1.  For Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford, 2014 is off to a terrible start. On Monday night, the Cowboys lost starting forward Michael Cobbins to a season-ending Achilles injury, and on Wednesday morning, freshman point guard Stevie Clark was arrested for possession of marijuana. Clark is the back-up for superstar Marcus Smart, and has already been subject to a suspension earlier in the season for disciplinary reasons. Losing both Cobbins and Clark could have a serious impact on Oklahoma State’s depth and in the long run may impact their ability to challenge for a conference title.
2. In Tuesday’s Morning 5, we discussed the potential impact freshman guard Jevon Thomas could have for Kansas State after gaining eligibility with the conclusion of the first semester. Tuesday afternoon, Thomas made his debut in Bramlage Coliseum and contributed six assists and no turnovers against George Washington. Thomas failed to score in the contest, but Weber believes he’ll continue to grow into his new role. Kansas State kicks off their Big 12 schedule on Saturday with a home visit from Oklahoma State, and there may not be a better time to see the Cowboys with the aforementioned problems they’re going through. Expect Bramlage to be rocking as the Wildcats will look to continue their winning streak.
3. Iowa State has jumped out to 12-0 record to start the season, but slow starts in games is something that could plague the Cyclones in league play as Bobby LaGesse of the Ames Tribune examines in part of his New Year’s resolution piece. The Cyclones have had to rely on strong play late in games for a number of their victories, perhaps most notably against Iowa in Ames earlier in the year. Iowa State will be tested early in Big 12 play with visits from Baylor and Kansas in a span of three games in January.
4. Speaking of Iowa State and Kansas, Rob Dauster of NBCSports.com lists the showdown between these two schools that took place last season in his Top 10 College Basketball Games in 2013. That game was won by Kansas, 108-96, in overtime in a game where Elijah Johnson scored 39 points to lead Kansas. Iowa State fans will remember the questionable foul calls, or lack there of, late in the game that allowed Johnson to get to the free throw line to tie the game. When Kansas goes to Ames on January 13, you can bet Fred Hoiberg and company will have revenge on their mind.
5. As painful as that outcome was for Iowa State faithful, Kansas fans will be reminded of having their hearts ripped out by Trey Burke last year in the NCAA tournament as Burke’s shot was listed by YahooSports.com as one of the top 5 moments in college basketball in 2013. As if you needed any further salt in the wound, here’s a reminder that the Jayhawks led by 11 points with less than four minutes to play before costly turnovers down the stretch and one magnificent shot from Burke ultimately ended Kansas’ March run.

1. 2013 did not end well for Oklahoma State with the loss of Michael Cobbins to a ruptured Achilles tendon. 2014 is not starting off much better as backup point guard Stevie Clark was arrested just ten hours into the New Year for possession of marijuana. This is not the first time that Clark has dealt with disciplinary issues while in Stillwater as he was suspended at the start of his freshman year for an undisclosed violation of team rules. Given the way these type of issues are dealt with we doubt that Clark will miss a substantial amount of time. And we would certainly expect him to be back by January 18 when the Cowboys welcome Kansas to Stillwater.
2. This has not been the type of season that we have come to expect of Temple and things may have taken a turn for the worse as sophomore Daniel Dingle could miss the rest of the season with a tear in his right meniscus. Dingle, 6’7″ forward, had been averaging 6.7 point and 2.3 rebounds per game this season. Without him, the Owls are down to just nine scholarship players. With their AAC schedule starting on January 9, the Owls are in a precarious position and at this point can probably forget about getting into any kind of postseason tournament.
3. Texas A&M picked up a big transfer yesterday as they landed SMU transfer Jalen Jones. You may remember that Jones announced that he would be transferring from SMU just as the season started. Jones, who led the Mustangs in scoring (14 per game) and rebounding (7 per game) last season, has two more years of eligibility remaining. Although there are reports that the Aggies will be applying for a waiver so Jones can play immediately we cannot imagine a scenario in which the NCAA would grant it although as we have said before they seem to granting waivers for everything else.
4. Looking for a more “scientific” preview of the upcoming conference races? As usual, Ken Pomeroy has you covered. In Part 1 and Part 2 of his three-part conference race preview (we assume Part 3 will be coming later today), Pomeroy ran Monte Carlo simulations of each conference race to predict the likelihood that each team will win their conference regular season. These races are ranked in order of competitiveness so do not wait for Part 3 to see where your power conference team is projected to finish. The Big 12 and Big Ten (arguably the two best conferences in the country) are ranked 17th and 14th respectively in terms of competitiveness.
5. Was one 116-12 game not enough for you? If you answered yes, then you may in luck as it appears that Southern and Champion Baptist appear to want to continue their “rivalry”. For those of you who missed the game on Monday, Southern scored the first 44 points of the game to set a NCAA record and continued to press well after the game was decided, which was probably in warm-ups. There is a possibility that next year’s match-up could be more competitive as Southern only beat Christian Baptist 90-36 last season so maybe Monday night was an aberration.

