Kansas State, OU start Big 12 play

Kansas State (7-5, 0-0) vs. Oklahoma (9-3, 0-0)

Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, Oklahoma; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Kansas State and Oklahoma meet in the first Big 12 game of the season for both teams. In conference play last season, Kansas State finished with 14 wins and four losses, while Oklahoma won seven games and lost 11.

VETERAN PRESENCE: Each team has relied heavily on their seniors this year. Austin Reaves, Brady Manek and Kristian Doolittle have collectively accounted for 61 percent of Oklahoma's scoring this season and 66 percent of the team's points over its last five games. For Kansas State, Cartier Diarra, Xavier Sneed and Makol Mawien have scored 52 percent of the team's points this season, including 62 percent of all Wildcats points over their last five.DOMINANT DIARRA: Diarra has connected on 31 percent of the 58 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 10 for 19 over the last three games. He's also made 63.3 percent of his free throws this season.

STREAK STATS: Oklahoma has won its last five home games, scoring an average of 79 points while giving up 65.

ASSIST RATIOS: The Wildcats have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Sooners. Oklahoma has an assist on 36 of 74 field goals (48.6 percent) across its past three contests while Kansas State has assists on 36 of 55 field goals (65.5 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The disruptive Kansas State defense has forced opponents to turn the ball over on 25.8 percent of all possessions, the 15th-best rate in the nation. Oklahoma has a forced-turnover percentage of only 17.6 percent through 12 games (ranking the Sooners 307th among Division I teams).