashes of his ability against Tulane and should only get better, which allowed other players like Shane Southwell to thrive in their more natural positions.

2. New Scorers: New pass-first point guard Jevon Thomas (4 assists, 0 turnovers) showed flashes of his ability against Tulane and should only get better, which allowed other players like Shane Southwell to thrive in their more natural positions. Southwell scored 19 to lead the Wildcats, and Nigel Johnson had his second highest scoring night at 13.

The Wildcats are starting to look like a team that can get points from all over the court rather than depending so much on freshman Marcus Foster to lead their scoring efforts. Each game, new players are stepping up to shine, making it difficult to key on any one guy. This has led to K-State getting over the 70-point mark three games in a row.

3. Defense: As always for Kansas State, defense is absolutely key. George Washington returned 4 of their 5 top scorers, and the new guy to the top 5, Indiana transfer Maurice Creek, is their leading scorer. Last season’s top-scorer, another power conference transfer from Villanova, Isaiah Armwood is still a double-double threat on any given game. These players give the Colonials both inside and outside threats, so the Wildcats will have to play great team defense to lock them down.

Where: Bramlage Coliseum

Manhattan, KS

When: Dec. 31, 2013

2:00 PM CT

Television: Fox Sports Midwest/Kansas City

Radio: K-State Sports Network