Game 6: Kansas State (5-0) vs. Wyoming (4-2)
Bluecross/Blueshield Wyoming Shootout
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Casper Events Center (9,700)
Casper, Wyo.
Tipoff: 9 p.m. CST
Television: none
Radio: Live across the 29-station Mid America Sports Network. A live audio stream will also be available on www.k-statesports.com. Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Ben Boyle (color) will call the action.
The Records: Kansas State is 5-0 on the season after a 76-69 win over Oakland on Monday. Wyoming is 4-2 after dropping a 62-57 decision at Dayton on Wednesday.
The Rankings: Neither team is ranked.
K-State Coach Jim Wooldridge: Wooldridge (Louisiana Tech ’77) is in his fifth season at Kansas State and owns a record of 56-65 (.463). He has amassed a 285-212 (.573) all-time record in this his 18th season as a collegiate head coach. Wooldridge guided the program to its highest win total in five years with last season’s 14-14 record.
Wyoming Coach Steve McClain: McClain (Chadron State ’84) is in his seventh season at Wyoming. He has guided the Cowboys to a 115-71 (.618) record, including one NCAA and three NIT Tournament appearances.
The Series: Kansas State leads the all-time series, 7-3. The Wildcats won the last seven meetings, including an 80-67 victory in Manhattan on Dec. 3, 2003. Wyoming holds a 3-2 advantage in games played in the state, but K-State has won the last two (1956, 1992).
Officials: Announced on game day.
Kansas State - Projected Starters
5 Clent Stewart G 6-4 195 Fr.
12 Fred Peete G 6-4 200 So.
15 Jeremiah Massey F 6-7 220 Sr.
20 Cartier Martin F 6-7 220 So.
23 Marques Hayden F 6-7 225 Jr.
Key Reserves
1 Schyler Thomas G 6-0 185 Jr.
3 Lance Harris G 6-5 190 So.
4 Curtis Allen G 6-4 200 Fr.
40 Travis Canby F 6-10 237 Sr.
54 Justin Williams F 6-10 245 Sr.
55 Tyler Hughes F 6-11 240 So.
Injuried
21 Dramane Diarra F 6-8 245 Sr.
Wyoming - Projected Starters
2 Jerry Webb G 6-5 215 Sr.
3 Jay Straight G 5-11 178 Sr.
13 Alex Dunn F 7-0 255 Sr.
21 Justin Williams F 6-10 225 Jr.
54 Derek Wabbington F 6-9 240 Jr.
Key Reserves
0 Dion Sherrell G 6-4 210 Sr.
5 Kevin Lewis G 6-6 195 Jr.
11 Abdullah Lawal G 6-1 210 Fr.
14 James Ebert G 6-2 195 Jr.
34 Chris Anderson F 6-8 210 So.
Injuried
1 Steve Leven G 6-5 205 So.
K-State hits the road for the first time in 2004-05 with a trip to Casper, Wyoming
On the strength of their best start in seven years, Kansas State (5-0) hits the road for first time this season with a trip to Casper, Wyo. to face Wyoming (4-2) in the Bluecross/Blueshield Wyoming Shootout at the Casper Events Center on Saturday at 9 p.m. CST.
The game will be broadcast on the 29-station Mid-America Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Ben Boyle (color) calling the action. There is no television for the contest, as it will be the only one this season that will not be televised or webcast.
Kansas State, which rallied for a 15-point deficit in gaining a 76-69 win over Oakland on Monday, will be looking to continue its best start since the 1997-98 team rattled off nine straight wins to start the season. The Wildcats surpassed its season-best shooting percentage for the second consecutive game, connecting on 50.9 percent en route to their 20th straight non-conference win at home. Senior Jeremiah Massey had a nearly flawless effort, tying his career-high with 24 points to go with a career-best 15 rebounds. Junior Marques Hayden and sophomore Cartier Martin each added 15 points each.
After starting the season with three straight wins, Wyoming has dropped two of its last three without the help of leading scorer Steve Leven (20.8 ppg.), who is out with a knee injury. The Cowboys are led by seniors Jay Straight (16.7 ppg.) and Alex Dunn (11.7 ppg.).
A quick look at the Cats
Kansas State is averaging 68.8 points on 42.0 percent (123-of-293) shooting this season with 42.2 rebounds, 17.8 assists and 5.8 steals... The team is led by Jeremiah Massey, who paces the squad in both scoring (17.2 ppg.) and rebounding (8.0 rpg.). Fred Peete is averaging 10.6 points and 6.0 rebounds, while Marques Hayden, who is averaging a near double-double in his last two games, is adding 9.6 points and 7.8 rebounds. The Wildcats are allowing just 56.2 points on 37.9 percent shooting, while forcing 13.2 turnovers per game.
