K-State Faces Colorado State in the Duel in Denver Saturday

GAME PREVIEW

DEC 17, 2:05 PM CT

Pepsi Center
Denver, CO

RV/NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
9-1 (0-0 Big 12)

NR/NR
COLORADO STATE
RAMS
8-2 (0-0 MWC)

CBS Sports Network
Sirius 113, XM 200

TELEVISION
CBS Sports Network
• Jason Horowitz (play-by-play)
• Doug Gottlieb (analyst)
• Bruce Clark (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
• Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
• Stan Weber (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 113/XM 200

ONLINE/MOBILE
K-State Game Center at kstatesports.com
• Free audio stream available
CBSSports.com
• Video stream available

TICKETS
altitudetickets.com/
(866) 461.6556
$25-$50 (various locations)

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 401-210/19th season
At K-State: 88-55/5th season
vs. Colorado State: 2-1

Colorado State: Larry Eustachy (Long Beach State ‘79)
Overall: 497-308/26th season
At Colorado State: 95-50/5th season
vs. Kansas State: 6-6

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (9-1)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes (9.6 ppg., 3.9 apg.)
G: #5 Barry Brown (13.2 ppg., 2.6 rpg.)
G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (12.1 ppg., 5.8 rpg.)
F: #32 Dean Wade (9.0 ppg., 5.8 rpg.)
F: #4 D.J. Johnson (10.9 ppg., 6.8 rpg.)

Colorado State (8-2)
G: #11 Prentiss Nixon (10.0 ppg., 2.2 rpg.)
G: #22 J.D. Paige (11.3 ppg., 3.6 apg.)
F: #2 Emmanuel Omogbo (12.0 ppg., 11.1 rpg.)
F: #10 Che Bob (9.6 ppg., 5.2 rpg.)
C: #32 Nico Carvacho (6.8 ppg., 5.1 rpg.)

INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: K-State leads 8-5 (series dates to 1937)
vs. Mountain?West: K-State leads 34-18 (7-13 on the road)
In Denver: First meeting (CSU is 5-0 at home venues)
Current Streak: K-State, 1
Last Meeting: K-State won 61-56 in Wichita, Kan. (12/19/2015)
Weber vs. Colorado State: Weber leads 2-1 (0-1 on the road)
Weber vs. Eustachy: Weber leads 2-1 (0-0 on the road)

GAME 11 - QUICK HITTERS
• Kansas State (9-1)?travels to Denver, Colo., Saturday to take on Colorado State (8-2) in the Duel in Denver at 2 p.m., CT at the Pepsi?Center. The game is the second of a two-game series, which began last year with K-State earning a 61-56 win at Wichita’s INTRUST Bank Arena on Dec. 19, 2015.
• Much like last year counted as a home game for K-State in Wichita, the match-up will count as a home game for Colorado State. The Wildcats are 2-1 away from home this season, including a 1-1 record at the Barclays Center Classic Nov. 25-26 and a true road win at Saint Louis on Dec. 3.
• This will be the 14th meeting between K-State and Colorado State and the first in the state of Colorado since an 84-83 loss to the Rams on Dec. 2, 2006. The Wildcats are 0-5 in games played in the state (all in Fort Collins).
• K-State has had its longest stretch between games, as the Wildcats last played in a 70-56 win over Washington?State on Dec. 10 in the 8th Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. The victory was the fourth in a row for K-State and moved the squad to 7-0 at home venues.
• The Wildcats rallied from a dismal first half, in which, they shot 35.5 percent (11-of-31), including 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from 3-point range, to earn the win. The team connected on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) of its field goals after halftime, including 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from long range.
• K-State has now connected on 50 percent or better from the field in at least one half of every game this season, including both halves against Hampton (11/20), Green Bay (11/30) and Prairie View A&M (12/6).
• WSU jumped to a 9-0 lead and knocked in 8 of its first 12 shot attempts before K-State clamped down defensively. From there, the Cougars shot just 27 percent (12-of-45) from the field, as the Wildcats held their 54th opponent to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber.
• Defensively, the Wildcats are among the national leaders, ranking 6th in scoring defense (57.8), 11th in field goal percentage defense (36.6), 36th in steals (8.4) and 39th in turnovers forced (16.3).
• Senior Wesley Iwundu led four players in double figures against the Cougars with all-around effort that included 15 points on 6-of-14 field goals to go with 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. It marked the seventh time in 10 games that four players registered double figures.
• K-State has four players averaging in double figures led by sophomore Barry Brown’s 13.2 points per game, while nine are shooting 50 percent or better from the field led by senior D.J. Johnson’s 61.4 percentage.