It was a slower than slow week last week around College Basketball Land, but we were rewarded for our wait with an exciting weekend of early-season blockbusters. In this week’s RTC Podcast, hosted by Shane Connolly (@sconnolly114), the guys break down all the big games of the weekend, starting with Arizona’s comeback win over Michigan in Ann Arbor, and work our way through all the compelling action from last weekend. We also discussed our favorite players to watch in the entire college hoops landscape this season, and were honored to have ESPN analyst Jay Bilas join us for this week’s Rush the Take, where he extolled on some of the teams he’s seen recently, talks some Jimmy V (the coach and the event), and reflects on his longtime nemesis, the NCAA. It’s great stuff, and you should definitely have a listen.

Jay Bilas Joined Us This Week to Talk Some Hoops

The complete rundown is below. Make sure to add the RTC Podcast to your iTunes lineup so that you’ll automatically upload it on your listening device after we record. And feel free to contact us through Twitter or email — we’re listening.

• 0:00-4:43 – Arizona Reinforces Its #1 Ranking
• 4:43-8:56 – UNC Notches Another Big Win…
• 8:56-14:16 – …and Kentucky Notches Another Disappointing Loss
• 14:16-17:33 – CyHawk Rivalry Produces Some Hilton Magic on Friday Night
• 17:33-19:11 – Other Weekend Highlights
• 19:11-32:15 – Rush the Take With Jay Bilas
• 32:15-38:26 – Favorite Players To Watch
• 38:26-47:01 – Previewing This Week

1.  The Kansas City Star’s Rustin Dodd tied up some loose ends from Kansas‘ heartbreaking loss to Colorado. In case you were too caught up in Saturday afternoon’s football action, lost in the shuffle of Askia Booker’s buzzer-beater were Joel Embiid showing off an impressive array of post moves against the Buffaloes’ undersized frontcourt rotation and Andrew Wiggins putting up a season-high 22 points. The Jayhawks very clearly have a few things to work on, but it’s tough to be too disappointed with Kansas’ two losses in non-conference play, as both came on last-second shots in games away from Allen Fieldhouse.
2. Iowa State needed an extra frame to beat Northern Iowa when Panthers guard Seth Tuttle banked home a three-pointer at the end of the second half. The Cyclones showed how vulnerable they can be when their threes don’t fall, as they shot just 28% from the perimeter in regulation. They made them when they mattered, though, as Melvin Ejim buried a pair of treys in overtime. Somewhat surprisingly, the win was Fred Hoiberg‘s first as a head coach over Northern Iowa. Iowa State, one of the most impressive programs in the still-young season, takes a well-deserved break until Friday, when Hilton Coliseum should be rocking for a meeting with Iowa.
3. Reserve center D.J. Bennett has given Lon Kruger some quality minutes down low on the defensive end. The Sooners boast one of the highest-scoring offenses in the Big 12, but the defense isn’t quite where it needs to be for Oklahoma to comfortably rank in the top half of the conference. If Bennett can continue to help the team get stops on the other end, that may change.
4. Dave Hickman of The West Virginia Gazette wrote an interesting piece late last week where he delved into the Mountaineers’ surprisingly low attendance numbers. If you ask us, the culprit isn’t hard to find: West Virginia‘s non-conference schedule has been short on attractive names. With all due respect to the following programs, no one is lining up to camp out for Mount Saint Mary’s, Duquesne, or Georgia Southern. To boot, the annual Backyard Brawl with Pittsburgh was put on hiatus when the two teams separated conferences. We’ll see how many fans show up at WVU Coliseum on Tuesday, when Gonzaga pays a visit to Morgantown.
5. Oklahoma State guard Stevie Clark returned to action Friday night against South Carolina after serving a four-game suspension handed down by Travis Ford for undisclosed reasons. Assuming Clark stays on Ford’s good side, the freshman will have plenty of time to ease back into the lineup, as the Cowboys play just two games between now and December 21, when they will take on a Colorado team that will almost certainly be ranked later today.

