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Kansas St.-Colorado Preview

Jan 15, 2010 - 10:19 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Kansas State (14-2) at Colorado (10-6), 4:00 p.m. EDT

Kansas State knows all too well how hard it is to win Big 12 road games. Colorado, meanwhile, certainly hasn't hurt the league's reputation for being tough on visiting teams.

After rebounding from a deflating loss, the 13th-ranked Wildcats travel to Coors Events Center on Saturday to face an upset-minded Buffaloes team that has yet to lose at home.

A 74-68 defeat at Missouri last Saturday ended a 10-game winning streak for Kansas State, which dropped to 5-10 in conference road games since January 2008. The Wildcats (14-2, 1-1) hosted Texas A&M in their next game, winning 88-65 on Tuesday night.

That was one of many home victories for Big 12 teams this season. The league's teams are 114-4 at home, including an impressive run by Colorado (10-6, 1-1).

The Buffaloes beat No. 22 Baylor 78-71 on Tuesday night, improving to 9-0 at home for the first time in 18 years. The last time they won their first 10 at home was the 1979-80 season.

"We've been playing pretty well and we're getting better and we just need to continue to do that," said Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik, whose team had lost 13 straight conference games and nine in a row versus ranked teams before upsetting the Bears.

The Buffaloes, though, have lost seven straight - three at home - versus the Wildcats. Kansas State is hoping to avoid a letdown with Monday night's matchup at home against top-ranked Texas looming.

Denis Clemente had 24 points for the Wildcats in a 76-64 win over the Buffaloes on March 7, the teams' last matchup.

The senior guard is coming off his highest-scoring game of the season, going 5 of 12 from 3-point range and posting 24 points against the Aggies. Clemente shot 7 of 34 (20.6 percent) from beyond the arc over his previous five games.

"Denis is a good player and he likes to win," coach Frank Martin said. "The leadership that he has shown has been big-time."

Clemente joins Jacob Pullen to give the Wildcats a strong backcourt that will face a tough test against the Buffaloes' guards. Pullen is second in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 19.8 points.

Colorado's Cory Higgins ranks fourth in that category with 18.2 points a contest. He's averaging 20.3 points at home while shooting 59.4 percent.

Higgins is complemented by fellow guard Alec Burks, the only true freshman in the country to score in double digits every game this season. Burks is averaging 18.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in his last seven contests.

Higgins and Burks give Colorado good reason for optimism following last season's 9-22 record and its third consecutive last-place finish in the Big 12.

"I think we have been building more and more confidence," Higgins said. "We know we can play with anyone. Unlike in the past, we expect to win these games. It's a lot different this year. It's been a tough stretch this past couple of years and I feel like we're breaking through that door."

This will be the Buffaloes' third straight game against a ranked team. They lost 103-86 to the Longhorns last Saturday.

Colorado has a chance to be competitive against Kansas State if it continues to take care of the ball. The Buffaloes committed a season-low five turnovers against Baylor, but averaged 20.5 in two losses to the Wildcats last season.

Kansas State leads the series 95-44.