K-State to face GMU at Old Spice Classic

game information

18/20 kansas state vs. rv/rv george mason

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Tipoff: 8:30 p.m. CT

Location: Orlando, Fla.

Arena: The Milk House (1997)

Capacity: 5,000

Series: First Meeting

(K-State is 6-1 vs. Colonial Athletic)

Television: ESPN2

Jon Sciambi (play-by-play)

Fran Fraschilla (analyst)

Steve Lanthier (producer)

Radio: K-State Sports Network;

Powercat Passport Internet Audio;

Yahoo! Internet Radio; Sirius Satellite 125

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)

Casey Scott (analyst)

Tickets: Tickets are available for $90 (All-Tournament), $45 (Booster Team Ticket), $30 (Day Pass) and $15 (Session Pass), by calling 407.939.1529 and online at www.oldspiceclassic.com/tickets.

Kansas State Wildcats

Record: 3-0 (0-0 Big 12)

Ranking (AP/Coaches): 18/20

Coach: Frank Martin

Alma Mater: Florida International, 93

Career Record: 3-0/1

School Record: 3-0/1

vs. George Mason: First meeting

06-07 Record: 23-12 (10-6 Big 12)

Last game: Nov. 17, 2007

beat Western Illinois, 77-64

SID: Tom Gilbert

Website: www.kstatesports.com

George Mason Patriots

Record: 3-0 (1-0 Colonial Athletic)

Ranking (AP/Coaches): rv/rv

Coach: Jim Larranaga

Alma Mater: Providence, 71

Career Record: 384-290/23

School Record: 187-119/10

vs. Kansas State: First Meeting

06-07 Record: 18-15 (9-9 CAA)

Last game: Nov. 17, 2007

beat Dayton, 67-56

SID: Richard Coco

Website: www.GoMason.com

game preview

Kansas State (3-0) will begin one of its most difficult stretches of the season this week when the No. 18/20 Wildcats travel to Orlando, Fla., to participate in the Old Spice Classic from Nov. 22-25 at the Milk House at the Wide World of Sports Complex.

One of the top preseason tournaments, the field includes a pair of ranked teams (Kansas State and Villanova) and two others (N.C. State and George Mason) that are receiving votes. K-State will open the tournament with 2006 Final Four participant George Mason (3-0) on Thursday, Nov. 22 at 8:30 p.m. CT before playing either No. 20/19 Villanova (2-0) or UCF (2-0) on Friday, Nov. 23 at either 4 or 6:30 p.m. CT. The rest of the tournament field includes N.C. State (1-1), Penn State (2-0), Rider (1-1) and South Carolina (2-1).

Thursday’s contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Fran Fraschilla (analyst) calling the action. It will be the first of a school-record 13 appearances on national television for the Wildcats, including four on the Deuce. Games in the second and third rounds of the tournament will be on either ESPN2 or ESPNU.

All three games at the Old Spice Classic will also be broadcast on the 31-station K-State Sports Network (Powercat Passport Internet Audio; Yahoo! Internet Radio; Sirius Satellite 125) with Ben Boyle (play-by-play) and Casey Scott (analyst) behind the mikes.

the book on kansas state

The Wildcats are off to a 3-0 start for the fifth consecutive season after completing their brief three-game homestand to start the season with a 77-64 victory over Western Illinois on Nov. 17.

The team is averaging 82.3 points on 43.8 percent shooting with 50.0 rebounds, 19.7 assists and 8.3 steals and 4.0 blocks per game, while holding their opponents to just 64.3 points on 37.6 percent shooting. The squad is also forcing their opponents into 22.7 turnovers per game.

K-State is ranked No. 18 in The Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today Top 25 poll entering this week’s action. It is the Wildcats’ highest ranking in the AP poll in nearly 20 seasons since coming at No. 14 on consecutive weeks in February 1988.

Kansas State led by freshman phenom Michael Beasley, who won Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors after posting his second career 20-point/20-rebound effort in the win over Western Illinois. He became the first player in Big 12 history to collect two 20-point/20-rebound performances in a single season -- and just the second player in school history and first since Jack Parr did it twice during the 1955-56 season -- after tallying 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting to go with 22 rebounds, two assists and two steals in 32 minutes.