Recapping Oakland
Kansas State started Clent Stewart and Fred Peete in the backcourt and Jeremiah Massey, Marques Hayden and Cartier Martin in the frontcourt. The team has used this same starting lineup in four of its five games, including three consecutive games.
Kansas State improved to 32-5 under Wooldridge in non-conference home games. The team has now won 20 in a row against non-league foes at home. The last loss came to Northwestern on Nov. 30, 2002. K-State has won 34 of its last 44 games in Bramlage Coliseum.
For the second straight game, Kansas State set its season-high for field goal percentage (50.9), while it tied its season-high for points (76). The Wildcats also set a season-best for assists (22) and free throws (24). The team also won the battle of the boards for the fourth time in five games (tied Denver).
Three players reached double figures for the third straight game. Senior Jeremiah Massey was nearly flawless, tying his career-high with 24 points to go with a career-best 15 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and 10th of his career. He has scored in double figures in all five contests, while it was his 12th 20-point game of his career.
Marques Hayden and Cartier Martin each added a season-best 15 points. Hayden is averaging a near double-double (13 ppg., 9 rpg.) in his last two games on nearly 65 percent shooting. Martin had his best shooting effort in all categories, going a season-best 5-of-7 from the floor, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. He also dished out a season-high five assists.
Lance Harris tied his season-high with eight points, while adding three assists and one steal.
Impressive Start
After the come-from-behind victory over Oakland, Kansas State improved to 5-0 on the season for the first time since the 1997-98 season. It is now the best start during the Wooldridge era. It also marks the 18th time in school history that the Wildcats have started a season 5-0 (starting with the first in 1912-13), but only the eighth time since the 1977-78 season. Of those 17 previous teams that began 5-0, 12 of them won their next game. The 1918-19 owns the best start for a team in school history when they won their first 17 games. The 1947-48 team is in second with its 10-0 start, while the 1957-58 and 1997-98 squad are tied for third with their 9-0 starts. Interestingly, since the inception of postseason tournaments, seven of the 10 teams that have started 5-0 have advanced.
Offensive Improvement
After a rocky start to the season, the Kansas State offense is starting to heat up. In the last two games, the Wildcats have averaged 76.0 points on 50.0 percent shooting (56-of-112), including 42.4 percent (14-of-33) from three-point range. K-State has tied its season-high for points (76) in both games and set its season-bests for field goal shooting (50.9 vs. Oakland) and three-point shooting (50.0 vs. UAPB). In comparison, Kansas State averaged just 64.0 points on 37.0 percent shooting (67-of-181) in its first three games, including 36.1 percent (13-of-36) from beyond the arc. Also, the offense has become more diversified with seven Wildcats averaging seven or more points in the last two games compared to just four in the first three games.
Getting Defensive
Kansas State has used strong defensive play to post its first 5-0 start in seven years. The Wildcats have allowed just 56.2 points on 37.9 percent shooting (116-of-306), including just 26.3 percent from three-point range (25-of-95), while forcing 66 turnovers. The team ranks among the top 35 nationally in three defensive categories, including 22nd in scoring defense (56.2), 25th in rebounding margin (8.8) and 35th in field goal percentage defense (37.9). The 281 points allowed is the fewest through the first five games of the season since the 1984-85 squad allowed just 274 points in starting the season 5-0.
Second Half Heroics
Kansas State has shown to be a second half team in its first five games. After halftime, the Wildcats are averaging 40.0 points on 46.3 percent shooting (68-of-147) compared to just 28.8 points on 37.6 percent shooting (55-of-146) in the first half. The team has also improved its rebounding and assist-to-turnover ratio from the first frame. K-State has an 30-rebound advantage in the second frame (107-77) after having a slight advantage (104-90) in the first half. The Wildcats also have a significantly better assists to turnovers in the second half (47-27) than first (42-35).
The Oakland game was a perfect example of this trend, as Kansas State outscored the Grizzlies, 40-26, in the second half after trailing 43-36 after the first half. The team has improved its field goal percentage in the second half in four of five games, including a remarkable 25 point increase against NDSU.
The book on Wyoming (4-2)
Wyoming enters Saturday’s contest with a 4-2 mark on the season after dropping a 62-57 decision at Dayton on Tuesday. The Cowboys have dropped two of their last three contests, which have all been on the road. The team began 3-0 with wins over Alcorn State, Princeton and Texas-Arlington before a loss at Arizona.
Wyoming is averaging 73.6 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting with 37.0 rebounds, 12.8 assists and 8.4 steals.
