photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber gets heated during the first half, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 at Bramlage Coliseum.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber gets heated during the first half, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015 at Bramlage Coliseum.

Not many people around the Big 12 expected much out of Bruce Weber’s Wildcats this season. The league’s coaches picked Kansas State to finish tied for eighth (with TCU) in the preseason poll.

Almost midway through the conference schedule, K-State (13-8 overall, 2-6 Big 12) isn’t blowing people away. The Wildcats enter Wednesday night’s Sunflower Showdown at Allen Fieldhouse tied for seventh place, with Texas Tech.

While it wouldn’t be accurate to characterize a team four games below .500 in the league as good, a close look at the Wildcats’ results reveals it’s not really fair to say they’re bad, either.

K-State losses, with current kenpom.com ranking of opponent:

– Nov. 24: No. 4 North Carolina, 80-70, at Sprint Center

– Dec. 12: No. 8 Texas A&M, 78-68, in Wichita

– Jan. 2: No. 10 West Virginia, 87-83 2OT

– Jan. 5: at No. 27 Texas, 60-57

– Jan. 9: at No. 1 Oklahoma, 86-76

– Jan. 16: No. 14 Iowa State, 76-63

– Jan. 20: at No. 29 Baylor, 79-72 2OT

– Jan. 26: at No. 10 West Virginia, 70-55

Outside of the 13-point home loss to Iowa State and the 15-point loss in Morgantown, W. Va., K-State (ranked No. 44 in the nation by college hoops math wizard Ken Pomeroy) has played within 10 points or better of some legitimate competition. If the season ended today, every team that beat the Wildcats would easily qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

It is much more difficult to find an impressive victory on Kansas State’s résumé at this point — No. 56 Texas Tech, No. 64 Oklahoma State and No. 80 Georgia qualify as the best three. But it is clear Weber’s players are no pushovers.

Meet the Wildcats the Kansas Jayhawks (17-4, 5-3) will have to shut down in order to keep pace with the rest of the Big 12 in the standings.

KANSAS STATE STARTERS

No. 25 — G/F Wesley Iwundu | 6-7, 210, jr.

Kansas State's Wesley Iwundu gets a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa State Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

• One of the more recognizable Wildcats on a relatively young team, junior Wesley Iwundu leads K-State in scoring (12.2 points per game) and has put up double figures 16 times this season.

• Iwundu is also one of the team’s better passers (3.0 assists), rebounders (4.9) and defenders (1.0 steals).

• Averaging 10.9 points in Big 12 games and shooting 45.6%, Iwundu’s 17 points vs. Texas Tech marked his most ever in a league contest.

• At Baylor, Iwundu came within 3 assists of pulling off a triple-double: 10 points, 10 boards, 7 assists in 45 minutes.

• Iwundu leads K-State with 79 field goals at the rim, per hoop-math.com. He converts 68.1% of his looks on layups/dunks.

• Has only hit 2 of 16 attempts from 3-point range (12.5%).

• Iwundu takes more free throws than any of his teammates, but only shoots 66.3% at the line.

No. 14 — G Justin Edwards | 6-4, 200, sr.

Kansas State guard Justin Edwards (14) shoots in front of Oklahoma forward Khadeem Lattin (12) in the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016. Oklahoma won 86-76. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

• Senior Justin Edwards’ 1.9 steals a game lead K-State, and he also contributes 11.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and a team-leading 3.05 assists (1 more dish on the season than Iwundu).

• In 7 Big 12 games, Edwards has swiped 2 or more steals. He left Oklahoma with 5 takeaways.

• A better 3-point shooter than fellow vet Iwundu, Edwards isn’t that great, either. Has made 19 from deep on 67 tries (28.4%).

• Although he plays on the perimeter, Edwards makes a point to get the ball to the paint, and ranks 2nd among Wildcats in field goals at the rim (57). He scores on 60.6% of his layups/dunks.

• Posted his first career double-double, with 13 points and 10 boards at Texas.

• K-State tracks hustle plays on its “Play Hard Chart,” which rewards Wildcats for defections, blocks, steals, dives, loose balls, offensive rebounds and charges. Edwards leads the team with 179 play-hard points.

• Edwards’ 49 offensive boards rank second on the team.

No. 32 — F Dean Wade | 6-10, 225, fr.

