Photo by mr3wan on flickr

The game will be televised nationally by ESPN at 8 pm Central as part of their Big Monday coverage and marks the third straight week that Texas has been featured in a Big Monday contest.

Texas (23-4) is ranked seventh in the country and holds on to first place in the Big 12 standings with a 10-2 mark. Kansas State (18-8) is ranked 24th in one poll and 25th in another, and holds a 8-4 record in Big 12 play.

After a wobbly couple of weeks in late December and early January, the Longhorns have won seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11. Defense has been a key ingredient in this stretch. Since Jan. 19, Texas has held their opponents to less than 62 points per game on 36.2% shooting.

That defense will be challenged by Kansas State's super freshman, Michael Beasley, who leads the nation in rebounding (12.5 per game) and is third in scoring (26.5 per game), drawing comparisons to former Texas sensation Kevin Durant.

The Longhorns will counter with sophomore point guard D.J. Augustin, who was named the conference player of the week on Monday. Augustin averaged 23 points and six assists per game to lead Texas to a wins over Texas A&M and Oklahoma.