Kansas State (6-3) vs. Mississippi State (6-2)
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey; Saturday, 11:30 a.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Two forwards will be on display as Xavier Sneed and Kansas State will take on Reggie Perry and Mississippi State. The senior Sneed has scored 22 percent of the team's points this season and is averaging 14.4 over his last five games. Perry, a sophomore, is averaging 16 points over the last five games.
SENIOR STUDS: Kansas State's Sneed, Cartier Diarra and Makol Mawien have combined to account for 52 percent of the team's scoring this season and have scored 57 percent of all Wildcats points over the last five games.
SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Tyson Carter has either made or assisted on 43 percent of all Mississippi State field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has 19 field goals and 16 assists in those games.
ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Wildcats have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Bulldogs. Mississippi State has 48 assists on 82 field goals (58.5 percent) over its past three matchups while Kansas State has assists on 62 of 84 field goals (73.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Kansas State defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 27.8 percent of all possessions, which ranks the Wildcats fifth among Division I teams. The Mississippi State offense has turned the ball over on 24.2 percent of its possessions (ranking the Bulldogs 339th, nationally).
