No. 21 Longhorns Set for Conference Series With Kansas State

The Longhorns continue their four-game home stand with a conference series against Kansas State.

When the preseason Big 12 projections were released the Texas Longhorns were projected to finish fourth in the conference. Not that it was an unreasonable projection, though, as they were replacing seven of nine starters and their Friday starter.

Now, though, the Longhorns find themselves sitting at 21-9 (4-2) and are firmly in the conversation to bring home the Big 12 title, and potentially host a regional in the NCAA tournament. 

After sweeping Texas Tech and dropping their series against Oklahoma State, the Longhorns are 4-2 in conference play and second behind only the Cowboys.

Of course, there are still 26 games left to play with in the regular season with 18 of them being against conference opponents so anything can happen between now and the end of the regular season. 

The Longhorns enter their series against the Kansas State Wildcats fresh off a 7-1 win over Air Force, looking to improve their already impressive home record of 18-2 at Disch-Falk Field. 

How to watch/listen: 

Game 1: Thursday at 6:30 p.m. CT (Longhorn Network/TexasSports.com/Audio)

Game 2: Friday at 6:30 p.m. CT (Longhorn Network/TexasSports.com/Audio)

Game 3: Saturday at 12 p.m. CT (Longhorn Network/TexasSports.com/Audio)

A look at Kansas State's season so far

It has been a very up and down season so far for the Wildcats so far, as they have both a nine-game winning streak and four-game losing streak. They've had an especially mixed bag in conference play with their 5-4 record including a series loss to Baylor and a sweep of Oklahoma. 

Kansas State by the numbers

Record: 19-12 (5-4)

Runs scored: 254

Runs allowed: 172

Team Avg.: .269

Team ERA: 4.75

Kansas State wins this series if...

It can wake up the bats like it did in the series sweep of Oklahoma. In their series losses to West Virginia and Baylor the Wildcats struggled at times at the plate, while against the Sooners they scored seven, seven and eight runs in the three wins. The Texas pitching staff will be their toughest test yet, but if they can rattle them early they could walk away from Austin with a crucial series win. 

Texas wins this series if...

It can keep up the success it has seen at home so far. The Longhorns have played 20 games at Disch-Falk Field so far this season and sport an impressive 18-2 record, including a 14-0 showing in their 14-game home stand. If they can look like the team that won 14 straight home games against the Wildcats, the Longhorns may very well leave the series with a series win, if not a sweep.

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You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98

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