1. Oklahoma took care of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 78-56 in a game moved up five hours from its original start time last night to avoid conflict with worsening weather conditions in Norman. The surprise performance came from junior forward D.J. Bennett, whose nine points, three boards and career-high five blocked shots added a different edge to the Sooners’ frontcourt. Bennett has dealt with a partially torn tendon since earlier in the season, and because of that hasn’t seen a lot of floor time, but this could be the start of his comeback. Goodness knows the Sooners could use someone who is effective down low when Ryan Spangler isn’t on the floor.
2. It wasn’t easy, but Kansas State found a way to get by the Fighting Marshall Hendersons from Ole Miss, 61-58, on Thursday. Henderson tried his darndest to single-handedly win the game for the Rebels, but his 4-of-18 shooting (off the bench) did more harm than good. It’s fascinating to see how different the Wildcats play when Thomas Gipson is in the lineup — the junior tallied 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks in the contest. And here’s an update on the attendance at Bramlage Coliseum: It certainly looked like the Wildcat faithful showed up last night. The 11,990 fans in the building made last night the third-highest attended game this season at Bramlage.
3. A year and change into his sophomore season, Isaiah Austin is pretty pleased with his decision to attend Baylor. “Coming out of high school, everyone wants to go with the hype and Kentucky was the hype out of high school,” Austin told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “But I made the best decision for me — coming here to Baylor playing under Coach Drew, who is just as great of a coach as coach Calipari is… we have just as great of faculty and staff and everybody. Kentucky is not better than us in any way, shape or form.” Oooh, them sounds like fighting words! Just in case you don’t miss it, Kentucky-Baylor from AT&T Stadium is tonight. A little big-time Friday night college hoops never hurt anybody.
4. It was also more than a year ago when Iowa State guard Bubu Palo was arrested on charges of sexual abuse before those charges were dropped in mid-January. Now, Palo is seeking reinstatement to the men’s basketball program and in a text message to the Ames Tribune said his appeal was denied by the Iowa State Board of Regents. According to ISU’s Student Disciplinary Regulations, decisions made by the Regents can be appealed in district court. The Tribune is also reporting that Palo was initially exonerated from the SDR but that decision was appealed to ISU president Steven Leath, who in turn removed Palo from the team. I hope he can return to the floor as soon as possible. I know I’d hate to be missing out on a season like the one Iowa State is having right now.
5. While Marcus Smart finishes off his sophomore campaign and the Stevie Clark situation is still very much up in the air, Oklahoma State received a letter of intent from Jared Terrell, the four-star point guard who committed to the Cowboys back in September. He’s 6’3″ and 220 pounds which will scare the living bejeezus out of opponents next year, and according to Travis Ford, can drive to the hoop, hit mid-range jumpers and make threes. I wonder if this official announcement translates into anything with Stevie Clark and his future with the team.

