K-State travels to Cleveland State Saturday

Game Information

Kansas State (3-0) vs. Cleveland State (1-1)

Date: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Tipoff: 6:00 p.m. CT

Location: Cleveland, Ohio

Arena: Wolstein Center (1991)

Capacity: 8,500

Rankings: Both teams are unranked

Series: K-State leads 1-0 (W, 93-60 at home on 12/5/06)

Series vs. Horizon League: K-State trails 4-5 (0-5 on the road)

Television: none

Webcast: none

Radio: K-State Sports Network; Powercat Passport Internet Audio; Yahoo! Internet Radio; Sirius Satellite 147

Dave Riggert (play-by-play)

Fans should consult www.k-statesports.com for broadcast coverage with the overlap of K-State football at 2:30 pm CT.

Tickets: Tickets are available for purchase for $8, $12 and $15 at the Wolstein Center Box Office at (216) 687.4848.

Kansas State Wildcats

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

Ranking (AP/Coaches): --/--

Coach: Frank Martin

Alma Mater: Florida International, 93

Career Record: 24-12/1

School Record: 24-12/1

vs. Cleveland State: 0-0

07-08 Record: 21-12 (10-6 Big 12)

Last game: Nov. 19, 2008

defeated Emporia State, 82-60

SID: Tom Gilbert

Website: www.k-statesports.com

Cleveland State Vikings

Record: 1-1 (0-0 Horizon)

Ranking (AP/Coaches): --/--

Coach: Gary Waters

Alma Mater: Ferris State, 75

Career Record: 203-170/12

School Record: 32-35/3

vs. Kansas State: 1-1

07-08 Record: 21-13 (12-6 Horizon)

Last game: Nov. 18, 2008

lost at Washington, 78-63

SID: Brian McCann

Website: www.csuvikings.com

Game Preview

Kansas State hits the road for the first time in 2008-09, as the team heads for Cleveland, Ohio, to face Cleveland State (1-1) on Saturday at the Wolstein Center at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will be looking to go 4-0 for the first time since 2005-06, while also earning their first non- conference road win since defeating North Dakota State on Dec. 9, 2006. In addition, the squad will be looking for its first road win against a Horizon League foe in five tries.

K-State concluded their homestand on Wednesday night with 3-0 record, as the team used a strong second-half rally to pull away from Emporia State, 82-60. Up just six at halftime, the Wildcats used a 24-7 run over a seven-minute stretch to break open the game and grab the victory. The squad has now won 20 of their last 21 games at home in November dating back to the 2003-04 season. Sophomores Fred Brown and Dominique Sutton led a balanced scoring attack with 14 points apiece, while fellow sophomore Ron Anderson added his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Wildcats have lit up the scoreboard thus far, scoring 266 points, the most through the first three games of a season since the 1997-98 team totaled 271 in starting the year 3-0. It marks the first time the squad has score 80 or more points in three consecutive games since it did it four straight times in games 9-12 of last season. The 96 points scored against Florida A&M were the most in a home opener since scoring 103 against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 23, 1991.

There will be no television coverage of Saturday’s game. However, fans will be able to listen to the audio broadcast on the K-State Sports Network (Powercat Passport Internet Audio; Yahoo! Internet Radio; Sirius Satellite 147) with Dave Riggert (play-by-play) on the call.

With the overlapping coverage of K-State football and basketball on Saturday, the K-State Sports Network has announced its station line-up for broadcast coverage. Four stations - KTOP (Topeka - 1490 AM), KCLY (Clay Center - 100.9 FM), KWKR (Dodge/Garden City - 99.9 FM) and KSOB (Great Bend - 96.7 FM) - will carry the complete basketball broadcast beginning at 5 p.m, while four others - KHMY (Wichita/ Hutchinson - 93.1 FM), WHB (Kansas City - 810 AM), KMAN (Manhattan - 1350 AM) and KSEK (Pittsburg - 1340 AM) - will switch at the conclusion of the football game. The rest of the network will join the game in progress following the football post-game show.

Up Next: vs. Oakland (1-1)

K-State returns home on Tuesday when the Wildcats play host to Oakland (1-1) at Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m. The Golden Grizzlies earned an impressive win on Monday when they knocked off Oregon, 82-79, in overtime at McArthur Court. The squad, which lost its opener at Cleveland State, 58-55, travels to Syracuse, N.Y., on Friday for a game against the Orange at the Carrier Dome.

