La Salle played one of its best games of the season in its first round tournament win over Boise State Wednesday night. Explorers fans rightfully celebrated the first tournament victory for the program in literally decades. However, all that win really earned La Salle was the opportunity to pull up to the starting gate, where the field of 64 and true tournament begins.
The Explorers’ second round opponent is a battle-tested and highly efficient Kansas State Wildcats team. At 27-7, the only teams the Wildcats have lost to are solid tournament teams Michigan, Gonzaga, Kansas, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State. With not a bad loss in the bunch, Kansas State has no track record of playing down to its competition, which, unfortunately, is how most impartial observers would view La Salle. Kansas State prefers to play the game at a very methodical tempo, falling in the bottom third among NCAA teams in terms of pace. So although they are not an especially high scoring team in terms of raw points per game, their offensive efficiency numbers are actually very good. The Wildcats share the ball and work for good shots as well as anyone, ranking 11th in the nation at 16.0 assists per game.
6’4″ senior Rodney McGruder leads the team in both scoring (15.7 ppg), and surprisingly, rebounding (5.4 rpg). McGruder is especially tenacious on the offensive glass, averaging 2.11 offensive boards per game. La Salle’s guards will have to be conscious of putting a body on him when a shot goes up. That sort of crashing mentality is a team-wide philosophy for the Wildcats, as Kansas State as a team is top 15 in the country at 12.2 offensive rebounds per game. This could prove to be a problem for the Explorers who rank only 226th nationally in defensive rebounding rate. The other player to watch is 5’11” sophomore Angel Rodriguez, who controls the offense for much of the game for the Wildcats, averaging 11.7 points and a team-high 5.3 assists.
Kansas State comes in well-prepared for tournament action having gone through a difficult Big 12 schedule and playing tough out-of-conference games against Michigan, Gonzaga, and Florida. Like La Salle, the Wildcats can hit the three ball, but unlike the Explorers, they don’t solely rely on it. Kansas State is likely the most balanced and consistent opposition La Salle has faced this season. It was nice that La Salle supporters had a couple days to bask in the glow of a tournament victory, but it looks like their run will end here.
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