Senior guard Steve Leven is one of three Cowboys in double figures, averaging a team-leading 20.8 points on 57.8 percent shooting. However, Leven is out three to four weeks with a knee injury. Senior guard Jay Straight averages 16.7 points on 35.4 percent shooting, while senior forward Alex Dunn adds a team-best 8.8 rebounds with 11.7 points per game.
Wyoming returns two starters and four lettermen for a team that went 11-17 overall and 4-10 in Mountain West Conference play in 2003-04.
The team is coached by Steve McClain, who is 115-70 (.582) in his sixth season at Wyoming. He previously coached at the junior college level in Kansas, coaching at both Independence and Hutchinson Community Colleges. After seven years as an assistant at the two schools, he became head coach at Hutchinson where he went 91-16 (.850) from 1992-94; winning the 1994 NJCAA national title.
Wyoming Series Notes
Kansas State leads the all-time series, 7-3. The Cats have won the last seven meetings against the Cowboys, including an 80-67 win on Dec. 3, 2003. The two have never met in Casper, but Wyoming holds a 3-2 lead in games played in the state. However, K-State has won the last two (1956, 1992).
Wyoming served as both Kansas State’s first NCAA Tournament opponent and its first postseason win. The Wildcats defeated the Cowboys, 58-48, in the 1948 NCAA Tournament Western Regionals at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Missouri.
K-State is 24-16 against teams from the Mountain West Conference. The Wildcats have faced every member of the league at least one time.
The last time we met: Dec. 3, 2003
MANHATTAN, Kan. - Jarrett Hart scored 19 points and Kansas State continued its best start in six years with an 80-67 victory over Wyoming on Wednesday.
Tim Ellis had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats, and freshman Cartier Martin had 10 points in his first game.
Marques Hayden also had 10 points for the Wildcats, who are 4-0 for the first time since they opened the 1997-98 seasons with nine wins. Hayden added six assists and nine rebounds for Kansas State, which outrebounded the Cowboys 49-27.
K-State closed out the first half with a 10-0 run for a 33-25 lead and used a 17-4 run to go up 53-33 with 12:13 left in the game. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Jay Straight got Wyoming (2-2) within 10 points, but Hart hit a free throw and a 3-pointer to stop the rally.
Straight led the Cowboys with 17 points. Dion Sherrell added 13 points, Omoniyi Makun finished with 12 and Alex Dunn had 10.
Clutch Shooting
Kansas State has picked up its offense at the right time in each of its five victories this season. The Wildcats have outscored its five foes by an average of 6.4 points per game (95-63) in the last 10 minutes of games. If you take out the UAPB game (which the Cats won by 34 points), the Wildcats are even better in the last 10 minutes. In the four games decided by nine points or less, the team is outscoring its foes by an average of 8.0 points per game (76-44).
Stronger from the Stripe
Kansas State seems to be getting stronger from the free throw line, as the game goes on. The Wildcats, who rank fourth in the Big 12 in free throw shooting at 68.9 percent, are shooting a better percentage from the line in the second half. The team has connected on 74.2 percent (49-of-66) from the charity stripe in the second half, while it is hitting on just 59.5 percent (22-of-37) in the first half. In games against Denver, Washington State and UAPB, the Wildcats shot an impressive 84.8 percent (28-of-33) from the line in the second half. The team is also hitting free throws in crucial situations. In the four games that have been decided by nine or fewer points, Kansas State is shooting a solid 81.8 percent (18-of-22) from the charity stripe. Against Oakland, the Wildcats made seven of their last eight in the last minute after making just 7-of-16 in the first 39 minutes.
Historic Defense
Kansas State set three new Bramlage Coliseum marks for defense in its 76-42 win over UAPB on Nov. 29. The Wildcats held the Golden Lions to records for fewest points allowed in a half (10) and lowest field goal percentage allowed in a half (14.7), while the two combined for the lowest point total in a half (42).
Injury Bug
Kansas State will have all but one player - Dramane Diarra - available for Saturday’s game. Diarra has not see action in any of the team’s preseason or regular season games due to a foot injury. He re-injuried the foot in practice and had surgery in late November.
Second Half Force
Following his team in many ways, senior forward Jeremiah Massey has proven to have gotten stronger as the game goes on. The team leader in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (8.0), Massey is much better across the board in the second half. He is shooting over 53.3 percent from the field (16-of-30) and is a near perfect 19-of-20 from the free throw line after halftime for an average of 10.2 points to go with 4.8 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in four of five second halves this season, including 13 against Denver. In contrast, he is shooting just 37.0 percent in the first half (10-of-27) with an average of 7.0 points and 3.2 rebounds. Fifteen of his 35 his first half points have come from the free throw line, where he has been 15-of-19 this season.