THE OPPONENT: COLORADO STATE (8-2)
• Colorado State enters Saturday’s game with an 8-2 record, including wins in 6 of the last 7 outings... The Rams’ 2 losses have come at Stanford (49-56) and at home to Wichita State (67-82) in the Mountain?West/Missouri Valley Challenge... The team is 7-1 in home this season... The squad also has a road win at Pac-12 foe Colorado (72-58) on Nov. 30.
• The Rams are averaging 73.3 points on 43.5 percent shooting, including 30.2 percent from 3-point range, on the season with 40.3 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 5.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game... They are allowing opponent 64.7 points per game on 37.9 percent shooting, including 30.2 percent from beyond the arc... The team is shooting 76.3 percent from the free throw line.
• CSU ranks 7th nationally in free throws made (219), 11th in attempts (287) and 28th in percentage (76.3).
• The Rams also among the best rebounding teams, ranking 35th (28.8) in defensive boards and 30th in margin (+7.4).
• Colorado State is a balanced scoring team with 4 players averaging in double figures led by senior Gian Clavell’s 15 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting... Senior Emmanuel Omogbo is averaging a double-double with 12 points and 11.1 rebounds per game... Omogbo ranks 12th nationally in rebounds and 7th in defensive rebounds (8.5)... Sophomores J.D. Paige (11.3 ppg.) and Prentiss Nixon (10.0 ppg.) both average double figures, while junior Che Bob is at 9.6 points per game... Paige is top on the team in both assists (3.6 apg.) and steals (1.2 spg.)... Bob ranks 1st in blocked shots (1.1 bpg.).
• CSU returns 5 lettermen, including 1 starter, from a team that posted an 18-16 record in 2015-16.
• CSU is led by 5th-year coach Larry Eustachy, who has a 95-50 record during his tenure with 2 postseason trips... He has a 497-308 record in his 26th season as a head coach, which includes stints at Idaho, Utah?State, Iowa State and Southern Miss.

BREAKING?DOWN?THE?SERIES
• Saturday’s game will mark the 14th meeting between K-State and Colorado State in a series that dates to 1937.
• K-State leads the series, 8-5, with the Wildcats winning 61-56 at Wichita’s INTRUST?Bank?Arena on Dec. 19, 2015 in the last meeting... The team has won 3 of the 4 meetings with the schools splitting a home-and-home series in 2005 and 2006... This will be just the 4th meeting in the past 50 years, as the schools met 10 times between 1937-60... This will be just the 2nd meeting between the schools in a venue other than Manhattan or Fort Collins.
• The home team is a combined 13-0 with K-State winning all 8 in Manhattan/Wichita and CSU winning all 5 in Fort Collins.
• K-State is 34-18 all-time against the Mountain West, including a 7-13 mark in games played at road venues.

LAST MEETING: K-STATE 61, COLORADO STATE 56
• Kansas State held Colorado State to its lowest point total of the season as the Wildcats defeated the Rams, 61-56, in front of 9,367 fans in the third Wichita Wildcat Classic held at INTRUST Arena on Dec. 19, 2015... K-State held the potent Ram offense to just 29.3 percent shooting (17-of-58), including 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from 3-point range... CSU, which ranked 12th nationally with 10.6 3-pointers per game, was held to 6 3-pointers, including 2 in the second half.
• Dean Wade led the Wildcats in both scoring (13) and rebounding (8) for the second time to lead three players in double figures, along Justin Edwards (12) and Wesley Iwundu (11)... Kamau Stokes had 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
• Colorado State was led by Emmanuel Omogbo, who had a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.
• Seven Wildcats return who played in last year’s contest, including starters Iwundu, Wade and Stokes.