"I believe I'm a good player…They say I don't know how good. I just try to win." – Dean Wade #KStateMBBhttps://t.co/aJS3bUAWPD

— K-State Athletics (@kstatesports) January 29, 2016

• A first-year big man from St. John, Kansas, Dean Wade has acclimated well to college basketball, and averages 10.1 points and 5.9 rebounds for K-State.

• The 6-10 freshman leads the Wildcats with 52 offensive boards, which he has turned into a team-leading 23 put-backs.

• Wade is K-State’s best finisher at the rim, making 75.4% of his attempts…

• … But he can be coaxed into taking 2-point jumpers (13 of 59, 22%) or 3-pointers (14 of 52, 26.9%).

• Wade is the only true freshman to rank among the top 20 in Big 12 rebounding, as well as the only one in the league to start every game this season.

• Hit the game-winning jumper with 4.3 seconds left at Georgia, when he scored 16 of his team-high 17 points in the second half.

No. 3 — G Kamau Stokes | 6-0, 170, fr.

Meet Kamau Stokes: K-State's Freshman Leader https://t.co/rePYx6Qs9Q pic.twitter.com/GSDD4k9o4m

— Bring On The Cats (@BringOnTheCats) January 26, 2016

• Listed as questionable for the game at KU, freshman guard Kamau Stokes (9.4 points per game) also has caught on quickly at K-State.

• The Wildcats need Stokes to help stretch opposing defenses. The young, small guard leads the team with 35 made 3-pointers and shoots 34% from deep.

• Stokes scored a career-high 24 points against UNC and made 6 of 8 from 3-point range.

• Hit 3 of 6 from deep and scored 20 points at Baylor.

No. 41 — F Stephen Hurt | 6-11, 265, sr.

photo by: Nick Krug

Kansas forward Cliff Alexander (2) battles to get off a shot against Kansas State forward Stephen Hurt (41) during the first half on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015 at Allen Fieldhouse.

• The largest man on K-State’s roster, senior Stephen Hurt averages 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds in 20.0 minutes.

• However, Hurt doesn’t block many shots (6 this season), get many offensive rebounds (18 in 420 minutes) or shoot a good percentage for a big man (40.3%).

• Hurt only shoots 53.6% at the rim and has made more 2-point jumpers (23) than layups/dunks (15) this season.

• Hurt’s numbers have dipped in Big 12 play: 5.6 points, 3.3 rebounds.

• Hurt will take 3-pointers, but like some of his teammates, he isn’t that dependable: 10 of 36 (27.8%).

KANSAS STATE BENCH

No. 5 — G Barry Brown | 6-3, 195, fr.

Just how he drew it up. Barry Brown grabs his miss and drains a 3 for @KStateSports! https://t.co/zgQFbv3n53

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) January 30, 2016

• Looking exclusively at Big 12 games, freshman backup Barry Brown leads K-State in scoring, at 11.5 points per game.

• Since the start of league play, the young guard is shooting 40.2% and logging 25.8 minutes.

• If Stokes can’t go, look for Brown to step up in the shooting department. With 26 3-pointers this season, he ranks second on the team. Brown has made 34.2% from deep, which leads K-State.

• Brown’s 23 steals rank 2nd on the team.

No. 4 — F D.J. Johnson | 6-9, 250, jr.

#KStateMBB's D.J. Johnson is ready to take the "next step" as he prepares for Oklahoma State on Saturday at 5pm.https://t.co/kVfZDOoTUk

— K-State Athletics (@kstatesports) January 22, 2016

• A Wildcat to watch out for on the offensive glass, junior D.J. Johnson averages 2.2 offensive rebounds a game and 4.7 overall in just 18.9 minutes.

• Johnson’s 22 put-backs rank 2nd on the team and he’s an effective scorer at the rim: 73% shooting on layup/dunk attempts.

• In K-State’s win over Ole Miss in the Big 12/SEC Challenge, Johnson became the sixth different player to lead the team in scoring this season, with 14 points, and also led the Wildcats with 7 boards.

• Johnson broke his foot against Kentucky in the 2014 NCAA Tournament and missed the 2014-15 season.

• Averaging 7.2 points in his comeback year, Johnson’s numbers have improved in his past 7 games: 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 63.9% shooting in 21.7 minutes.

• The team’s best rim protector, Johnson has 16 blocked shots. Nine of those have come in Big 12 play.