Kansas State University Athletics
Men's Basketball travels to UW-Green Bay Saturday
Dec 06, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2002
GameNo. 6
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Kansas State
at UW-Green Bay
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Saturday, December 7, 2002
7 p.m. CST
Resch Center
Green Bay, Wis.
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TipTime: 7:05 p.m. CST ? Television: ? SatelliteCoordinates: N/A. ? Radio: ? TheRecords: Kansas State, 2-3, defeated Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 76-39, Wednesday. UW-Green Bay, 2-3, is coming off a 69-58 over Chicago State ? K-StateCoach Jim Wooldridge:Wooldridge (Louisiana Tech '77) is in his third season at Kansas State and owns a record of 26-37 (.413). The 2002-03 campaignmarks Wooldridge's 16th as a collegiate head coach. He has amassed a 254-185(.581) all-time record. In his first two seasons at K-State, Wooldridge liftedthe Wildcats from the cellar of the Big 12 to a seventh-place finish in justhis second year in Manhattan ? UW-Green Bay ? The Series:Kansas State and UW-Green Bay meet for the second straight year and just the second time ever whenthe two teams square off at the brand new Resch Center ? K-Statelooks for second straight win over UW-Green Bay Saturday at Resch Center Kansas State plays it first of two non-conference games on enemy turfSaturday, when the Wildcats travel to UW-Green Bay It'sbeen a similar ride through the young season for Kansas State UWGBgot back on the winning path Tuesday night with a 69-58 victory over visiting Chicago State. K-State's win was a little more lopsided, as the Catsripped Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 76-39. Thetwo teams are meeting for the second straight season. K-State came away a 68-55victory in last year's contests in Manhattan, which was the first ever between the Wildcats and Phoenix ? Astake for K-State * Kansas State will be out to post back-to-back victories for the firsttime this season. K-State missed in its last opportunity, falling toNorthwestern, 59-55, after defeating Michigan, 82-71. * K-Statewill be gunning for its first road win since defeating Colorado * TheWildcats have not allowed a team to shoot 50 percent or better this season andlooks to extend the streak to six games. BYU, which shot 47.7 percent from thefloor, came the closest. * Kansas State has outrebounded its last three opponents and will be outto make it four in a row. The Wildcats have not outrebounded four straight opponentsoutboarding UW-Green Bay, Mississippi ? Aquick look at the Wildcats Kansas State enters Saturday's game with a 2-3 record. Both wins werevia double digits, while all three losses were by fewer than 10 points. TheWildcats have also held all five opponents below 50 percent shooting, includingthree under 30 percent, outrebounded their last three foes and led at halftimein 4 of 5 contests. Individually,Kansas State has been led by its newcomers thus far in 2002-03 asWildcat rookies currently hold down the No. 2-4 spots among K-State's leadingscorers. Juniorcollege transfer Frank Richards, one of two Wildcats averaging double figuresis the lone player to score in double digits in three of the first fivecontests. He is scoring at a 10.4 points per game clip and has also paced theCats in assists (4.0 apg). FreshmanMarques Hayden, who had 20 points and eight rebounds in his collegiate debutversus BYU before dumping in 14 points and grabbing six rebounds againstArkansas-Pine Bluff, is the squad's No. 3 scorer and leading rebounder. Haydenis averaging 9.6 points and a team-high 5.4 rebounds to lead K-State on theglass. Juniorguard Tim Ellis has also had a fast start to the season, averaging 8.8 pointsand twice hitting double figures. Ellis pumped in a season-high 14 points inthe opener against BYU. SeniorGilson DeJesus, the Big 12's leading 3-point shooter among players with atleast seven attempts at 62.1 percent, is Kansas State SeniorPervis Pasco, who tied a career-best with five blocks versus Michigan andcleared a career-high eight offensive rebounds against UAPB, is right behindHayden on K-State's rebounding chart, averaging 5.2 per game to go along withhis 8.0 points. ? NotingK-State's win over UAPB * Kansas State's 37-point margin of victory was its largest sincedefeating Fairleigh Dickinson by 43 (88-45) on Dec. 29, 2001. * K- State outreboundedArkansas-Pine Bluff, 51-32, marking the third straight game in which theWildcats have held the advantage on the glass. K-State's total of 51 reboundswere a season high and the most since the Wildcats out-boarded FairleighDickinson, 52-26, on Dec. 29, 2001. * TheWildcats held