1. While you weren’t looking, Texas Tech is going through a meat-grinder of a non-conference schedule. Their losses include one to Alabama and undefeated Pittsburgh but now you can add Arizona to the list. The season schedule was made well in advance of Tubby Smith coming to town but they still have to contend with a pair of much improved LSU and Arizona State squads. There’s no shame in losing to a team like the incumbent #1 on its home floor. Due to Michigan State’s loss to North Carolina last night, if Arizona can finish out the week unbeaten, they would become the nation’s newest No. 1 team on Monday. Take pride in that, Texas Tech. You played the best and lived to tell about it.
2. The Oklahoman sat down with Oklahoma guard Isaiah Cousins, who split time at the point last season but is now in a larger role out on the wing. Going into today’s game, Cousins is posting 11.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and three assists per game among the Sooners’ four-guard lineup. “I think it’s going pretty good,” Cousins said. “I’ve been getting a lot of minutes trying to pick up from last year, and I’ve got a bigger role. I like the role I take. I think it’s a good fit.” No kidding. We should point out that Oklahoma’s game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi originally scheduled for 7:00 PM will actually tip off at 2:00 PM at the Lloyd Noble Center due to some inclement weather moving into Norman tonight. Adjust your pocket watches accordingly.
3. It’s getting a little awkward around Oklahoma State basketball as of late. Stevie Clark, the freshman backup point guard, was suspended by coach Travis Ford and sent home from the Old Spice Classic. Here’s what Ford had to say on the issue yesterday: “Wait and see. We’ll wait and see.” According to Ford, Clark is still a part of the team but we don’t have a clue as to why he was suspended. Whatever unfolds here will have implications for not only this season but for the future at point guard for Oklahoma State. Smart is definitely leaving for the NBA and if Clark (9.8 PPG, 5.0 APG) were to transfer or worse, get kicked off the team, it’s back to square one for Ford. I guess we shall wait and see.
4. Here was the headline from this recent piece in the Kansas City Star: “With Marshall Henderson in town, Kansas State hopes for better home basketball crowd.” As far as “official” attendance numbers go, the difference between paid attendance and arena capacity never exceeded 1,000 seats. I haven’t seen a K-State home game on TV yet so I can’t tell if a lack of attendance is apparent from that perspective; but if it is, that’s really disappointing. In the Bob Huggins/Frank Martin era, Bramlage was arguably the best home environment in the Big 12 outside of Lawrence. I guess you could call it “The Octagon of Plenty of Room,” amirite? I regret this already.
5. A high school recruit has grabbed the attention of five of the league’s 10 teams and many others. Cheick Diallo is a 6’9″, 220 pound center who attends Our Savior New American in New York. Diallo is primarily known as a defender but is improving on his offensive game by averaging 12.9 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game on the Elite Youth Basketball League circuit. He currently holds offers from Kansas, Texas, West Virginia, Iowa State and Baylor. But if there’s a Big 12 leader in the clubhouse for Diallo, it might be the Cyclones, where he has already made an unofficial visit to campus in September. What does all this mean? Not much at this point, but it’s fun to see half the conference battle over one guy.

1. For Bob Huggins and West Virginia to rebound after a dreadful season last year, improved point guard play this season was identified by Huggins in the preseason as a must. That responsibility falls on junior guard Juwan Staten. In a 78-60 win over Old Dominion on Tuesday in the Cancun Challenge, Staten finished with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting while dishing out 9 assists against just one turnover. West Virginia will play tomorrow in the championship game against the winner of St. Louis and Wisconsin, who will provide a formidable test for the Mountaineers to determine how they stack up against some of the better teams in the nation.
2. On Monday, Gary Bedore of KUSports.com explored the possibility of Kansas head coach Bill Self replacing Mike Krzyzewski as head coach of the U.S. Men’s Olympic basketball team when Mike Krzyzewski hangs up the whistle in his Olympic coaching career after the 2016 games. Self, however, doesn’t feel the possibility is very realistic with names like Doc Rivers and Greg Popovich also thrown out as replacements. During the offseason, Self addressed the possibility of eventually coaching at the NBA level, saying if given the opportunity, he might be tempted to consider it. After landing the Tyus Jones and Jahlil Okafor duo who teamed up for the USA U19 team, it’s hard to argue that Krzyzewski’s involvement in USA Olympic hoops hasn’t at least benefited in a small way his recruiting at Duke.
3. After struggling to a 3-3 start against what was considered to be a fairly soft non-conference schedule, Kansas State will look to use the short Thanksgiving break to regroup as their schedule intensifies with a home match-up against 3-0 Ole Miss on December 5, followed by a neutral site (although only by definition) tilt with Gonzaga on December 5 in Wichita, Kansas. Through the first six games, Bruce Weber’s squad has averaged 62.7 points per game, ranking 326 in the nation out of 351 teams. If there’s a silver lining for Wildcat fans, Weber’s complicated motion offense took a bit of time last season before really clicking and helping K-State finish in a tie for first place in the Big 12.
4. We talked Monday about the suspension of Oklahoma State freshman guard Stevie Clark, and on Tuesday, head coach Travis Ford released a statement on the situation, saying that Clark was not with the Cowboys due to personal matters and continues to be a valued member of the Cowboy basketball family. On Monday, there was a thought that perhaps Clark had left the team, although his mother denied the rumor. Regardless, his departure from the Oklahoma State lineup will be something to keep an eye on moving forward and whether it has a significant impact on the Cowboys’ overall play.
5. Speaking of Oklahoma State point guards, if you haven’t had a chance to see this yet, take a look at the 70-foot shot Marcus Smart drilled to end the first half against South Florida on Monday night. Smart picked right up where he left off against Memphis, scoring 23 points in the first half and 25 total to go along with four assists and four steals in a 93-67 rout. Smart’s intensity early this season appears to be destined to remind everyone that he’s still among the best in college basketball this year.