Beasley is one of four players averaging in double figures for the Wildcats, including senior Blake Young (13.0 ppg.) and freshmen Bill Walker (12.5 ppg.) and Jacob Pullen (11.0 ppg.). Young, who owns the team’s longest games played streak at 38 games, is the team leader in 3-point field goals (6) to go with averages of 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 29.3 minutes per game. Walker, who played his first complete game of the season against Western Illinois, adds 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Pullen is fourth in scoring at 11.0 points per game on 50.0 percent shooting to go with team-bests in both assists (3.7 apg.) and steals (1.7 spg.).

ticket information

Tickets are available for $90 (All-Tournament), $45 (Booster Team Ticket), $30 (Day Pass) and $15 (Session Pass), by calling 407.939.1529 and online at www.oldspiceclassic.com/tickets.

cats in tournament play

Kansas State will be playing in a regular season tournament for 56th time in school history, but for the first time in the state of Florida. The Wildcats played in the Big Six/Seven/Eight Holiday Classic 36 times between 1935 and 1979 in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City Mo., winning titles in 1947, 1950, 1952, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1963. The team has won seven other tournament crowns in its history, including 1959 Kansas Tournament in Lawrence, Kan., the 1987 Sun Met Classic in Fresno, Calif., the 1990 BMA Holiday Classic in Kansas City, the 1993 Hawaii Nike Festival in Honolulu, Hawaii, the 1994 Capital City Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., 1995 Otis Spunkmeier Classic in Oakland, Calif and the 2006 Las Vegas Classic in Las Vegas, Nev.

florida cats

This week’s trip will be a homecoming for five members of the Kansas State team that either call the state of Florida home and/or went to high school in the state, including Orlando, Fla., native Blake Young. Young, Fred Brown (West Palm Beach) and Chris Merriewether (Jacksonville) are all natives of the Sunshine State, while Luis Colon (Krop High in Miami, Fla.) and Denis Clemente (Calusa Prep in Miami, Fla.) went to high school in the state. Young was a four-year starter at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando, Fla., where he was named honorable mention Class 6A All-State as a senior.

non-conference success

Kansas State has posted at least eight non-conference wins in 22 of the last 26 seasons, including each of the last five seasons. The Wildcats have earned a winning record in non-conference play in 35 consecutive seasons dating back to the 1972-73 season with 10 or more victories on 17 occasions.

K-State has won 31 of its last 39 games against non-conference foes, including a remarkable 27-1 (.960) mark at home. The one setback at home came in a 76-66 loss to Rutgers at Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 28, 2004, which the Wildcats avenged last season in Piscataway, N.J. The squad has won four games in a row on neutral floors dating back to the Paradise Jam Tournament in November 2002.

streaking in november

Kansas State is 69-19 (.784) all-time in the month of November, including wins in 18 of its last 20 games. The Wildcats have won 17 straight game at home in November dating back to the 2003-04 season. The last home loss in the month came to Northwestern, 59-55, in the home opener on Nov. 30, 2002. Last season, the squad posted a 4-2 mark in the month with wins against William & Mary (70-60), Rutgers (55-41), Tennessee Tech (101-79) and Coppin State (68-57) and losses at New Mexico (54-78) and California (48-78).

Incidentally, the Wildcats’ seven games in November tie the 1998-99 squad (5-2) for the most in school history. The 1998-99 team owns the most wins (five) of any Wildcat team in the month.

in search of win 1400

One of the winningest programs in college basketball history, Kansas State is just 11 wins shy of its 1,400th victory. The Wildcats, which ranks 47th all-time in victories in Division I with a 1,389-1,012 (.579) mark could become the fifth Big 12 program to accomplish the feat, following Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma and Missouri. The squad could be one of seven programs to eclipse the 1,400-win mark this season, joining Oregon (1,396), Michigan State (1,394), Illinois State (1,394), Tennessee (1,394), Ohio State (1,393) and Southern Illinois (1,385).

the book on george mason (3-0)

George Mason enters Thursday’s contest with a 3-0 record for just the second time in school history and for the first time since the 1980-81 season. The defensive-minded Patriots have earned wins over Vermont (60-53), conference foe Cleveland State (56-47) and Dayton (67-56) to start the season.

