PREVIEW: K-State Heads to Kansas City to Play Washington State Saturday

GAME PREVIEW

DEC 10, 7:10 PM

Sprint Center
Kansas City, MO

NR/NR
WASHINGTON STATE
COUGARS
5-4 (0-0 Pac-12)

NR/NR
K-STATE
WILDCATS
8-1 (0-0 Big 12)

FSN Kansas City
K-StateHD.TV/ESPN3
Sirius 136/XM 199

Wildcat Classic at Sprint Center

TELEVISION
FSN Kansas City (state of Kansas/Kansas City metro area)
K-StateHD.TV (subscription)
ESPN3 (outside the region)
• Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
• Stan Weber (analyst)
Channel Guide: DirecTV 671-5 | AT&T U-Verse 750/1750 | Dish 444/412-32

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
• Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
• Matt Walters (analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 136/XM 199

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

TICKETS
kstatesports.com
SprintCenter.com
(800) 221.CATS | (888) 929.7849
$10-$50 (various locations)

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 400-210/19th season
At K-State: 87-55/5th season
vs. Washington State: First meeting

Washington State: Ernie Kent (Oregon ‘77)
Overall: 352-298/22nd season
At Washington State: 27-44/4th season
vs. Kansas State: 2-0

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (8-1)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes (10.2 ppg., 3.8 apg.)
G: #5 Barry Brown (13.1 ppg., 2.8 rpg.)
G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (11.8 ppg., 5.6 rpg.)
F: #32 Dean Wade (8.8 ppg., 6.1 rpg.)
F: #4 D.J. Johnson (11.7 ppg., 6.4 rpg.)

Washington State (5-4)
G: #2 Ike Iroegbu (11.4 ppg., 4.0 rpg.)
G: #22 Malachi Flynn (12.2 ppg., 4.1 rpg.)
G: #23 Charles Callison (8.0 ppg., 1.1 rpg.)
F: #24 Josh Hawkinson (15.9 ppg., 11.6 rpg.)
C: #42 Conor Clifford (9.9 ppg., 3.3 rpg.)

INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: K-State leads 4-2 (series dates to 1941)
vs. Pac-12: K-State leads 138-77 (74-14 at home venues)
In Kansas City: First meeting
Current Streak: K-State, 2
Last Meeting: K-State won 63-58 in Pullman,?Wash. (12/3/2010)
Weber vs. Washington State: First meeting
Weber vs. Kent: Weber leads 2-1 (1-0 at home venues)

GAME 10 - QUICK HITTERS
• Kansas State (8-1)?will make the short trek to Kansas City for Wildcat Classic on Saturday, as the Wildcats face off against Pac-12 foe Washington State (5-4) at 7 p.m., CT?at the Sprint Center.
• Despite its distance from the K-State campus, Saturday will count as a home game, as the school controls the tickets and game operations.
• The Wildcats have won 15 consecutive non-conference games at home venues (61-56 win over Colorado State in Wichita), including 14 in a row at Bramlage Coliseum with an average margin of victory of 18.0 points. The last home non-conference loss came to Georgia on Dec. 31, 2014.
• K-State has a long history in Kansas City, which dates back to a 45-26 loss to the Kansas City Athletic Club on?Feb. 23, 1926. Overall, the school has played 187 games in the city with a 108-79 (.578) record.
• This will be the eighth Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center and the first since a 71-64 win over No. 21 Texas A&M on Dec. 20, 2014. K-State is 6-1 all-time in the Wildcat Classic, which began with an 87-60 win over Florida A&M on Dec. 4, 2007. The last loss in the Classic came to UNLV, 63-59, on?Dec. 21, 2010, while it has wins over SEC?foes Alabama (2011), Florida (2012) and Texas A&M (2014) in the last 3 match-ups.
• K-State will be playing its 26th overall game in the Sprint Center and 12th regular season non-conference contest. The Wildcats have a 13-12 record in the building, which includes a 5-8 mark in the annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship (2008-present) and 0-1 in the NCAA?Tournament.
• This will be the seventh meeting between K-State and Washington State and the first since a 63-58 Wildcat win at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Wash. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 4-2, which dates back to 1941. This will be the first match-up in other than Manhattan or Pullman.
• K-State won its third straight game and moved to 6-0 at home with a 74-55 win over Prairie View A&M on Tuesday, as the victory helped head coach Bruce Weber become the 51st active coach with 400 career wins.
• The Wildcats were impressive all-around, connecting on 50 percent from the field for the fifth time, including the third consecutive game, while knocking down 11 3-point field goals and dishing out 20 assists. The team held its fifth opponent this season to 55 points or less.
• K-State has five players averaging in double figures led by sophomore Barry Brown’s 13.1 points per game, while nine are shooting 50 percent or better from the field led by senior D.J. Johnson’s 62.7 percentage.