1. Over the years we have seen a lot of championship rings go on sale, but we cannot remember the last time we saw such an item from an active player on the auction block. So you can imagine our surprise when we saw an auction for a 2012 Final Four ring from Chane Behanan. Now on some level we can understand why Behanan would not have a specific attachment to a ring that might symbolize a loss to Kentucky when he has a championship ring from a year later, but we are almost certain this would be considered a violation if it is Behanan selling the ring based on what happened to the Ohio State football players and Oregon basketball players. We doubt that Behanan will admit to selling the ring so we are just wondering what excuse the Louisville administration will come with as to how this ended up on the auction block.
2. There were a couple of interesting announcements yesterday. The one that will probably garner the most attention is Oklahoma State announcing that suspended guard Stevie Clark was not with the team “due to personal matters”. The school has not released any more information and the best insight into the matter that we have is that Clark’s mother agrees that he deserved to be disciplined. We have no idea as to when Clark will return to the Cowboys, but fortunately their schedule is so soft that they probably won’t need him for a while (they most likely will not play a ranked team until January 18). On the other end of the spectrum is San Francisco guard Cody Doolin who decided to leave the team “due to personal reasons”, which sounds similar, but suggests that the departure was of his own volition rather than being imposed upon him. Clark may be more well-known due to his team’s prominence, but the loss of Doolin, a senior point guard who was averaging 13 points and 7 assists per game this season will likely have a more detrimental effect on his team.
3. Yesterday, Washington disclosed that Shawn Kemp Jr. had been diagnosed with Graves’ disease in September. We won’t get into the details of the disease (here’s a basic primer if you want information). We are also not sure what led the school to disclose the information since it is a fairly common diagnosis that is a benign condition if treated by competent medical professions, which Washington certainly has, and it has been nearly three months since he was diagnosed so we are not sure that it is particularly newsworthy outside of the fact that the school disclosed his medical condition without any apparent reason.
4. We love the passion that college students bring to college games. It is one of the reasons we wish more early-season tournaments would play games at on-campus sites. Unfortunately sometimes those groups go overboard. One stark example of that comes from the Missouri student section where a group of students known as the Antlers were thrown out of their second game this season for yelling a variety of unimaginative, offensive things at opposing players. Our general tendency is to forgive people for doing stupid things, but based on what the group is saying with their Twitter account it is pretty clear that they don’t get it. At this rate we imagine that the group might eventually get banned from going to any sporting events at the school.
5. We are still trying to figure out what Joe Nocera’s angle is at The New York Times where he appears to be spending quite a bit of time trying to be their NCAA attack dog (perhaps a book deal?). His latest article on “The North Carolina Five” focuses on the state of North Carolina attempting to prosecute individuals for essentially acting as agents to players who were still in school at North Carolina. To be honest we are not that familiar with Nocera’s writing from before his current crusade, but his logic seems pretty weak in this article. If we have any issue with the state of North Carolina taking on these cases it is that they should probably be focused on more important things (like fake academic departments at state institutions).