GOOD START ON THE OFFENSIVE END
• K-State is averaging 76.1 points on 49.5 percent shooting (276-of-558), including 41.2 percent (82-of-199) from 3-point range, through the first 10 games with assists on 62 percent of its made field goals (171/276).
• K-State ranks 16th in 3-point FG percentage, 25th nationally in FG percentage and 30th in assists per game... The team places among the Top 5 in the Big 12 in 3-point FG percentage (2nd), FG percentage (3rd), assists (3rd) and 3-point FG made (4th).
• The Wildcats have scored 70 or more points in 8 of the first 10 games, including 80 or more points 5 times.
• K-State is now 54-16 under Bruce Weber when scoring 70 or more points, including 24-2 when scoring 80 or more points.
• K-State has shot better than 43 percent in each game, including 50 percent or higher 5 times (vs. Omaha (11/15), Hampton (11/20), Green Bay (11/30), Saint Louis (12/3) and Prairie View A&M (12/6)... The Wildcats shot a season-best 58.3 percent (28-of-48) against Hampton, including 52.2 percent (12-of-23) from 3-point range... The lowest field goal percentage (43.5) came against Washington State (12/10)... K-State is 32-5 under Bruce Weber when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
• K-State has connected on at least 50 percent of its field goals in at least one half of every game this season, including hitting the mark in both halves against Hampton (11/20), Green Bay (11/30) and Prairie View A&M (12/6).
• K-State is averaging 32.0 points in the paint, 21.3 bench points, 17.5 points off of turnovers, 12.4 fast break points and 12.4 second-chance points through 10 games... The team is forcing 16.3 turnovers per game, which ranks 39th nationally.
• The Wildcats set season-highs for points in paint (48), second-chance points (16), fast-break points (19) and bench points (32) at Saint Louis (12/3)... The 48 points in the paint tied for most of the Bruce Weber era (48 at West Virginia on Feb. 1, 2014).
• K-State has already totaled 124 fast-break points (12.4 ppg.), an improvement from 5.3 ppg. from 2015-16 (7.1 ppg.).
• Four players are averaging in double figures, including 3 starters, led by Barry Brown’s 13.2 points per game average.
• Four Wildcats have scored in double figures in 7 games, including at least 3 in each game... In all, 7 have at least one double-digit scoring game with 6 having at least 5 double-digit scoring games led by Brown’s 9 games of 10 or more points.
• Nine Wildcats are shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including 2 of 5 starters... The starters are shooting a combined 49 percent from the field (199-of-406), including 39.8 percent (51-of-128) from 3-point range.

IMPROVEMENT FROM LONG RANGE
• One of the focal points for K-State in the offseason was to make improvement from 3-point range, where the Wildcats finished 10th in the Big 12 in both 3-point field goal percentage (30.0) and 3-point field goals made per game (5.30).
• K-State is shooting 41.2 percent (82-of-199) from 3-point range and is averaging 8.2 3-point field goals per game.
• K-State ranks 16th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage... The team is 2nd in percentage and 4th in makes in the Big 12.
• K-State has at least 7 3-pointers in 8 games, including double digits vs. Western?Illinois (11/11), Hampton (11/15) and Prairie View A&M (12/6)... The Wildcats are 54-17 under Bruce Weber when connecting on at least 6 treys, including 8-0 this season.
• The Wildcats knocked down 10-of-14 3-point field goals in the opener with Western Illinois (11/11), including all 7 treys in the second half... Six different players had at least one 3-pointer, including season-best 4-of-5 performance by Xavier Sneed.
• The 71.4 3-point percentage vs. Western?Illinois was the highest of Bruce Weber era and the 3rd-most makes.
• K-State posted 12 triples vs. Hampton (11/20), which were the most since also hitting 12 vs. Tulane on?Dec. 28, 2013.
• 10 Wildcats have at least one 3-pointer this season, including a team-best 19-of-42 start by Xavier Sneed... Sneed has at least one 3-pointer in 8 of 10 games, including at least 2 in 6 games... Kamau Stokes is a close 2nd with 18-of-45 efficiency.
• Seven?Wildcats had at least one 3-pointer vs. Green Bay (11/30) for the first time since doing it vs. Iowa State on Feb. 12, 2011.
• K-State has made at least one 3-pointer in 282 consecutive games dating back to the start of the 2008-09 season.

