Can Kansas State pull off back-to-back upsets?
In an attempt to end its first losing streak, Baylor will have to visit a team that already gave it one of its toughest tests this season.
If that wasn't enough, Kansas State is also coming off a stunning upset on its own floor and will try to capture another Wednesday night.
Another poor shooting performance sent No. 21 Baylor to an 80-69 loss at then-No. 14 West Virginia on Saturday. The Bears (17-6, 6-4 Big 12) finished at 38.7 percent after connecting on 12 of 36 attempts in the second half and shot a season-low 35.2 in a 67-59 defeat to visiting Texas on Feb. 1.
"We've been missing a lot of layups in the past two games and against quality teams, you can't miss as many layups and shots as we've missed," coach Scott Drew said. "We just haven't executed at a high enough level. Defensively, we haven't forced the other teams to miss enough shots."
Baylor shot a more respectable 49.1 percent and held Kansas State to 40.6 on Jan. 20, but needed double overtime for a 79-72 victory at home. Taurean Prince scored 19 points and matched a season high with 13 rebounds in the Bears' fourth win in the past five matchups.
Baylor, though, has alternated wins and losses in its last six games at Kansas State. It fell 63-61 as the No. 22 team in the nation in its previous visit Jan. 17, 2015. The Wildcats (14-9, 3-7) pulled off an even bigger upset Saturday with an 80-69 win that knocked Oklahoma out of the No. 1 spot.
"It's tough to play on the road anywhere, but we have to go in there and take care of business," Baylor guard Ishmail Wainright said.
Kansas State, 12-2 at home, lost its first seven games against Top 25 opponents this season but prevailed Saturday behind Wesley Iwundu's 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Coach Bruce Weber changed his starting lineup with freshman guard Barry Brown replacing Justin Edwards and D.J. Johnson replacing Dean Wade.
Wade matched a season high with 17 points while also making 7 of 11 shots, and Kansas State outshot the Sooners 52.9 percent to 43.1. Johnson went 5 of 6 from the floor while scoring 12.
"It wasn't that we didn't believe. We just didn't get it done. ... You have to make it happen," Weber said. "We had chances against North Carolina, West Virginia, Baylor, Texas. We've had chances against a lot of people. We just didn't make it happen and now we did so I hope that will continue.
"We have a lot of opportunities to continue to get Top 25 wins, and that continues with Baylor on Wednesday."
Kansas State freshman guard Kamau Stokes, who scored a team-best 20 points last month at Baylor, is likely out for the season following right knee surgery. Iwundu had 10 points in that game - slightly below his team-high average of 12.8 - but matched a career best with 10 rebounds.
Johnathan Motley had 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting and nine boards off the bench for the Bears. Al Freeman scored all of his 11 points in the two overtimes, and Lester Medford matched a career high with 13 assists.
Prince scored 20 points in the most recent visit to Kansas State and is averaging 17.7 in his past three matchups.