UAPB to just 27.3 percent shooting, the lowest total for aK-State foe this year and the fifth straight game the Wildcats have held anopponent below 50 percent shooting from the floor. * The23 points by Arkansas-Pine Bluff at the break were the lowest in a first halfby a Wildcat opponent this year. The Lions finished with 39 points, the lowestof the year and the fewest allowed by K-State since a 69-38 win over Texas A&Mon Feb. 12, 2002 * Kansas State's nine 3-point field goals and 28 attempts were bothseason highs, surpassing the Wildcats' 8-for-20 effort against NorthwesternSaturday night. It was also the most 3-point attempts for K-State since ittried 36 against Fresno State on March 24, 1994. * GilsonDeJesus' seven 3-point baskets were a career high and are tied for the fourthmost on K-State's single-game list. DeJesus' 21-point effort marked the secondtime he has led K-State in scoring and the second time this year a Wildcats hashit the 20-point plateau. ? Thebook on UW-Green Bay * UW-Green Bay (2-3), is coached by Tod Kowalczyk, who is in his first year at thehelm. * UWGBopened practice with four returning starters and nine returning lettermen fromlast year's 9-21 club that placed eighth in the Horizon League with a 4-12record. * Throughfive games, the Phoenix * Babcockhas also collected an average of 7.0 rebounds per contest to pace UWGB in thatcategory. * UWGBaverages 62.0 points as a team, shoots 41 percent from the field, including 36percent from 3-point land, and 79 percent from the stripe. ? K-Statevs. UWGB Series Shorts * Wednesday'sgame will be just the second all time between Kansas State * K-Statedefeated UWGB, 68-55, last season in Manhattan on Nov. 20, 2001. * TheWildcats are 3-4 all-time against current members of the Horizon League.K-State has faced only one other Horizon League opponent other than UWGB, going2-4 all-time against Loyola-Chicago. * Kansas State is 15-5 all-time against teams from the state of Wisconsin * Saturday'sgame will mark Kansas State's first visit to the State of Wisconsin * K-Statehead coach Jim Wooldridge is 1-0 all-time against UW-Green Bay and has yet to coach against any other Wisconsin-based programs. * Saturday'sgame will be UWGB head coach Tod Kowalczyk's first versus Kansas State. ? K-State/UWGBthe last time MANHATTAN,Kan. - Travis Reynolds scored 13 of his game-high 18 points in the second halfand Phineas Atchison added 11 of his 14 after the break as Kansas State ralliedfor a 68-55 victory over UW-Green Bay in last season's meeting. Kansas State hit 63 percent from the floor in the second half, butstepped up its game defensively, forcing 10 UWGB turnovers and swatting sevenshots and holding the Phoenix DevanteBlanks scored 14 points, all in the first 20 minutes to lead UW-Green Bay. ThePhoenix ThePhoenix ? Firsthalf fortunes Kansas Fastfinishes in the first half have become a hallmark of the 2002-03 Wildcats, whohave closed the opening period of each contest with a fury and have led at thebreak in 4 of 5 games. * Kansas State trailed BYU by as a many as six points midway through itsseason opener only to close the half with a 10-2 run for a 36-31 halftime lead. * AgainstToledo * K-Statescored just five points in the first eight minutes against Michigan * VersusNorthwestern, Kansas State trailed by as many as eight points with 13 minutesto go in the first half before going on a 9-0 run to take a one-point lead andeventually a 29-28 edge into the locker room. * Inall, K-State has outscored its opponents, 167-136, during the first half thisseason. ? ShootingStars Kansas State has made more field goals and shot a better percentagethan four of its five opponents this season. Only BYU has managed to outshootK-State on a percentage basis. The Cats and Cougs also finished the game withthe same number of field goals made -- 21. For the year, Kansas State has made 117 field goals compared to 97 by its opponents.The Cats are also shooting 45.7 percent, while allowing opponents to connect onjust 38.8 percent of their shots. ? BalancingAct Tosay Kansas State has had a balanced score sheet in its first five gameswould be an understatement. * K-Statehas had a different leading scorers in 4 of 5 games. Only Gilson DeJesus hasled the Wildcats in scoring more than once. * Kansas State has just two player averaging double-digits points -- DeJesusat 11.2 ppg and Frank Richards with 10.4 ppg. Overall, five different K-Statersare averaging at least 8.0 points per game. * Sevendifferent Wildcats have scored in double figures. And despite scoring 76 pointsversus UAPB, only two players finished in double digits. In all, nine of the 11players who entered the game scored at least one point