Cats in November

Kansas State is 74-21 (.779) all-time in the month of November, including wins in 23 of its last 27 games. The Wildcats have won 20 of their last 21 games at home in November dating back to the 2003-04 season. The team saw its 17-game homecourt winning streak in the month end in an 80-77 overtime loss to No. 17 Oregon on Nov. 29, 2008. It was the first November home loss since a 59-55 loss to Northwestern on Nov. 30, 2002.

This will be the first road game in November since defeating North Dakota State, 83-81, on Dec. 9, 2006. The Wildcats are just 3-7 in their last 10 non-conference road games dating back to the 2002-03 season. However, the team has split its last four in that span.

Last season, the squad posted a 5-2 mark in the month of November with wins against Sacramento State (94-63), Pittsburg State (76-66), Western Illinois (77-64), UCF (73-71) and Rider (82-69) and losses to George Mason (87-77) and Oregon (80-77).

Explosive Offense

Kansas State has shown the ability to score early and often, as the Wildcats have totaled 266 points in their first three games. The 266 points are the most in the first three games in almost 11 years since the team totaled 271 points against Western Carolina (93), Long Beach State (89) and Mercer (89) to start the 1997-98 season. In fact, the 96 points against Florida A&M was the most in an opener since scoring 103 against Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 23, 1991.

The 266 points rank as the fourth-most through three games in school history, trailing the 1991-92 (308), 1956-57 (271) and 1997-98 (271) teams. The Wildcats have scored 80 or more points in each of its first three games just six times in their history, including the 1956-57, 1976-77, 1981-82, 1991-92, 1997-98 and now the 2008-09 season.

Diverse Offense

Unlike last season when consensus All-American Michael Beasley paced the squad at 26.2 points per game, the 2008-09 team has shown a lot more diversity with its scoring output thus far.

Through three games, all 12 players that have seen action have tallied at least two points with eight totaling double-digit points. Six players are averaging in double figures led by sophomore guard Fred Brown’s 13.3 points per game. There has already been three different leading scorers with junior Denis Clemente posting a team-high 19 points against Florida A&M on Nov. 14, Brown collecting his second career 20-point outing with a team-high 21 points against SE Missouri State on Nov. 16 and Brown and sophomore Dominique Sutton totaling 14 points each against Emporia State on Wednesday.

In all, there has been 12 double-digit scoring games thus far with only two players - Jamar Samuels and Dominique Sutton - doing it in all three games.

Rebounding Still a Strength

Most critics wondered how Kansas State would replace two of the best Big 12 rebounders - Michael Beasley and Bill Walker - after the duo helped the program average 41.3 rebounds a year ago. The duo plus departed seniors Clent Stewart and Blake Young averaged over 25 boards per game. Despite their absence, rebounding still seems to be a strength with 10 players averaging at least one board per game.

Through three games, K-State is averaging 47.7 rebounds, including 20.3 on the offensive end, with all 12 players grabbing at least one board. Two players - sophomore Ron Anderson and senior Darren Kent - have grabbed double-digit rebounds in a single game three times thus far with the duo averaging a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game. The duo have also notched one double-double each with Kent posting 15 points and 12 rebounds against SE Missouri State and Anderson totaling 10 points and 10 rebounds against Emporia State. In all, five players are averaging four or more rebounds per game, including seven by both sophomore Dominique Sutton and redshirt freshman Jamar Samuels and four by senior Luis Colon.

And just like the scoring, there has been diversity in rebounding in the three games this season with Anderson grabbing 12 in the season opener against Florida A&M and 10 against Emporia State and Kent posting a career-high 12 against SE Missouri State.

Pressure is the Key

The core of Frank Martin’s coaching philosophy is pressure, whether its on the offensive or defensive end of the floor. His theory is the more pressure you apply on a team, the more difficult you make it for your opponent. In other words, pressure makes a team breakdown.

Pressure has been a big key for the Wildcats so far, as the team has scored 79 points (30 percent of their season total of 266 points) off 60 opponent turnovers. The squad has also outscored its opponents 60-14 on fast-break opportunities.

Kansas State outscored Florida A&M, 23-5, in points off turnovers then followed it up by turning 21 SE Missouri State turnovers into 26 points. The Wildcats outscored Emporia State, 30-6, in points off turnovers, while forcing the Hornets into an opponent season-high 26 turnovers. The squad is averaging 10.0 steals per contest with 10 players grabbing at least one led by sophomore Dominique Sutton’s team-high seven steals.

Brown Delivers

Sophomore guard Fred Brown has provided a big lift on the bench this season, averaging a team-best 13.3 points on 53.6 percent shooting (15-of-28), including 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from beyond the arc. He has over half of the team’s 3-point field goals thus far.

