KCKingdom
Fansided

K-State Basketball: Three things to watch for against UMKC

By Derek Helling

(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
(Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
(Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

While the Roos have many new faces in new places, the Wildcats will trot out several players who are familiar with D1 basketball.

As previously mentioned, UMKC entered this season with nine newcomers to the program, six of which are just two games into their collegiate careers. Several other players on the Roos’ roster aren’t new to the program but still don’t have hundreds of minutes on the court in their careers either.

Live Feed

UMass vs. New Mexico State Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 0
UMass vs. New Mexico State Prediction, Odds, Trends and Key Players for College Football Week 0 /

Betsided

  • College football expansion rumors: Who will join Big 12 next? Another Pac-12 target is clear FanSided
  • Notre Dame Season Preview: Betting Public Flocking to Irish, Should You? Betsided
  • College Basketball: Ranking the Nine "Blue Blood" programs Go Joe Bruin
  • ACC Basketball: Analyzing each team's returning impact players for 2023-24 Busting Brackets
  • NCAA Basketball: Analyzing 10 early contenders for Kansas transfer Marcus Adams Jr. Busting Brackets

    • Sophomore guard Isaiah Ross, senior guard Broderick Robinson and sophomore guard Xavier Bishop are the most experienced players on the roster by far.

    Bishop and Robinson have started both of UMKC’s games, while the other consistent starter spots have been manned by sophomore forward Aleer Leek, who played sparingly as a freshman in 2016-17 and sophomore forward Jordan Giles, who averaged 6.8 minutes in 27 games as a freshman. Ross and freshman guard Brandon McKissic split the other two starting spots.

    Conversely, Kansas State is expected to start three juniors in Tuesday’s game (forward Dean Wade, guard Kamau Stokes and guard Barry Brown Jr.) who started all 35 games as sophomores for the Wildcats.

    The other two starting spots are expected to be manned by a pair of sophomores, forward Makol Mawien and guard Xavier Sneed. While Mawien is inexperienced, Sneed got into all 35 of Kansas State’s games in 2016-17 as a freshman.

    The disparity in experience is only widened when considering the benches for the two teams. The Wildcats have five upperclassmen on the bench, while UMKC counters with a junior who is a junior college transfer (center Mo Ahmed), a redshirt senior in Robert Knar and four freshmen.

    After the loss at Wichita State, Roos head coach Kareem Richardson said that the team’s inexperience was evident as the rotations on the defensive pressure and consistency in running the offense broke down. If UMKC hopes to fare better at Kansas State, those two areas of the Roos’ game can’t be compromised by their inexperience to the same extent again.

    Home/Kansas State Wildcats