against the GoldenLions. ? Crashingthe glass Kansas State has outrebounded its last three opponents and 3 of 5 onthe season. And in each instance, the Wildcats have either set or tied a seasonteam high for rebounds. K-Stateopened the run by outrebounding Michigan,34-33. The Cats once again cleared 34 caroms against Northwestern, this timegrabbing 17 on the offensive end, while holding NU to just 20 total boards.Against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Kansas State ? Defensivedown-low Kansas State head coach Jim Wooldridge has been pleased with theWildcats' effort on the defensive end to this point in the season as K-Statecontinues to play his brand of hard-nosed defense. * Kansas State has held 3 of its first 5 opponents below 60 points,including Arkansas-Pine Bluff, which was held to a season-low 39 points by theCats. * TheWildcats have yet to allow an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better. K-Stateheld UAPB to an opponent-low 27.3 percent from the field, marking the thirdtime this season that an opponent has failed to crack 40 percent against theWildcats. * TheGolden Lions' shooting performance against K-State was the lowest by anopponent since the Cats held FDU to the same percentage last season. * Forthe year, foes are connecting on just 38.8 percent of their attempts from thefield. That figure ranks fifth-best in the Big 12. ? Goodhands people Kansas State has had fewer miscues than its opponents in 3 of 5 gamesthis season. Saturday against Northwestern, K-State did its best job of takingcare of the rock to date, coughing up a season-low nine turnovers. ? Warmingtrend in forecast Aftershooting below 40 percent from 3-point distance in its first two games, Kansas State has begun to heat up from behind the arc. The Wildcats,who shot 34.8 percent on 3-point attempts last season, are a combined 22-for-57(38.6 percent) from beyond 19 feet in their last three outings. As a result, Kansas State now ranks fourth in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting at37.0 percent on the year. K-State hit season highs in both 3-point baskets made(9) and attempted (28) versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff. ? Almostautomatic FreshmanMarques Hayden continues to show incredible maturity around the basket. Notonly does he lead K-State in rebounding, he is also leading the team in fieldgoal percentage, making 58 percent of his shots. Most recently he was 6-for-10against UAPB, finishing with 14 points. He would rank T8th in the Big 12 inshooting percentage, but does not have enough field goals to qualify. Primetimeperformances Afterposting a pair of solid exhibition outings, freshman forward Marques Hayden hadabout a good a collegiate debut as possible against Brigham Young. He came backwith nearly as good an outing against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and for the seconddouble-figure scoring outing of his career. Here's a look inside Hayden'sperformances: * Hayden's20 points against BYU came in just 22 minutes of work as the freshman scorednearly a point a minute. It is one of just two 20-point games turned in thisseason by a Wildcat. * Thefreshman scored 12 straight Kansas State * ThePutnam City, Okla., product finished the game a sterling 6 of 7 (86 percent)from the floor and an impressive 8 of 10 (80 percent) from the foul line. * OfHayden's eight rebounds, nearly half (three) came on the offensive glass. * AgainstArkansas-Pine Bluff, Hayden finished the game with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. * Haydenalso cleared six rebounds versus UAPB, including a pair offensive boards. ? Gfor 3 Kansas State's marketing and promotions department throws out 'T For3' shirts at all home games every time a Wildcat cans a 3-point basket. If GilsonDeJesus' performances in K-State's first four games are any indication of thekind of season he's going to have from long distance, they may need to havesome additional shirts printed. * DeJesusleads the Big 12 in 3-point field goal percentage among players with at leastseven attempts, canning over 62 percent of his 3-point attempts. * Thesenior's 18 3-point field goals made were the most in the Big 12 through Dec.4. He is averaging 3.6 per game. * Hehas hit at least three triples in 4 of 5 games. * Hiscareer-best seven treys against Arkansas-Pine Bluff are tied for thefourth-most on K-State's single-game chart. * Eighteenof his 19 field goals this season have come from 3-point distance. ? Richardsjust what doctor ordered Concernsabout Kansas State's production at the point following the graduation ofLarry Reid appear to be evaporating as the Wildcats continue to obtain solidproduction from