1. While it’s quite obvious Oklahoma State is just fine at the starting point guard spot with Marcus Smart, their bench depth at the position may have taken a bit of a hit when head coach Travis Ford announced Monday that freshman guard Stevie Clark had been suspended and would not make the trip with the team to South Florida on Monday night for the first round of the Old Spice Classic. Rumors began surfacing on Monday fueled by Clark’s Twitter account that led many to question whether he had quit or been kicked off the team, however, The Oklahoman confirmed that Clark was still a member of the Cowboy backcourt, at least for the time being. Clark has averaged 9.8 points per game and has a team high 20 assists this season.
2. Texas fell to BYU 86-82 on Monday night in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, and while the outcome may have disappointed some Longhorn fans, Texas has to be encouraged with how they competed with a fringe-Top 25 Cougar team. More importantly, the performance by Texas big man Cameron Ridley may have been the best of his career, contributing 12 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks. If Texas has plans of competing in the top half of the league this year, establishing interior scoring will be key.
3. Interested in catching a Kansas home game at Allen Fieldhouse this season? If so, you had better bring your checkbook. A report issued on Monday by Vivid Seats, an online ticket marketplace, stated that tickets for Jayhawk home games on the secondary ticket market were selling for an average price of $265, tops in the nation ahead of Kentucky ($200) and Duke ($179). One of the hottest topics in college athletics revolves around the idea of paying athletes, and given the fact that fans are paying on average a quarter of a thousand dollars per game to watch these players, you can’t help but understand the argument.
4. For as much criticism as Baylor head coach Scott Drew takes in the eyes of the public for his coaching track record, there’s no denying the positive impact he’s had on the program since arriving in Waco. On Monday night, Baylor made their first appearance in 26 years in the EA Sports Maui Invitational against host school Chaminade. It’s not that Drew has turned down opportunities to play in Maui, it’s just that it’s hard to get such an invitation. The Bears won their first game of the tournament handily by overcoming an amazing performance by Chaminade guard Christophe Veridel, who poured in 42 points in a loss for the Silver Swords.
5. The Big 12 has capitalized on opportunities for impressive non-conference wins so far this season, with the most recent coming last week when Iowa State won at BYU. Iowa State senior guard DeAndre Kane was an important factor in the win, contributing 21 points and 11 rebounds, earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors for the second time this season. After the departure of Korie Lucious a season ago, it was important for Fred Hoiberg to once again blend transfer talent in Ames this season, and it appears the addition of Kane will allow the Cyclones to challenge for a top spot in the conference this year.

1. Oklahoma State freshman Stevie Clark is adjusting quickly to the college game. Clark has put up some very efficient numbers in the early going, averaging 12 points and seven assists in just 21 minutes of action per game. If he can maintain a similar level of production behind Marcus Smart as the Cowboys’ schedule toughens up, Clark will have a great case for being the league’s best sixth man. Oklahoma State is still searching for answers down low, but between Smart, Clark, Markel Brown and Phil Forte, the Cowboys have an embarrassment of riches in their backcourt.
2. Iowa State continues to receive outstanding contributions from its newcomers, but Tuesday night, it was junior forward Dustin Hogue who stepped up for Fred Hoiberg’s team by chipping in 13 points on just six shots to go along with eight rebounds and two steals against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cyclones will be without Melvin Ejim against Michigan this Sunday in Ames, but encouraging performances throughout ISU’s roster this week and an amazing homecourt advantage could give them just what they need to beat the Wolverines.
3. The Kansas Jayhawks have found production on their bench to weather early storms of foul trouble, according to Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star. Frank Mason and Brannen Greene are just two players who tend to get lost in the shuffle behind KU’s star-studded starting lineup, but they’ve provided huge minutes in supporting roles as the season has lifted off. As freshmen, they’ll only get better, so opponents shouldn’t expect a huge drop-off when Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden need to catch a few breathers.
4. There were no surprises in Lawrence on National Signing Day Wednesday. Kelly Oubre, who committed to the Jayhawks earlier this semester, sent in his NLI, cementing his pledge to play for Kansas next season. Oubre figures to take Andrew Wiggins’ place in the KU rotation as an explosive, long-armed wing. Kansas remains in the hunt for Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones, who will announce their decisions at the same time on Friday afternoon.
5. Kansas State bounced back from an ugly early loss to Northern Colorado by taking care of Oral Roberts in a 71-63 win Wednesday night. Freshman Marcus Foster joined some esteemed company, becoming the first Wildcat freshman since Michael Beasley to score 25 points in a game. Head coach Bruce Weber has repeatedly insisted that his veterans need to lead offensively, and while that’s certainly an understandable sentiment, there are no sure things in his lineup. It would be wonderful for Kansas State if Shane Southwell, Will Spradling and Thomas Gipson could be counted on for 40 combined points on a nightly basis, but in the meantime, our unsolicited advice to Bruce Weber is to take your points wherever you can get them.