Dick Whipple

Kansas State’s Jeremiah Massey gets past Texas A&M;’s Marion Pompey to put up a shot during the first round of the Big 12 Tournament yesterday at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Mo. Massey scored 18 points leading Kansas State to a 68-82 win.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas assistant coaches Tim Jankovich and Kurtis Townsend were at Kemper Arena last night scouting out the Kansas State vs. Texas A&M; game. They had bragging rights on who would advance to take on the Jayhawks at 6 tonight.

Jankovich, a former K-State guard, thought the Wildcats would pull the off the upset. Townsend thought the Aggies would win.

So when the Wildcats won, 66-62, Jankovich flashed Townsend the “I-told-you-so” grin.

“He told me all the way here that K-State would win,” Townsend said. “Now I’m going to have to hear about it all night.”

On a more serious note, facing an opponent three times in one season is no joke — especially when you’ve already defeated them twice.

Kansas faced a similar situation last year. They defeated Missouri twice in the regular season and again in the Big 12 Tournament. The final victory came in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament, just six days after Kansas defeated Missouri in the final game of its regular season. Tonight’s match-up will be the second between Kansas and K-State in the last nine days, something the Wildcats think is to their advantage.

“It’s hard to beat a team three times in a year,” K-State sophomore guard Fred Peete said. “The dice don’t always roll your way.”

Kansas State senior forward Justin Williams said he wanted his team’s play to make the third time a charm for the Wildcats.

“It’s going to be tough for them to beat us three times because we are going to bring a lot of energy and we are not going to bow down just because it is Kansas,” he said.

The Jayhawks will have to do a better job of containing Kansas State senior forward Jeremiah Massey if they want to advance to tomorrow’s third round. In the first match-up with the Wildcats, Massey scored 20 points. In the March 2 contest he made 17. Neither of those games were easy victories for the Jayhawks.

Another problem the Wildcats pose is a rigid zone defense — something that has given the Jayhawks problems all year. Without senior guard Keith Langford, who will not play in tomorrow’s game, senior guards Mike Lee and Aaron Miles and sophomore forward J.R. Giddens will have to penetrate the zone and knock down some shots.

But it’s Big 12 player of the year Wayne Simien that K-State coach Jim Wooldridge is most concerned about. He exploded for 25 points and 20 rebounds on the Wildcats in the last contest.

“Kansas is a great team with Wayne Simien out there,” Wooldridge said. “We are going to have to find another gear tomorrow. We are going to have to play better defense on him, we are going to have to execute better on offense. There are a lot of keys to beating a team like Kansas.”

Some people say the third time is a charm, but Massey said the Wildcats wouldn’t need luck, they would just need to play hard.

“We know KU is one of the best teams in the country, but we are a great team too,” Massey said. “We are just going to go out there and fight and hopefully come out with a win.”

The winner of tonight’s game will face the winner of the Colorado vs. Oklahoma State game at 3:20 p.m. tomorrow.