GETTING?DEFENSIVE
• K-State has put up some impressive defensive numbers under Bruce Weber, leading the Big 12 in scoring defense twice in the past 5 seasons (60.4 ppg. in 2012-13; 65.4 ppg. in 2013-14).
• Since Weber’s arrival at K-State in 2012-13 (spanning 143 games), the Wildcats lead the Big 12 in scoring defense at 63.9 points per game (9,138)... The next closest team in that span is Baylor (64.9 ppg.) followed by Oklahoma State (65.3 ppg.).
• K-State ranks 6th nationally in scoring defense (57.8), 11th in field goal percentage defense (36.6), 36th in steals (8.4) and 39th in turnovers forced (16.3)... The Wildcats are 2nd in the Big 12 in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
• K-State has held its first 10 opponents to an average of 57.8 points on 36.6 percent shooting, including 33 percent from 3-point range, with just 115 assists on 203 made field goals... The Wildcats also hold a +5.3 rebounding margin (37.6-32.3).
• Five opponents have been held to 55 points or less, while 8 of 10 foes have been held to 40 percent shooting or less.
• 54 opponents have been held to 60 points or less in?Weber’s tenure with the Wildcats boasting a 48-6 mark in those contests (losses to Kansas in 2012, Northern Colorado & Kentucky in 2013, Texas Southern & Georgia in 2014 and Texas & OSU in 2016).
• K-State held Robert Morris to just 40 points on 22.8 percent shooting (13-of-57)... It was the fewest points allowed and the lowest field goal percentage since Long Beach?State scored 38 points on just 19.6 percent (11-of-56) on Nov. 24, 2013.
• K-State is 78-23 under Bruce Weber when holding an opponent to 69 points or less and 10-32 when allowing 70 or more.
• K-State has at least 15 points off turnovers in each of the first 10 games, including a season-high 26 vs. Omaha (11/15)... The squad has scored more than 2,000 points (2,105) off of turnovers under Bruce Weber, an average of 14.7 points per game.
• The Wildcats has also forced 20 or more turnovers in 3 games, including a season-high 25 vs. Robert Morris (11/22).
• The current 8.4 steals per game average is on pace to be the 3rd-best average in school history and the highest since 1990-91.
• K-State already has 47 blocks this season, which more than 50 percent of the entire total (91) from 2015-16.

PLAYING HARD IS A SKILL
• One of the things that K-State has prided itself in under head coach Bruce Weber has been its ability to play harder than its opponents... Nothing is more valuable to Weber in this regard as the Wayne McClain Play Hart Chart, which is named in honor of the longtime Illinois high school coach and Wildcats’ former director of development who passed away on Oct. 15, 2014.
• The chart, which is kept for both teams by graduate assistants and team managers, is a point system based on the elements of playing hard, including deflections/blocks, steals, dives, loose balls, offensive rebounds and charges (+2).
• K-State has won the Play Hard Chart in 8 of 10 games by a combined score of 426-307.
• Senior D.J. Johnson has a team-best 80 points on the Play Hard Chart and has won the chart 5 times this season... He has 520 points in his career... Johnson, who has a team-best 14 Play Hard points vs. Western Illinois (11/11), owns the single-game, individual best for the chart since it was start in 2012-13 with 20 at Iowa State on Feb. 27, 2016.
• Sophomore Dean Wade has won the chart in 4 games, including 12 points vs. Hampton (11/20) and Robert Morris (11/22).

BROWN OFF TO A FAST START
• Sophomore Barry Brown is off to a solid start to the season, as he is averaging a team-best 13.2 points on 46.2 percent (49-of-106) shooting, including 49.3 percent (34-of-69) from inside the 3-point line.
• Brown has led the Wildcats in scoring 3 times, scoring a season-high 18 points with Western Illinois (11/11) to go with a game-high 15-point effort vs. Omaha (11/15)... He matched his season-high with 18 vs. Green Bay (11/30).
• Brown ranks in the Big 12’s Top 15 in 3 categories, including 3rd in steals, 8th in minutes and 14th in scoring.
• Brown has been among the steals leaders, ranking 20th nationally in total steals (23) and 28th in steals per game (2.3)... He has at least 2 steals in 7 of 10 games, including a career-best 5 vs. Hampton (11/20)... He ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in steals.
• Brown leads all Wildcats with 9 double-figure scoring games, including each of the first 7 games.