Picked to finish second in the preseason Colonial Athletic Association poll, George Mason is averaging 61.0 points on 35.8 percent shooting with 43.3 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 5.7 steals and 4.0 blocks per game, while holding foes to 52.0 points on 35.1 percent shooting. The squad returns all five starters and nine lettermen from the 2006-07 season, in which, they posted an 18-15 record and a 9-9 mark in league play.

Senior Will Thomas paces the Patriots across the board, averaging team-bests in scoring (17.3 ppg.), rebounding (14.0 rpg.) and field goal percentage (65.5). He is joined in double figure scoring by fellow senior Folarin Campbell (12.7 ppg.) and junior John Vaughan (10.3 ppg). Senior Jordan Carter is the team leader in both assists (3.7 apg.) and steals (1.7 spg.) to go with 9.7 points per game.

The squad is led by longtime head coach Jim Larranaga, who owns a 384-290 overall record in 23 years as head coach and a 187-119 mark in 11 years at George Mason. His teams have made eight trips to the postseason, including three to the NCAA Tournament.

series vs. george mason

This will be the first meeting between Kansas State and George Mason. The Wildcats are 6-1 all-time against teams from the Colonial Athletic Association, including a win over member William & Mary in last season’s season opener at Bramlage Coliseum. In addition to the Tribe, the team is 2-0 all-time vs. Georgia State, 1-0 vs. Hofstra, 1-1 vs. Old Dominion and 1-0 vs. Virginia Commonwealth.

possible opponent: ucf (2-0)

UCF enters the Old Spice Classic with a 2-0 record after posting a pair of impressive wins over Nevada (63-60) and Norfolk State (78-64) to start the year. The Knights are averaging 70.5 points on 42.4 percent shooting with 41.5 rebounds, 15.0 assists and 9.0 steals per game, while holding foes to 62.0 points on 40.5 percent shooting. The squad returns three starters and nine lettermen from the 2006-07 season, in which, they posted a 22-9 record and an 11-5 mark in league play.

Senior Dave Noel and junior Jermaine Taylor pace a balanced attack with identical 14.0-point and 7.5-rebound per game averages.

The squad is led by Kirk Speraw, who owns a 315-208 record in 17 years as head coach and a 233-187 mark in 14 years at UCF. His teams have made four trips to the NCAA Tournament.

series vs. ucf

This would be the second meeting between K-State and UCF with the Wildcats posting a 71-59 win in Manhattan on Jan. 6, 2003. The squad is 22-19 all-time against teams from Conference USA.

possible opponent: 20/19 villanova (2-0)

Villanova enters the Old Spice Classic with a 2-0 record after posting wins over Stony Brook (86-64) and Bucknell (70-64) to start the year. The Wildcats are averaging 78.0 points on 49.5 percent shooting with 39.0 rebounds, 14.5 assists and 6.0 steals per game, while holding foes to 64.0 points on 46.7 percent shooting. The squad returns two starters and nine lettermen from the 2006-07 season, in which, they posted a 22-11 record and a 9-7 mark in league play.

Junior Shane Clark paces a balanced scoring attack with 21.0 points per game on 56.5 percent shooting with 9.5 rebounds. He is one of four players scoring in double figures for the Wildcats.

The squad is led by Jay Wright, who owns a 250-155 record in 14 years as head coach and a 128-70 mark in seven years at Villanova. He has guided the Cats to three straight NCAA Tournament trips.

series vs. villanova

This would be the second meeting between K-State and Villanova. VU posted a 51-34 victory at home on Dec. 27, 1940. The Wildcats are 18-24 all-time against teams from the Big East.

beasley earns big 12 honors again

Freshman forward Michael Beasley earned Big 12 weekly honors for the second straight week, as he was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Rookie of the Week after posting his second career 20-point/20-rebound effort in the 77-64 win over Western Illinois.

He is the first Kansas State player to earn Big 12 Rookie of the Week honors since David Hoskins did it twice during the 2005-06 season and the 10th overall since the inception of the league.

Beasley became the first player in Big 12 history to collect two 20-point/20-rebound performances in a single season with his 28-point, 22-rebounds effort against Western Illinois. In the first 11 years of Big 12 competition, only nine players had posted 20-point/20-rebound games in their career and none had ever done it more than once in their respective careers. He is just the second player in school history to post 20 or more points and 20 or more rebounds twice in a season and the first since Jack Parr did it twice during the 1955-56 season.