Brown tends to score a majority of his points in spurts with 35 of his 40 points in the last two games, including his second career 20-point game in a 21-point effort against SE Missouri State on Nov. 16. In his career, he has tended to score his points in bunches. Of the 106 points he scored as a freshman, 61 came in a five-game stretch from Dec. 17-31, which included his career-best 25-point effort against Xavier (Ohio) on New Year’s Eve.

Recruiting Class Praised

The four-man recruiting class that Kansas State pulled down on Nov. 12 has been rated among the best in the country. The class, which includes ESPNU100 prospect and power forward Wally Judge, has been rated the 17th-best class by ESPN Scouts, Inc., as well as 21st- best class by Rivals.com. The quartet includes Judge, fellow high school teammate Rodney McGruder, Dallas (Texas) point guard Nick Russell and prep school forward Jordan Henriquez.

Young Cats

Kansas State enters the 2008-09 season with one its youngest teams in recent history, as senior forward Darren Kent is lone senior on a roster of 15 players. When you factor in that four of the six juniors (four are either transfers from another Division I school or a junior college), the Wildcats are one of the youngest teams in its history. Dating back to the 1981-82, there has been just one team - the 1983-84 squad which had no seniors - with fewer seniors on its roster. The 1996-97 also had just one senior on its squad.

Emporia State Postgame Notes

Kansas State has now won four straight games against Emporia State...The Wildcats’ improved to 11-8 all-time against the Hornets, including 9-4 at home.

Kansas State posted their third consecutive home win to move to 3-0 for the season... Wednesday’s win marks the sixth straight season that the Wildcats have started 3-0 ...The Wildcats moved to 233-85 (.744) all-time in Bramlage Coliseum... The attendance in
Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night was 8,083.

The Wildcats’ starting lineup was sophomore guard Jacob Pullen, junior guard Denis Clemente, sophomore forward Dominique Sutton, senior forward Darren Kent and junior forward Luis Coln... Kansas State has used the same starting lineup all three games this season.

The Wildcats went on a 17-4 run in the first half in a 2:53 span... During that run, sophomore guard Fred Brown went 3-for-3 from three-point range... The team forced four steals during the run, including two from Dominique Sutton.

The Wildcats out-rebounded the Hornets, 40-36, in the contest after trailing by three rebounds at the end of the first half... It is the eighth straight game the team has either outrebounded or tied their foe.

Sophomore Fred Brown and Dominique Sutton led the Wildcats and all scorers with 14 points each... The two combined to go 11-for-19 shooting and six rebounds.

The Wildcats defeated the Hornets by 22 points, and led by as many as 26, giving them their third straight win of 20 points or more.

Dominique Sutton put on another solid effort for the Wildcats as he scored a career-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting... Sutton has now scored in double figures all three games this season, matching his career total from last season... He joins Jamar Samuels as the only Wildcats this season to score double figures in all three games.

Sophomore Fred Brown scored in double figures for the second straight game, scoring 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting... He was perfect 3-for-3 from three point range... In the last two games, Brown has shot 7-for-9 from the three point line.

Ron Anderson recorded the first double-double of his career on Wednesday, scoring 10 points and pulling down 10 rebounds... The sophomore shot 4-for-9 from the field and grabbed five offensive and five defensive rebounds on the night...

Both Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente did not score in the first half, but combined to tally 18 points in the second frame... Pullen scored nine points on 3-of-17 shooting, including a 1-for-7 mark from 3-point line... Clemente scored nine points on 4-of-8 shooting and hit the only three pointer he attempted.

Four Wildcats scored in double figures for the third consecutive time on Wednesday night... The last time that K-State had three straight games with four players with double digits was last season against Kansas (1/30/08), Missouri (2/2/08) and Nebraska (2/6/08).

Cleveland State Update

Cleveland State enters Saturday’s game with a 1-1 record this year, posting a 58-55 win in the home opener against a tenacious Oakland squad on Nov. 15 and dropping a 78-63 decision at Washington on Nov. 18. The Vikings are averaging 60.5 points through two games on 33.1 percent shooting, including 21.6 percent shooting from 3-point range, with 38.5 rebounds, 10.5 assists and 10.5 steals.

Sophomore guard Norris Cole paces four players in double figures with a team-best 17.0 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting, while sophomore guard D’Aundray Brown and senior guard Cedric Brown add 11.5 points each per game. Brown leads the team at 69.2 percent shooting, while senior J’Nathan Bullock paces the squad with 7.0 rebounds per contest.