IWUNDU MOVING UP THE CHARTS
• Senior Wesley Iwundu could be the first Wildcat in school history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals in a career... Currently, he is shy of the milestone by 86 points, 45 rebounds, 20 assists and 4 steals.
• Only Rolando Blackman recorded more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists in a career, as steals were not kept.
• Iwundu currently ranks 2nd on the team in scoring (12.1 ppg.), rebounding (5.8 rpg.) and assists (3.5 apg.).
• Iwundu collected his 6th career double-double vs. Maryland (11/26), while he has scored in double figures 6 times.
• Iwundu ranks among the Big 12 leaders in 6 categories, including scoring (19th), rebounding (14th), assists (14th), field goal percentage (10th/48.4), free throw percentage (10th/75.8) and defensive rebounds (8th/4.7).
• Iwundu is one of 2 Big 12 players (Jordan Woodard) to rank in the Top 20 in scoring and rebounding and Top 15 in assists.
• Iwundu is the leader in points (914), rebounds (455), assists (280), steals (96), minutes (2,912), games (107) and starts (99).
• Iwundu now ranks 8th in career assists (280), while he is 34th on the all-time scoring list (914).
• Iwundu has played in 74 consecutive games, including a streak of 62 starts in a row... His 99 career starts currently rank 7th in school history and needs just 1 more start to become just the 7th Wildcat with 100 career starts.

JOHNSON A FORCE IN THE MIDDLE
• Senior D.J. Johnson is a consistent force in the middle, averaging 10.9 points on a team-high 61.4 percent shooting with team-bests in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and blocks (1.9 bpg.)... He has double figures in 5 games, including 2 20-point games.
• Johnson ranks among the Big 12 leaders in 5 categories (ranking in the Top 10 in 4 categories), including FG percentage (2nd), blocks (6th), rebounding (7th), offensive rebounds (6th/1.9) and defensive rebounds (11th/4.5)
• Johnson scored a career-best 26 points vs. No. 23 Maryland (11/26) on 10-of-18 field goals with 8 rebounds in 29 minutes.
• Johnson collected his 2nd career double-double at Saint Louis (12/3) with 21 points on 10-of-11 field goals and 10 rebounds.
• Four of his 6 career double-digit rebounding efforts have come this year, including a career-best 12 vs. Western Illinois (11/11).
• His career 58.1 field goal percentage ranks 2nd in school history after shooting a school-record 60.8 percent as a junior.
• His 19 blocked shots are more than half of his total from 2015-16 (29), while twice he has posted a career-best 4 blocks.

WEBER TOPS 400 CAREER WINS
• Head coach Bruce Weber recently reached a coaching milestone, as he earned his 400th career win in the Wildcats’ victory over Prairie View A&M, 74-55, on Dec. 6... The 400 victories span 19 years, which includes head coaching stints at Southern?Illinois (103, 1998-2003), Illinois (210, 2003-12) and now K-State (88, 2012-present).
• Weber becomes the 131st Division I head coach to accomplish the feat, including the 51st active coach... He is the fourth current Big 12 coach to win 400 games, joining Bob Huggins, Bill?Self and Lon Kruger.
• Weber surpassed Tom Asbury (85, 1994-2000) for 6th on the all-time wins list Dec. 3 with his 86th win after passing both Lon Kruger (81, 1986-90) and Jim?Wooldridge (83, 2000-06) earlier this season... He is 2 wins shy of passing Charles Corsaut (89, 1923-33) for 5th place, behind only Jack Hartman (295), Tex Winter (261), Jack Gardner (146) and Frank Martin (117).
• Interesting note, Weber is one of several K-State head coaches to earn milestones this season...Football coach Bill Snyder won his 200th game (all at K-State) vs. Kansas on Nov. 26, while volleyball coach Suzie Fritz won her 300th match (all at K-State) vs. Mississippi State on Sept. 9 and women’s basketball coach Jeff Mittie won his 500th game at Omaha on Dec. 4.

BEASLEY, McGRUDER MAKE NBA OPENING DAY ROSTERS
• K-State had two former players on opening day NBA rosters, as Michael Beasley (Milwaukee Bucks) and Rodney McGruder (Miami HEAT) debut for their respective teams on Oct. 26... McGruder earned his first career start vs. Atlanta on Nov. 15.
• K-State is one of six Big 12 teams with multiple NBA players, joining Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas... It marked the first time multiple Wildcats have been on NBA teams since Beasley (Miami), Bill Walker (Miami) and Cartier Martin (Detroit) all played in the league during the 2014-15 season.
• Beasley, who is entering his ninth NBA season, played the final 20 games of the 2015-16 season with the Houston Rockets after a stint with the Shandong Golden Stars of the Chinese Basketball Association... He was traded to the Bucks in September.
• McGruder, who is entering his first season in the NBA, signed a free-agent contract with the HEAT in July and was able to snag with the final spots on the team’s 15-man roster... He helped the HEAT’s D-League team (Sioux Falls Skyforce) to D-League title.