The former No. 1 high school recruit continues to impress this season, as he is averaging 30.0 points on 61.8 percent shooting with 20.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.7 steals in 30.7 minutes. Against WIU, he connected on 10-of-16 field goals, including 1-of-2 from beyond the arc, with two assists, two steals and one block in a season-high 32 minutes.

After a slow start against WIU, Beasley came on strong in the second half with 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting with 12 rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block in 17 minutes. The owner of the Big 12 all-class record for rebounds (24) and third-most rebounds in school history, his 22 rebounds tie four other individuals for the ninth-most.

Last week, Beasley was named the first Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week as well as the National Player of the Week by ESPN.com, Rivals.com and Collegehoops.net after averaging 31.0 points (on 61.5 percent shooting) and 19.0 rebounds in guiding the Wildcats to a pair of wins to open the 2007-08 season. He was also named the Diaper Dandy of the Week by Dick Vitale.

historic beginning

Michael Beasley had a memorable first game as a Wildcat, he set three school records as well as two Big 12 mark in helping Kansas State to a season-opening victory over Sacramento State on Nov. 9. He posted 32 points on 12-of-20 field goals with 24 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals in 31 minutes.

Beasley is just the third player in school history to top 30 points and 20 rebounds in a single-game and the first since Bob Boozer (36 points, 23 rebounds) did it against Colorado in 1957. The 32 points were the most points by a freshman in a debut in both Kansas State and Big 12 history, while the 24 rebounds were the most by a freshman in a single-game and the third-most by a Wildcat in school history. The 24 rebounds also eclipsed the all-class Big 12 record of 23 held by Kevin Durant (2006) and Nick Collison (2003).

On Nov. 11, Beasley became just the third player in school history (and first freshman) to tally 30 points in back-to-back games in a win over Pittsburg State. He tallied 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting with 14 rebounds, three assists and one steal in 29 minutes. He is the first player to top 30 points in consecutive games since Askia Jones did it against Colorado (32) and Oklahoma (31) in January 1994.

young at heart

Fully healthy for the first time in his K-State career, senior Blake Young looks like a different player in 2007-08. Hampered by a knee injury for much of last season, he ranks second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg.) and minutes (29.3 mpg.) and is third in assists (2.0 rpg.) and fourth in rebounding (5.7 rpg.). He opened the season with a bang, as he turned in his second career 20-point game in the win over Sacramento State with 22 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including career-tying 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. It was his highest point total since registering a career-high 24 against Tennessee Tech on Nov. 18, 2006.

Young, the only returning player to start in the opener, continued his solid play against Pittsburg State with nine points, a career-high seven rebounds and four assists. He struggled from the field against WIU with eight points, but did match his career-high with seven boards.

walker back to full strength

Redshirt freshman Bill Walker is finally back to full strength as he played his first complete game of the season in the win over Western Illinois on Nov. 17. Walker, who played just six games as a freshman before tearing his ACL against Texas A&M in the first Big 12 game of the season, scored a season-high 14 points against the Leathernecks with a career-tying eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 28 minutes. He did play in the opener against Sacramento State and was held to just 16 minutes against Pittsburg State due to a calf cramp. He has now scored in double figures in six of eight career games at Kansas State with a career-high of 19 vs. USC on Dec. 22, 2006.

pullen shines at the point

Michael Beasley is not the only true freshman to shine so far this season, as rookie Jacob Pullen has played well in the point guard spot. The Maywood, Ill., native ranks fourth on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg.) and minutes (23.0 mpg.) and is tops in both assists (3.8 apg.) and steals (1.7 spg.) and second in field goal percentage (50.0). He opened the season with 18 points against Sacramento State in his first collegian game on 7-of-11 shooting to go with a team-high five assists and two steals. He made it double figures in two of his first three games, scoring 10 points against Western Illinois on Nov. 17.