THE OPPONENT: WASHINGTON STATE (5-4)
• Washington?State enters Saturday’s game with a 5-4 record after earning a 61-48 win over Idaho on Wednesday night to finish off a 5-game homestand... The Cougars have played 7 of their 9 games at home and this will be their first true road game.
• WSU is averaging 74.1 points on 46.0 percent shooting, including 32.7 percent from 3-point range, with 36.9 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 3.6 steals and 4.1 blocks per game... The team is allowing 75.2 points per game on 40.8 percent shooting.
• The Cougars have 3 players averaging in double figures led by 6-foot-10 senior Josh Hawkinson, who is averaging a double-double with a team-high 15.9 points on 46.2 percent shooting with 11.6 rebounds per game... He is tied for 1st nationally in double-doubles (7), while he is 9th in rebounding... Freshman guard Malachi Flynn (12.2 ppg.) and senior guard Ike Iroegbu (11.4 ppg.) also average in double figures... Flynn is shooting 54.7 percent from the field and has a team-high 14 3-pointers, while Iroegbu is tops in assists (2.8 apg.)... 7-foot center Conor Clifford is averaging 9.9 points on 69.8 percent shooting.
• Washington State returns 7 lettermen, including 3 starters, from a team that posted a 9-22 overall record.
• Veteran coach Ernie Kent has a 352-298 overall record in his 22nd year, which includes stints at Saint Mary’s (1991-97) and Oregon (1997-2010)... He has a 27-44 mark in his third season at Washington State.

BREAKING?DOWN?THE?SERIES
• Saturday’s contest will mark the 7th meeting between K-State and Washington State on the hardwood dating back to 1941.
• The teams first met on Dec. 20, 1941 with the Cougars posting a 47-22 win at home... The Wildcats returned the favor on?Dec. 22, 1949 with a 63-39 victory in Manhattan... The teams didn’t meet again until the first of two home-and-home series in 2004 and 2005 and again in 2009 and 2010... K-State has won 3 of the last 4 meetings, including 62-53 at Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 27, 2004 and 86-69 on Dec. 5, 2009... The Wildcats won the last meeting, 63-58, in Pullman,?Wash., on Dec. 3, 2010.
• K-State is 138-77 all-time against teams from the Pac-12, including an 74-14 mark at home venues... Most of the 138 wins came against former conference foe Colorado (96-47; 1933-2011) during its stint in the Big Seven/Eight/12.
• This will be the 4th meeting between?Bruce Weber and Ernie Kent with Weber leading 4-2... The two first meet on Nov. 28, 1998 when Kent’s Oregon squad won at Southern Illinois, 70-64, which was Weber’s third career game as a head coach... Weber’s Illinois teams swept a pair of neutral site games in 2004 and 2005, defeating the Ducks, 83-66, at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 11, 2004 and again at the Rose Garden in Portland, 89-59, on Dec. 10, 2005.

SCHULZ BOWL
• Washington State University President Kirk H. Schulz served 7 years as the president of Kansas?State University (2009-16) before leaving for Pullman... Schulz helped hire both athletics director John Currie as well as head coach Bruce Weber during his tenure.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
• K-State has an 85-5 record at home in non-conference play dating back to 2006-07, including a 30-3 mark under head coach Bruce Weber... The Wildcats has won 74 of their last 77 non-conference home games.
• K-State has won 15 consecutive games played at home venues against non-conference opponents (61-56 win over Colorado State at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita), including 14 straight at Bramlage Coliseum... The Wildcats’ last loss to a non-conference team at home came against Georgia, 50-46, on Dec. 31, 2014... The team is 16-2 at home in December under Bruce Weber.

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 (87, 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 3 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.