Massey ranks in the top 20 in three categories in the Big 12, including seventh in free throw percentage, 11th in scoring and 20th in rebounding. He ranks first in both free throws (34) and free throws attempts (39).
Valuable Addition
Sophomore guard Fred Peete has been solid addition to the Wildcats after the team lost three two-year starters in the backcourt. The NJCAA All-American is first on the team in steals (1.4 spg) and minutes (33.0 mpg), second in scoring (10.6 ppg) and assists (3.4 apg.) and third in rebounding (6.5 rpg.). Although he has struggled shooting the ball (a team-low 30.5 field goal percentage), Peete has found another way to help his team. He has tallied four or more rebounds and two or more assists in every game this season. He had one of his best games of the season in the win over Washington State, as he netted a season-high 18 points on 5-of-13 shooting with five rebounds.
Ahead of the Curve
Despite being a true freshman Clent Stewart has proven to be a solid point guard for the Wildcats in 2004. The starter in all five games, Stewart is averaging 7.8 points on 44.8 percent shooting through this season with 4.2 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 31.2 minutes per game. He ranks seventh in the Big 12 (and second among freshman) in assists, while he has a solid 1.75 assist/turnover ratio. Stewart scored a season-best 15 points on 5-of-5 three-pointers against UAPB. He became the first freshman to start a season opener since Nick Williams in 2001-02 when he played 34 minutes against over North Dakota State.
Home Court Advantage
With 58 consecutive home winning seasons, Kansas State has one of the best home court advantages in the nation. The Wildcats are 593-162 (.785) dating back to the start of the streak in 1946-47 season, which has spanned three different arenas - Nichols Gym (1946-50), Ahearn Field House (1950-88) and Bramlage Coliseum (1988-present).
Kansas State, who was 12-4 at home last season, has achieved at least nine wins on its home court in 11 of the last 13 seasons. In fact, the Wildcats have won 34 of their last 44 games in Bramlage Coliseum dating back to 2001-02. Overall, K-State is 48-21 (.696) at home under head coach Jim Wooldridge.
In its 17th season of hosting Wildcat basketball, Bramlage has seen Kansas State post a 180-71 (.717) record since its opening during the 1988-89 season.
Preseason Accolades for Massey
Reigning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Jeremiah Massey enters his senior season with high expectations. The Wildcats’ leader in both scoring (14.7 ppg.) and rebounding (6.5 rpg.), Massey was selected to preseason All-Big 12 second team by The Sporting News, CBS Sportsline and Lindy’s. Despite being one of only two returning players (along with Kansas’ Wayne Simien) to rank among the league’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage, he did not receive one vote to the coaches or media’s preseason. Last season, Massey became the Wildcats’ first conference Newcomer of the Year since 1993. He was named to the coaches’ third team all-conference and to its all-newcomer team, while he was honorable mention all-league by the AP.
O, Canada!
Kansas State started the 2004-05 season north of the border in Canada, as the Wildcats embarked upon a five-day, four-game game trip through Vancouver, British Columbia Oct. 8-12. The Wildcats posted a 3-1 record on its trip with wins over Simon Fraser University (80-73), Langara College (68-55) and University of Victoria (92-64) to go with an overtime loss to the University of British Columbia (89-84).
The team averaged 81.0 points during its tour on 53.6 percent shooting with 36.5 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 9.0 steals and 5.5 blocks.
Senior Jeremiah Massey paced the Wildcats with a team-high 19.7 points per game on 68.4 percent (26-of-38) shooting to go with a team-best 6.7 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Sophomores Fred Peete and Cartier Martin also averaged in double figures at 12.8 and 11.5 points per game, respectively. Sophomore Lance Harris led the team in both assists (4.3) and steals (2.0) to go along with 7.5 points per game.
Wooly’s Rally Cats
Head coach Jim Wooldridge began a program in the offseason to help the youth of Kansas enjoy the thrill of Wildcat basketball. Rally Cats wishes to donate $20,000 worth of tickets to organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Boy and Girl Scouts, Special Olympics, YMCA, United Way and local schools. Each group will be given special T-shirts and will receive a special introduction. Wooldridge donated a lead gift of $10,000, while others have stepped up to finish the remaining $10,000 for this special group. For those interested in the program, please contact Chad Altadonna at (785) 532-6531.