newcomer Frank Richards. In five games all Richards has doneis: * Beone of two Kansas State players to average double-digit points. He is second onthe team in scoring at 10.4 ppg. * Bethe only player to record three double-digit scoring efforts in the first fivegames. * LeadK-State in assists with 4.0 per contest, including a career-high seven versusNorthwestern and pace the Wildcats in that category in 4 of 5 games. Throughgames of Dec. 4, he ranks 11th in the Big 12 Conference in assists per game. * Hauldown 3.8 rebounds per game, the fourth-best average on the team. * Pickoff five steals, the second-best total among Wildcat players. ? Don'tfoul him Kansas State point guard Frank Richards has also proved to be a steadyasset at the free throw line in the early going. Entering K-State's gameagainst UW-Green Bay, Richards is shooting a scalding 87.5 percent (14-for-16) from thestripe, including a stellar 11-for-12 in the last three games. Overall, Richardsranks 11th in the Big 12 Conference in free throw percentage. However, thejunior is second among league players with at least 15 attempts. ? Siebrandtfinds "A" game Seniorforward Matt Siebrandt had about as good a preseason as possible, averaging16.0 points to leading the Wildcats in scoring and connecting on 13 of 15attempts from the floor. Thencame the first two games of the Paradise Jam when everything seemed to gosideways. Siebrandt, a career 50 percent shooter, couldn't find the basket,scoring just four points and hitting a combined 1 of 5 from the floor againstBYU and Toledo However,in the last three games, Siebrandt has begun to look like his old self,connecting on 10 of 19 attempts from the floor and averaging 9.7 points. Thebreak-out game was a season-best 12-point performance against Michigan Hehas also found his rhythm on the glass, scooping up 5.7 rebounds per game,including a season-best eight against Northwestern. His53-percent shooting percentage, 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds are all above hiscareer averages. ? Earlyand often Abig part of Kansas State's rebounding effort against Arkansas-Pine Bluff was there-emergence of forward Pervis Pasco. The senior entered the contest averaging3.8 rebounds and exited averaging nearly double that thanks to a game-high 11boards. Pasco Pasco Itwas also the 12th double-digit rebound game in his career and the 25th time asa Wildcat he has led the team in rebounding. ? Wolverinesinvited to block party Seniorforward Pervis Pasco threw an impromptu block party for Michigan last Monday inKansas State's final game at the Paradise Jam. Pasco, who was named to the ParadiseJam All-Tournament team, rejected a career-tying high five shots versus theWolverines. Thattotal matched the five blocks he had against North Texas on Dec. 15, 2001. Pasco ? Supersixth-man Juniorcollege transfer Tim Ellis may still be getting used to Kansas State's offensive sets. But, the Seattle, Wash. Elliswho averaged 13.0 points per game in K-State's two exhibition contests, cameoff the bench to pour in 14 points on 5-for-10 shooting against BYU. He alsoscored 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting against Michigan and is one of three Wildcats to tally double figures atleast twice this season. Anddespite launching most of his shots from outside the paint, Ellis is shooting51.5 percent from the field to lead all Wildcat guards. Ellishas also fared well from beyond the arc, connecting on 7 of his 15 attempts(46.7 percent) to rank second on the team and ninth in the Big 12 in thatcategory. ? Wooldridgeera enters year three Headcoach Jim Wooldridge is in his third campaign at Kansas State ? FirstWooldridge TV show takes to airwaves Saturday morning Kansas State basketball fans looking for an in-depth preview ofSaturday night's game at UW-Green Bay can tune into the inaugural broadcast of the Jim Wooldridgetelevision show earlier in the day. The30 minute show features head coach Jim Wooldridge, player interviews,highlights and previews of upcoming games. The show can be seen on WIBW in Topeka ? K-Statelooks to extend streak Kansas State will be looking to extend its homecourt winning streak to57 seasons in 2002-03. K-State finished the 2001-02 campaign with a 12-5 markin Bramlage Coliseum, including an impressive 6-2 record vs. Big 12competition. The streak has spanned three different arenas: Nichols Arena(1946-47); Ahearn Field House (1950-88); and Bramlage Coliseum (1988 topresent). Seven coaches have been a part of the streak beginning with JackGardner (68-7), Tex Winter (126-33), Cotton Fitzsimmons (20-2), Jack Hartman(179-43), Lon Kruger (44-11), Dana Altman (45-18), Tom Asbury (62-27) and Jim Wooldridge(20-12). ?