The preseason favorite in the Horizon League, Cleveland State returns eight lettermen, including four starters, from a squad that finished 21-12 in 2007-08, including a 12-6 mark in conference play. The team advanced to the Postseason NIT. The squad returns a pair of players, who averaged in double figures, in seniors J’Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson. Bullock averaged a team-best 14.8 points per game to go with a team-high 6.6 rebounds, while Jackson added 13.9 points per game and a team-best 4.9 assists and 4.9 rebounds.

The Vikings are led by third-year head coach Gary Waters, who ownsa 32-35 (.478) mark at the school. He has been a head coach for 12 years, compiling a 203-170 (.544) overall record. He is 1-1 all-time against K-State, earning a 76-66 win on Dec. 28, 2004 while as coach at Rutgers and the 93-60 loss in his first year at Cleveland State.

Series Information

Kansas State and Cleveland State have met just one other time in their histories. The Wildcats posted a 93-60 win over the Vikings on Dec. 5, 2006 in Manhattan, Kan. It marked the first of a three-game set between the two programs. The teams will meet again next year at Bramlage Coliseum.

Kansas State is 4-5 all-time against teams from the Horizon League, including a 0-5 mark in games played on the road. Four of the five have come against Loyola (Ill.), including losses in 1936, 1966, 1983 and 1999. The other loss came at UW-Green Bay, 68-64, in 2002.

12-5-06 K-State 93-60 Manhattan

SE Missouri Postgame Notes

Kansas State is 1-0 all-time after winning their first-ever meeting with Southeast Missouri...The Wildcats’ improved to 11-1 all-time against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference, including 7-0 at home.

Kansas State posted their third consecutive home win to move to 2-0 for the season... Sunday’s win marks the sixth straight season that the Wildcats are off to a 2-0 start...The Wildcats’ moved to 232-85 (.732) all-time in Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats’ starting lineup Sunday was sophomore guard Jacob Pullen, junior guard Denis Clemente, sophomore forward Dominique Sutton, senior forward Darren Kent and junior forward Luis Coln... Pullen, Sutton, Kent, and Coln are all returning players from last year’s squad... All five starters for Kansas State on Sunday made their second consecutive start of the season.

Fred Brown led the Wildcats in scoring on Sunday afternoon with 21 points... He was 8-of-14 (.571) on shooting and 4-of-6 (.666) shooting from 3-point range. He also set a new personal best with 6 assists... His previous career best was 2 assists which he has accomplished 5 times in his career. In the second half in a 4:14 time-frame, Brown scored 16 of his 21 points, hitting all four of his three-point field goal attempts. He played 25 minutes on Sunday.

Darren Kent set a new career high in both rebounds and scoring on Sunday afternoon posting the first double-double of his career... He scored 15 points which topped his previous best of 11 points against Iowa State on January 26, 2008. He also pulled down 12 rebounds bettering his previous career high of 7 rebounds against Winston-Salem State on December 22nd, 2008.

Jamar Samuels had a career performance setting new career highs in both scoring and rebounding...He scored 16 points and had 8 rebounds which topped his previous career highs of 11 points and 5 rebounds against Florida A&M on November 14, 2008.

Dominique Sutton had an impressive afternoon scoring 12 points and pulling down eight rebounds. He also set a new career high with four steals, which tops his previous best of three steals which he has accomplished three times in his career. Sutton started the game very strong scoring four points, posting four rebounds, forcing one steal, and blocking one shot in the first three minutes.

Jacob Pullen scored seven points and led the Wildcats’ with six assists which he shared with fellow sophomore guard Fred Brown. Pullen played 19 minutes in the contest.

Freshman forward walk-on Victor Ojeleye posted new season highs in scoring and rebounding by adding 7 points and 4 rebounds in the 12 minutes he saw the floor on Sunday.

Four Wildcats’ scored in double figures for the second consecutive time on Sunday afternoon... The last time that Kansas State had two consecutive games with four players with double digits dates back to last season when the Wildcats faced Kansas on January 30, 2008, and Missouri on February 2, 2008.

Kansas State pulled down 50 rebounds on Sunday... This marked the second consecutive 50+ rebound game for the Wildcats... The last time they had two consecutive 50+ rebound performances was last season when they pulled down 52 rebounds against Winston-Salem State and 53 rebounds against Wagner.

