KU assistant Norm Roberts breaks down Kansas State

No stranger to the Kansas/Kansas State rivalry, KU assistant coach Norm Roberts is well-educated on just how seriously the two programs approach the annual meeting(s).

Roberts filled in for Bill Self during Friday’s pregame presser ahead of the 296th Sunflower Showdown to share his thoughts on the Wildcats and what challenges lie in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon.

Kansas State is fresh off back-to-back wins over No. 18 Texas Tech and No. 23 Texas and has captured Roberts’ attention in Big 12 play.

“They’re playing as good as anybody in the league,” Roberts said. “Also understand the games that they lost were close games, they were in every single ballgame.”

“And they’re well-coached team, they always are,” he added. “They play aggressively. Defensively, they take you out of what you want to do, they press you out of what you want to do. And I think what’s really happening for them is their guards are playing lights out, putting (Markquis) Nowell at the point has helped them play a little bit faster.”

Looking to reduce the Wildcats time spent in the paint, Roberts said it’s critical to play tight and watch for patterns from the KSU offense.

“We’ve got to be able to keep them out of the lane,” Roberts said. “We can’t give them easy baskets, can’t give them straight-line drives. They’re very good at that, they play off their shot fake very well. But they’re also guys that have tendencies and you can’t let them play to their strengths.”

One of KSU’s more lethal scoring threats has been Nijel Pack, a 6’0’’ sophomore who’s posted double-digit performances his last eight appearances. Guards like Pack have given Bruce Weber’s offense the ability to bite at teams' heels down the stretch.

Roberts believes the Kansas defense is aware of just how much damage quick-twitch types of players can cause inside.

“I think we’ve tried to make them uncomfortable as much as possible,” Roberts said. “You don’t want to give them too much space because once you give them space then they can get into smaller cracks. And then they’re in the teeth of your defenses and then you have a lot of problems.”

If the Wildcats plays smaller, it poses some challenges for KU senior David McCormack, who will already have a heated situation under the rim. Roberts cited KSU forwards Carlton Linguard, Davion Bradford, and Kaosi Ezeagu as potential threats on the block.

“They got a three-headed monster,” Roberts said. “(They're) extremely physical, they try to take angles away from you.”

“They know that they have 15 fouls,” he added. “So they’re not worried about fouling out of the game but they play their roles really well. All three guys are pretty good defenders. They’re probably not big scoring options for them but they can score if you give them an angle. But if they put (Ismael) Massoud at the five now he can pick and pop, he’s extremely capable.”

Transition ball has been an area this Kansas team has flashed in, especially behind redshirt sophomore Jalen Wilson.

Hopeful to get Wilson in a groove on Saturday, Roberts believes it could give the Jayhawks a strong edge in Manhattan.

“We’re a faster team,” Roberts said. “We play faster with (Wilson) when he gets it off the glass, so it’s important that he gets it off the glass and then attacks in transition because then our wings can really want to run and we can put a lot of pressure on people. When he’s doing that, we’re in a good mode.”

Lagging behind offensively against Oklahoma, Roberts said the group will need to step up its tempo if they’re going to stay on top of the Wildcats.

“Get that ball moving,” Roberts said. “First free man, pass it. Ball and body movement is so important, it’s going to be very important against K-State. You’ve got to move the ball and you’ve got to move your bodies.”

Hear everything Coach Roberts said ahead of tipoff on Slant TV.