Pullen is the third freshman to start the season at the point since 2003, following Dez Willingham (2003) and Clent Stewart (2004).

debuts by various k-state point guards

Lon Kruger (2-6 FGs, 1-3 FTs, 5 pts, 3 rebs - 1971)

Tim Jankovich (2-6 FGs, 3-4 FTs, 7 pts - 1979)

^Steve Henson (0-3 FGs, 8-8 FTs, 8 pts, 2 rebs - 1986)

Anthony Beane (5-10 FGs, 1-3 3FGs, 11 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts - 1992)

Elliot Hatcher (2-12 FGs, 0-5 3FGs, 7 pts, 3 rebs, 2 stls - 1994)

^*Clent Stewart (3-8 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 8 pts, 5 asts - 2004)

^*Jacob Pullen (7-11 FGs, 2-4 3FGs, 18 pts, 5 asts, 2 stls - 2007)

*Started first game

^True freshman

anderson a monster on boards

Another true freshman making an immediate impact for the Wildcats is Ron Anderson, who ranks second on the team in rebounding (9.0 rpg.). A late addition to the squad in August, he tallied double-digit rebounds against Pitt State on Nov. 11 with 12 then followed with a nine-rebound effort in the win against Western Illinois. He also picked up his scoring against the Leathernecks with six points on 3-of-4 field goals on a season-high 27 minutes.

newcomers a big part of success

One of the nation’s top recruiting classes has been a big success so far for Kansas State, as the newcomers have posted nearly 65 percent of the Wildcats’ total points (158) and rebounds (96) and over 50 percent of the total assists (31) and steals (14). Most of these have come from freshman phenom Michael Beasley, who owns over 35 percent of the team’s points (90) and rebounds (60).

postseason game notes vs. western illinois

Kansas State is now 2-0 all-time against Western Illinois... The Wildcats won the first-ever regular season meeting between the schools on January 9, 1982, by a score of 67-57 in Ahearn Field House... Kansas State is 27-3 all-time against the Summit League (formerly the Mid-Continent Conference), including 20-0 at home.

The attendance at Bramlage Coliseum was 12,528... The game was Kansas State’s first sellout of the season... The last sellout in Bramlage Coliseum was against DePaul in the MasterCard NIT on March 19, 2007... It is the first non-conference sellout since the William & Mary game on Nov. 11, 2006, last season’s home opener.

The Wildcats’ starting lineup was freshman guard Jacob Pullen, senior guard Blake Young, freshman forward Bill Walker, freshman forward Michael Beasley and sophomore forward Luis Coln... Pullen, Young and Beasley all made their third starts of the season... It was the second straight game that this starting five was used.

Three of the four Wildcat players who entered the contest averaging double figures in points reached double figures... Beasley led the way with 28, while Walker finished with 14 and Pullen had 10.

Kansas State led 31-27 at halftime... Kansas State shot 14-of-40 (35 percent) from the field in the first half compared to 9-of-32 (28.1 percent) for the Leathernecks... Western Illinois was shooting 37.5 percent (3-of-8) from three-point range while the Wildcats connected on just 16.7 percent (2-of-12) of their threes.

Beasley had his second 20 point/20 rebound game in three games as a Wildcat, posting 28 points and 22 rebounds for the night... The freshman had K-State’s 18th all-time 20 point/20 rebound effort... He finished with more offensive rebounds (eight) than any Leatherneck had total rebounds.

K-State tallied 26 second-chance points for the game compared to just five for Western Illinois... The Wildcats doubled the Leathernecks in points in the paint, 48 to 24... Kansas State out-rebounded Western Illinois by a margin of 54 to 28.

early start

Kansas State’s regular-season opener against Sacramento State (Nov. 9) tied the 1989-90 squad for the earliest start to a season in school history. The Wildcats opened the 1989-90 season on Nov. 9 with a 71-70 win over Florida State in the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. The squad, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament with an 18-14 record under head coach Lon Kruger, went onto a 2-1 record at the tournament with a win over Hawai’i (79-76) on Nov. 10 and a loss to Michigan State (72-68) on Nov. 11.

martin successful in his debut

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin made a successful coaching debut in the 94-63 win over Sacramento State. The 23rd head coach in school history continued the successful trend by coaches in their first game, particularily in games played at home. He is the first rookie head coach to start 3-0 since Bob Huggins did it last season and first without prior head coaching experience in school history.

K-State coaches are now 16-6 all-time in their first game, including a 16-2 mark when those games started at home. A Wildcat coach has won his first game when starting at home seven straight times dating back to Fred “Tex” Winter in 1953. The last coach to lose his debut at home was Fritz Knorr to Fort Riley (35-53) on Dec. 4, 1944.

The 31-point victory was also the largest win in a head coach’s opening game since Lon Kruger beat South Dakota, 95-45, in 1986.