Tube Time
Kansas State will make a total of 19 regular-season television appearances during the 2004-05 season, including 12 on Fox Sports Net Midwest. K-State signed a three-year contract with Fox Sports in September 2003 to be the exclusive third-tier television right holder. In addition, ESPN Plus will broadcast seven games during the Big 12 season. Last season, the Wildcats appeared on television 17 times, including six times on Fox Sports Midwest.
Wooldridge Signs Extension
Head coach Jim Wooldridge received a two-year contract extension on March 9 after guiding K-State to its most overall and league wins in four years.
Wooldridge, who had one year left on his original five-year contract, was named the 20th head coach in school history on March 13, 2000. Despite numerous injuries, he led the Wildcats to a 14-14 overall record and a tie for ninth place in the Big 12 Conference standings with a 6-10 mark this past season. Both the 14 overall wins and six league victories are the most of the Wooldridge era and the most since 1998-99.
New Court
Kansas State will be playing on a new court in 2004-05, as the athletic department in conjunction with Robbins Flooring of Cincinnati, Ohio, introduced a new playing surface in late June.
The new court, which is made of first-grade northern hard maple, features a totally re-designed court surface that will showcase more of the natural wood color as opposed to being painted purple as with the previous floor. The central design of the surface is a larger-sized Powercat logo at center court with the words “Kansas State” painted in purple above the logo. Both design elements face the chairback section of the arena. The design also includes purple free throw lanes with the new Big 12 logo located at the top of each lane. The floor is completed with the word “Wildcats” centered and painted in purple at the end of each baseline.
The 60-by-120 foot floor includes 225 computer-cut pieces in the main floor plus an additional 42 pieces on the extension at the south end. The surface also includes the latest shock absorbers on the underside.
Quick Hitters
Kansas State finished the 2003-04 season with a 14-14 overall record and a ninth place tie in Big 12 Conference play with a 6-10 mark... The 14 overall wins are the most in the four-year tenure of head coach Jim Wooldridge, while the team's six conference wins tie for the most since 2001-02... In fact, the 14 wins and six league victories were the most since the 1998-99 season... Only five squads had more conference wins since 1990-91 than the Wildcats had this season.
The improvement is also evident in the team statistics... Since the team won six games in 2002, the Wildcats have slowly but surely closed the scoring gap during league play... That year, the Wildcats averaged 68.1 points per game, but gave up 74.2 points to league opposition in winning six games... This past year, the Wildcats dropped off in scoring at 66.9 points per game, however, their Big 12 foes averaged just 66.9 points in also winning six games.
K-State continued its stellar play at Bramlage Coliseum under Jim Wooldridge, posting 11 or more victories at home for the third consecutive season... The 12 wins in 2003-04 tie for the most since the 2001-02 squad also registered 12... In fact, the Wildcats are 43-21 (.672) under Wooldridge at home with wins in 29 of their last 39 games.
Kansas State concluded the regular season with an exclamation point their first victory over a top-10 opponent since 2002 with a 58-48 victory over No. 10 Texas... Under Jim Wooldridge, the Wildcats have upset five ranked squads, including at least one each of the past four seasons... The team beat No. 19 Iowa and No. 20 Missouri in 2000-01, No. 9 Oklahoma State in 2001-02, No. 23 Texas Tech in 2002-03 and No. 10 in 2003-04.
Ten of Kansas State's 14 losses in 2003-04 were by a grand total of 58 points (avg. 5.8 ppg.), including nine of its last 12 by 52 points... The Wildcats were a mere 13 points away from being 17-11 and 9-7 in league play... Over half (36) of Jim Wooldridge's 65 losses at Kansas State have been by 10 points or less, including 25 in Big 12 play.
Kansas State finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with an exclamation point on Jan. 10, as the Wildcats overwhelmed Savannah State, 92-51... With the win, K-State entered Big 12 win with its best non-conference mark of the Jim Wooldridge era and the best by a Wildcat squad since the 1998-99 squad went 11-2... The Wildcats went a perfect 8-0 at home during the non-conference season, marking the first unbeaten non-conference mark since the 1998-99 also went 8-0.
One of the biggest factors in Kansas State's success this past season was its play on the defensive end... The Wildcats ranked 25th nationally in field goal percentage defense, while they placed among the Big 12 leaders in several categories... The team finished second in 3-point field goal percentage defense, third in defensive rebounds and fourth in field goal percentage defense, scoring defense and rebounding. The Cats were just as effective in Big 12 play, ranking third in field goal percentage and defensive rebounds and fourth in scoring defense.
More on defense... Just 13 of the team's opponents in 2003-04 hit over 40 percent from the field, while just 10 scored over 70 points... Eleven foes scored 60 points or less against the Wildcats, while 12 of the last 21 were held to 65 points or less.
