Kansas State will not wrestle with Oscar Tshiebwe but it also presents some matchup issues for Kentucky

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John Calipari was all smiles at Saturday's press conference but he knows Kansas State will test his team's perimeter defense. (Vicky Graff Photo)

There’s one thing Kansas State coach Jerome Tang knows his team cannot do today when it plays Kentucky in a NCAA Tournament second-round game in Greensboro, N.C., today.

“You can’t wrestle with Oscar (Tshiebwe),” Tang said Saturday. “We don’t have anybody on our team who can go into a physical wrestling match with him and win. So we’re going to have to use our speed and our quickness to our advantage.”

Kansas State beat Montana State Friday night after UK knocked off Providence when Tshiebwe scored only eight points but grabbed 25 rebounds, the most of any player in a NCAA tourney game in 46 years.

Kansas State rival Kansas came into Rupp Arena and 6-7 center KJ Adams scored 17 points against UK. The smaller Jayhawks also limited UK to four offensive rebounds — a huge feat against the nation’s second best offensive rebounding team in the nation this season. Georgia and even South Carolina beat Kentucky in large part by spreading the floor against UK.

Kansas State forwards Nae’Qwan Tomlin, David N’Guessan and Abayomi Iyiola figure to try and test Tshiebwe on the perimeter and use their athleticism to test Tshiebwe’s defense.

“They are all really good bigs, because they give us three different looks,” Kansas State guard Markquis Nowell said Saturday. “Nae’Qwan spaces the floor out and he plays like a guard. David and Abayomi give us that inside presence that we need.

“I feel like tomorrow will be a great challenge for us and the bigs step up to help the team win and contain Oscar Tshiebwe.”

Kentucky coach John Calipari certainly understands what Kansas State will want to do and that his team has to figure out its own mismatch issues.

“But the other side is that they have to play us, too. We are coming at you. They do a great job of trapping in the post and creating opportunities to steal balls and be disruptive,” Calipari said. “The good news is that the season you play prepares you for these moments.”

Tomlin had 12 second-half points against Montana State after getting in foul trouble the first half. N’Guessan came off the bench to score 10 points  Friday but he only played 19 minutes.

Kentucky’s Jacob Toppin helped shut down Providence star Bryce Hopkins Friday while also scoring 18 points and grabbing six rebounds.

“Oscar gives them a lot of second-chance points. We just have to realize that, get rebounds ourselves and box out. He is going to get his no matter what. That’s who is. He is one of the nation’s best players. But if we all come together with a team effort we will be alright,” Kansas State wing Keyontae Johnson, who had 18 points Friday, said.

Nowell could also be a problem for UK. In Friday’s 77-65 win he had 14 assists — he averages 7.6 per game to rank third nationally — and also had 17 points.

Kentucky freshman point guard Cason Wallace knows Nowell is a “nice guard who has the ball a lot” for Kansas State.

“That’s one of my matchups. So I know he is a great player. He can shoot it well. He gets to the rack. He is good at facilitating. I have my hands full,” Wallace said.

Kentucky freshman Chris Livingston said he had watched Kansas State play during the season and watched the success it had.

“They’re really aggressive. Johnson is a really good wing. You know, he is aggressive. He gets downhill, and he is really strong. He also can play at the midrange area pretty well,” Livingston said. “I think we’ve done a great job of scouting the team and understanding our matchups. We understand that we have a big-time matchup ahead of us.”

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