Martin is the first coach in school history to start his college coaching career (and first assistant coach elevated to head coach) since Cotton Fitzsimmons took over the program from Winter in 1968. Fitzsimmons was a successful junior college coach at Moberly (Mo.) Junior College from 1956-66 compiling a 224-58 record with two NJCAA national titles prior to becoming Winter’s top assistant in 1966. Incidentally, he lost his first game at Cincinnati (70-86) in 1968.

Coach Opponent Result Date

C.W. Melick vs. Campbell L, 11-18 12/8/05

Mike Ahearn Fort Riley W, 54-16 12/13/06

Guy Lowman Southwestern W, 32-17 12/14/11

Carl Merner Bethany W, 25-24 1/11/14

Z.G. Clevenger Washburn W, 71-5 1/13/16

E.A. Knoth Ottawa W, 34-26 1/8/21

E.C. Curtis Grinnell W, 23-13 1/5/22

Charles Corsant Oklahoma L, 15-29 1/5/24

Frank Root at Kansas L, 13-27 12/12/33

*Jack Gardner Baker W, 35-33 12/6/39

Chili Cochrane Doane W, 50-32 12/4/42

Cliff Rock McPherson W, 45-39 12/4/43

Fritz Knorr Fort Riley L, 35-53 12/4/44

Tex Winter Denver W, 70-41 12/5/53

C. Fitzsimmons at Cincinnati L, 70-86 12/2/68

Jack Hartman TCU W, 79-70 12/1/70

Lon Kruger South Dakota W, 95-45 11/29/86

Dana Altman Akron W, 61-54 11/24/90

Tom Asbury at Alabama L, 48-79 11/16/94

Jim Wooldridge UT-San Antonio W, 71-55 11/18/00

Bob Huggins William & Mary W, 70-60 11/11/06

Frank Martin Sacramento State W, 94-63 11/9/07

*Had two tenures with the Wildcats (1939-42; 1946-52)

k-state earns first preseason ranking since 75

Kansas State received its first preseason ranking in 32 seasons on Nov. 2, as The Associated Press placed the Wildcats at No. 25 in its annual preseason Top 25 poll.

K-State has not been ranked in The Associated Press preseason Top 25 since opening the 1975-76 season with a No. 14 ranking. It also marks the first time that the Wildcats have been ranked in the poll in more than 14 years since checking in at No. 23 on Feb. 13, 1993.

“For a program like us, with incredible tradition and success, being ranked again is always a great thing and it reflects the hard work of the players and that they are getting noticed by people out there," said coach Frank Martin. "Will it have an influence on how we play or how good we are? Probably not. But it is an honor to have a program not ranked for 14 years to all of sudden by there again."

Overall, the ranking marks the sixth time in school history that the Wildcats have started a season ranked in the preseason Top 25 since The Associated Press started its poll in 1949. The squad started the 1961-62 and 1964-65 seasons at No. 8, the 1965-66 season at No. 10, the 1972-73 season at No. 17 and the 1975-76 season at No. 14.

The preseason ranking is not the first garnered this season, as the teams has been ranked 11th by Rivals.com, 14th by Slam magazine and 17th by The Sporting News. The team has also been ranked 26th by CBS Sports.com and Dick Vitale and 32nd by FoxSports.com.

Kansas State was the top vote-getter among teams receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll with 94 points, just 17 short of 111 received by No. 25 Villanova.

season tickets sold out... again

K-State scored its first victory of the season Nov. 1 before ever playing a game when it was announced that men’s basketball season tickets are sold out in Bramlage Coliseum.

The sellout announcement marked the second consecutive year that all season-ticket packages have been purchased. Last season was the first time in the history of Bramlage Coliseum that K-State games were sold out on a season-ticket basis. Prior to then, the previous sellout was 1982-83 when the Wildcats played in Ahearn Field House.

hoops preview to appear on fsn midwest

The Kansas State Hoops Preview, a 30-minute television special, debuts Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 6:30 p.m. CT on FSN Midwest.

The show previews the 2007-08 season and includes a one-on-one interview with head coach Frank Martin, a profile of senior forward David Hoskins and a look around the Big 12 Conference.

In addition to its premiere on Nov. 7, the show will air four other times on FSN Midwest, including Thursday, Nov. 8 at 10 p.m. CT, Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7 p.m. CT, Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 6:30 p.m. CT and Tuesday, Nov. 27 at 2:30 p.m. CT.