K-State in Season Openers

With Kansas State’s win over Florida A&M on Friday, the program is now 81-24 (.769) all-time in season openers, including a 67-9 (.880) mark when debuting in Manhattan. The Wildcats have won 14 of their last 17 season openers with all three losses coming on the road. The squad last lost a season opener in 2002, as the Wildcats dropped a 73-64 decision to BYU at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands.

K-State has won 12 straight home season openers dating back to a 74-60 loss to Southern Miss on Nov. 27, 1993. The Wildcats are 17-1 when opening the season at Bramlage Coliseum. In all, the team has won 33 of its last 34 season openers at home. The last home loss prior to 1993 was a 60-59 setback to Minnesota on Dec. 1, 1966.

Martin Inks Stellar Class

Kansas State head coach Frank Martin announced the signing of four high school seniors to National Letters of Intent on the second day of the fall signing period on Dec. 12.

The four-man recruiting class, which was ranked 16th nationally by ESPN Scouts, Inc. and 21st by Rivals.com, includes prep school standout Jordan Henriquez (Winchendon [Mass.] School/Port Chester, N.Y.) and high school seniors Wally Judge (Arlington (Fla.) Country Day/Washington, D.C.), Rodney McGruder (Arlington (Fla.) Country Day/Washington, D.C.) and Nick Russell (Grace Preparatory Academy/Arlington, Texas).

The headliner of this class, Wally Judge is a 6-foot-9, 220-pound power forward originally from Washington, D.C., who is entering his second year at Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, Fla. Considered one of the top power forwards in the high school ranks, Judge was rated as a top 25 recruit by several recruiting services, including the No. 17 prospect by ESPN Scouts, Inc. and No. 23 prospect in the Rivals150 by Rivals.com. He was also rated as an ESPNU Top 100 recruit. In addition, he is ranked among the top-10 at his position, including No. 6 by ESPN Scouts, Inc. and No. 9 by Rivals.com.

Judge is in his second year at Florida powerhouse, Arlington Country Day in Jacksonville, where he helped the Apaches to their fourth consecutive Class 2A state title with a 24-6 record in 2007-08. Judge averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds and was named second team Class 2A All-State by the Florida Sports Writers Association.

A teammate of Judge at Arlington Country Day, Rodney McGruder is considered one of the best shooting guards in the country. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard is rated among the top players in the country,including the No. 89 overall prospect by ESPN Scouts, Inc. and No. 91 prospect in the Rivals150 by Rivals.com. McGruder is also ranked among the top-35 at the position by a number of outlets, including No. 23 by Rivals.com and No. 31 by ESPN Scouts, Inc.

McGruder transferred to Arlington Country Day in the off-season from Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C. As a junior, he averaged 21.1 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals in leading the Lions to a 16-10 overall record and an appearance in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC) semifinals in 2007-08. He was named to the Washington Post All-Met first team.

One of the top point guard prospects in the country, Nick Russell comes to K-State from Grace Preparatory Academy in Arlington, Texas. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound guard is rated among the top players in the country, including the No. 89 overall prospect by ESPN Scouts, Inc. and No. 114 prospect in the Rivals150 by Rivals.com. Russell is also ranked among the top-40 at his position by a number of outlets, including No. 20 by Rivals.com and No. 36 by ESPN Scouts, Inc. In addition, he is rated the No. 4 player in the state of Texas for the Class of 2009 by Texashoops.com.

Russell helped Grace Prep to a 26-12 overall record, including a 7-3 mark in league play, as a junior in 2006-07. He helped the Lions to a runner-up finish at the TAPPS (Texas Association of Private and Parachial Schools) Class 5A state tournament, where they lost to

Midland Christian, 74-60. Russell averaged 23 points, six assists and five rebounds as a junior. He was named first team TAPPS Class 5A all-state as well as co-most valuable player of the District 1-5A and first team all-district.

Jordan Henriquez comes to Kansas State from The Winchendon School in Winchendon, Mass., where he is playing a postgraduate year in 2008-09. The 6-foot-11, 220-pound center from New Rochelle, N.Y. signed with the Wildcats this past May after finishing his career at Port Chester High School in Port Chester, N.Y. As a senior, he led the team to an 18-6 record and an 8-0 mark in league play en route to a runner-up finish at the Section I Championship. In averaging a team-best 15.3 points, Henriquez scored in double figures in 21 of 22 games in 2007-08, including six 20-point contests.

The recruiting class will join a loaded Kansas State squad in 2009-10, as the Wildcats will return all but one player. They will be joined by junior forward Curtis Kelly, who is sitting out the 2008-09 season after transferring from University of Connecticut this past summer.

Kansas State University Athletics

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