BOOZER NAMED TO COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
• Two-time All-American Bob Boozer was among 8 individuals announced on March 22 to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame... He was posthumously inducted on Friday, Nov. 18 as part of the CBE?Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center.
• Considered one of the most decorated players in K-State history, Boozer was a first team All-American in both 1958 and 1959 and he averaged a double-double for his 77-game career with 21.9 points on 44 percent shooting with 10.7 rebounds per game. He is one of only two players (Willie Murrell) in school history to average 20 points and 10 rebounds in a career.

PAIR OF FRESHMEN TO MISS 2016-17 SEASON
• Freshmen Cartier Diarra and James Love III?are expected to miss the 2016-17 season after going down with injuries.
• Diarra went down with a knee injury in a practice in early July and underwent surgery on July 13.
• Love broke his foot in a practice in late October and underwent surgery on Nov. 5.
• Diarra averaged a double-double of 18.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game his senior season at West Florence High School en route to earning Class 4A All-State honors from the South Carolina Basketball?Coaches Association (SCBCA)... Love averaged 10 points, 13 rebounds and 5 blocks per game as a senior at American?Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla.

‘CATS ANNOUNCE THE SIGNINGS OF McGUIRL, SHADD &?STOCKARD
• Head coach Bruce Weber announced the signing of high school standouts Mike McGuirl (Ellington, Conn./East Catholic), Nigel Shadd (Chandler, Ariz./Tri-City Christian Academy) and Levi Stockard III (St. Louis, Mo./Vashon) on Nov. 11.
• The trio went a combined 72-8 during their respective junior seasons in 2015-16 with two state titles… They have a combined four state championships in their careers.
• A 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard McGuirl averaged 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks in 2015-16… He was First Team Class L All-State and selected to FAB 15 All-Courant Team.
• A 6-foot-9, 238-pound forward Shadd averaged 18.5 points on 69.3 percent shooting with 14 rebounds and 3.9 blocks… Twice named to Canyon Athletic Association All-State Teams.
• A 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward Stockard averaged 10 points on 94.7 percent shooting with 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks… Named to Class 4 All-State Team as a junior.

‘CATS JUMP START SEASON WITH EUROPEAN TRIP
• K-State was able to get a jump start on its preparations for the 2016-17 with a 10-day trip to Italy and Switzerland from August 8-19... Aside from the cultural experience of visiting historic landmarks in both countries, the Wildcats were able to play five games against various club, select and national teams and posted a 3-2 record.
• K-State defeated BC Silute (97-80) on August 11, the Italian Select (90-55) on August 13 and BBC Lausanne (68-47) on August 18 with losses to LCC?University (75-82) on August 10 and the Kosovo National Team (74-85) on August 16.
• The Wildcats averaged 80.8 points on 43.6 percent shooting (152-of-349) with 45.4 rebounds, 11.8 steals and 11.6 assists per game... Sophomore Kamau Stokes led the way in scoring at 10.8 points per game to go with a team-best 3.0 assists, 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per outing... Stokes had a tour-high 20 points in the loss to the Kosovo National Team.
• Freshman Xavier Sneed, who scored in double figures in the first four contests, also averaged double figures at 10.4 points per game to go with 3.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game... Sophomore Dean Wade averaged 9.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, while senior D.J. Johnson led the way in rebounding at 6.8 per outing to go with an 8.0 points per game average on 69.6 percent shooting... Five other players averaged better than 5 points per game (Barry Brown (7.6 ppg.), Carlbe Ervin II (6.8 ppg.), Isaiah Maurice (6.2 ppg.), Brian Patrick (6.2 ppg.) and Wesley Iwundu (5.4 ppg.).

UP NEXT: GARDNER-WEBB (5-5)
• K-State returns to Bramlage Coliseum on Tuesday, December 21 at 7 p.m., as the Wildcats host Gardner-Webb (5-5) in the final non-conference tilt. Tickets are available starting at $10, while fans can take advantage of the Bramlage Bundle for just $20, which includes a general admission/bench ticket, $10 concessions voucher and a souvenir from the K-State Super Store. The contest will be televised on FOX Sports Kansas City (state of Kansas, Kansas City area), K-StateHD.TV and ESPN3 (outside of state of Kansas).