FSN Midwest is also the home to 10 regular season games this year.

viva las vegas

Kansas State has been selected to participate in a regular-season tournament in Las Vegas for the second time in three seasons in 2008 when the Wildcats will join traditional powers Kentucky, Iowa and West Virginia in the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational. The squad will face two teams at home in mid-November (Delaware State, SE Missouri State, Longwood and/or Oakland) before making the trek to Las Vegas and playing two games at the Orleans Arena.

The Wildcats captured the 2007 Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Holiday Classic by beating Kennesaw State (82-54) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (79-58) at home before defeating USC (68-55) and New Mexico (72-56) in Las Vegas. It was the first tournament title since 1995.

The K-State Athletics Ticket Office will begin selling tickets after the 2007-08 season, but the general public will have a chance to purchase a limited number of tickets for the final rounds in Las Vegas beginning on Saturday, Nov. 3.

ticket available for sprint center game

Tickets for Kansas State’s game against Florida A&M in Kansas City’s Sprint Center went on sale to the general public on Tuesday, Nov. 6.

Tickets are priced at $25 and will be available at all Ticketmaster outlets, by calling Ticketmaster at 816.931.3330 or online at Ticketmaster.com.

The game will be considered K-State's home contest. It will be included in the season-ticket package for Wildcat fans, excluding students whose season ticket does not contain games played during the semester break. K-State students are able to purchase tickets at a special price of $10 through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office on Wednesday, Nov. 14. Season-ticket holders will receive their tickets for the game in a separate mailing.

The Sprint Center is the cornerstone of more than a $4.5 billion revitalization of downtown Kansas City. The 18,500-seat arena will play host to numerous sporting events, including the 2008 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, the 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s First and Second Rounds and 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Regional Finals and Semifinals.

k-state chosen fourth in big 12 preseason poll

The Kansas State men’s basketball team was given its highest-ever ranking in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll on Oct. 11, as the Wildcats were chosen fourth with 91 points.

Boosted by the return of seven lettermen and one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, the Wildcats received their highest ranking in 10 preseason polls dating back to the 1997-98 season. The previous high came in 2006-07 when K-State was selected fifth, while the previous high to last season came back in 1998-99 when the team was chosen sixth.

For the eighth time in Big 12 history, Kansas is the preseason favorite to win the conference title as the Jayhawks gained 120 total points and received 10 of the possible 12 first-place votes in polling of the head coaches. The team welcomes back four starters and returns 84.6 percent of its scoring.

Texas was picked second in the poll with 105 points, as the Longhorns received four more points more than third-place Texas A&M, which received the other two first-place vote and 101 points. Missouri and Oklahoma followed K-State in a tie for fifth with 66 points each.

Oklahoma State edged Texas Tech for seventh place with 61 points, while the Red Raiders followed in eighth place with 60 points. Baylor (55) and Nebraska (29) were picked ninth and 10th, respectively, while Iowa State (22) and Colorado (16) rounded out the poll.

beasley named preseason big 12 frosh of the year

Freshman forward Michael Beasley was selected as the Big 12 Preseason Freshman of the Year in a vote of the league coaches, as the conference office announced its annual preseason honors Oct. 9.

The league also announced that Texas’ D.J. Augustin was named the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year and Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll was selected as the Preseason Newcomer of the Year. In addition to these superlatives, Augustin was joined on the Preseason All-Big 12 squad by Kansas’ Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush, Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells, Nebraska’s Aleks Maric and Texas A&M’s Joseph Jones.

Beasley and freshman Bill Walker were named to the honorable mention preseason team, along with Baylor’s Aaron Bruce, Colorado’s Richard Roby, Kansas’ Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins, Oklahoma State’s Marcus Dove, Texas A&M’s Josh Carter and DeAndre Jordan and Texas Tech’s Martin Zeno.

The honor is one of many earned by the 6-foot-10, 235-pound former No. 1 high school player in the country this preseason. Beasley has been selected as a Diaper Dandy by Dick Vitale, a second team preseason All-American by Sports Illustrated and a third team All-American by Collegehoops.net, while he garnered Preseason Freshman All-America distinction from Athlon’s College Basketball Yearbook. In addition, he was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team by both Athlon’s and The Sporting News.

Kansas State University Athletics

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