GOOD START ON THE OFFENSIVE END
• K-State is averaging 76.8 points on 50.2 percent shooting (249-of-496), including 41.2 percent (73-of-177) from 3-point range, through the first 9 games with averages of 37.3 rebounds, 17.1 assists, 8.2 steals and 4.8 blocks per game.
• K-State ranks 15th nationally in FG percentage, 17th in 3-point FG percentage and 33rd in assists per game... The team places among the Top 5 in the Big 12 in FG percentage (3rd), 3-point FG percentage (3rd), 3-point FG made (3rd) and assists (3rd).
• The Wildcats have scored 70 or more points in 7 of the first 9 games, including 80 or more points 5 times.
• K-State is now 53-16 under Bruce Weber when scoring 70 or more points, including 24-2 when scoring 80 or more points.
• K-State has shot better than 44 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 (44.3) came against Western Illinois (11/11)... K-State is 32-5 under Bruce Weber when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
• K-State is averaging 32.2 points in the paint, 21.2 bench points, 18.9 points off of turnovers, 12.8 fast break points and 12.4 second-chance points through 9 games... The team is forcing 16.6 turnovers per game, which ranks 34th 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 119 fast-break points (12.8 ppg.), an improvement from 5.7 ppg. from 2015-16 (7.1 ppg.).
• Five players are averaging in double figures, including 4 starters, led by Barry Brown’s 13.1 points per game average.
• Four Wildcats have scored in double figures in 6 games, including at least 3 in each game... In all, 7 have at least one double-digit scoring game, including 8 from Brown and 5 from Wesley Iwundu, D.J. Johnson, Xavier Sneed and Kamau Stokes.
• Nine Wildcats are shooting 50 percent or better from the field, including 2 of 5 starters... The starters are shooting a combined 50.6 percent from the field (181-of-358), including 40.5 percent (45-of-111) 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 (73-of-177) from 3-point range and is averaging 8.1 3-point field goals per game.
• K-State ranks 17th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage... The team is 3rd in both percentage and makes in the Big 12.
• K-State has at least 7 3-pointers in 7 games, including double digits vs. Western?Illinois (11/11), Hampton (11/15) and Prairie View A&M (12/6)... The Wildcats are 53-17 under Bruce Weber when connecting on at least 6 treys, including 7-0 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 18-of-40 start by Kamau Stokes... Stokes has at least one 3-pointer in 8 of 9 games, including at least 2 in 6 games... Xavier Sneed is a close second with 17-of-38 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 281 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 4 seasons (60.4 ppg. in 2012-13; 65.4 ppg. in 2013-14).
• Since Weber’s arrival at K-State in 2012-13 (spanning 142 games), the Wildcats lead the Big 12 in scoring defense at 63.9 points per game (9,082)... The next closest team in that span is Baylor (64.9 ppg.) followed by Oklahoma State (65.3 ppg.).
• K-State ranks 7th nationally in scoring defense (58.0), 18th in field goal percentage defense (36.8), 34th in turnovers forced (17.1) and 39th in steals (8.2)... The Wildcats are 2nd in the Big 12 in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense.
• K-State has held its first 9 opponents to an average of 58.0 points on 36.8 percent shooting, including 32.2 percent from 3-point range, with just 100 assists on 183 made field goals... The Wildcats also hold a +5.0 rebounding margin (37.3-32.3).
• Five opponents have been held to 55 points or less, while 7 of 9 foes have been held to 40 percent shooting or less.
• 53 opponents have been held to 60 points or less in?Weber’s tenure with the Wildcats boasting a 47-6 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 77-23 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 9 games, including a season-high 26 vs. Omaha (11/15)... The squad has scored more than 2,000 points (2,090) 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).
• K-State already has 43 blocks this season, which nearly 75 percent of the entire total (91) from 2015-16.

QUITE THE RUN
• K-State has been able to change the momentum early this season by holding opponents without a field goal for stretches of nearly 6 minutes in 3 of its first 9 games... The Wildcats held Robert Morris without a field goal for two stretch of 6 minutes or more, including 6:13 of the first half (15:50 mark to the 9:37 mark) and 6:59 of the second half (16:44 mark to the 9:45 mark).
• It marked the third time this season that the Wildcats have held an opponent without a field goal for nearly 6 minutes in the first half, holding Western Illinois (11/11) for 5:57 to start the game and Omaha (11/15) for a season-best 7:35 stretch.
• It was particularly helpful against Omaha, as K-State went from trailing 13-4 at the 14:55 mark to leading 27-15 at the 7:20 mark, resulting in a 23-2 run and included 21 straight points... Omaha turned the ball over 7 times and missed 6 field goals.
• K-State also held WIU to just 2 made field goals (on 12 attempts) in the last 7:35 of the second half, as the Wildcats finished the game on a 25-6 run after the Leathernecks had closed the gap to 57-49 with a layup with 7:51 remaining.
• Although K-State didn’t hold Hampton (11/20) to such a drought, the Wildcats did use a pair of 13-0 runs to take command.

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 7 of 9 games by a combined score of 390-281.
• Senior D.J. Johnson has a team-best 76 points on the Play Hard Chart and has won the chart 5 times this year... He has 515 points in his career, which ranks second on the team to fellow senior Wesley Iwundu (529).
• 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 13.1 points on 47.3 percent (44-of-93) shooting, including 52.5 percent (32-of-61) 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 5th in steals, 7th in minutes and 14th in scoring.
• Brown has been among the steals leaders, ranking 26th nationally in total steals (20) and 38th in steals per game (2.3)... He has at least 2 steals in 6 of 9 games, including a career-best 5 vs. Hampton (11/20)... He ranks 5th in the Big 12 in steals.
• Brown leads all Wildcats with 8 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 101 points, 53 rebounds, 25 assists and 7 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 (11.8 ppg.) and assists (3.3 apg.) and 3rd in rebounding (5.6 rpg.).
• Iwundu collected his 6th career double-double vs. Maryland (11/26), while he has scored in double figures 5 times.
• Iwundu ranks among the Big 12 leaders in 6 categories, including scoring (20th), rebounding (16th), assists (15th), field goal percentage (11th/49.4), free throw percentage (11th/74.2) and defensive rebounds (9th/4.7).
• Iwundu is one of only 3 Big 12 players to rank in the Top 20 in scoring and rebounding and Top 15 in assists.
• Iwundu is the leader in points (899), rebounds (447), assists (275), steals (93), minutes (2,881), games (106) and starts (98).
• Iwundu now ranks 8th in career assists (275), while he is 34th on the all-time scoring list (899).
• Iwundu has played in 73 consecutive games, including a streak of 61 starts in a row... His 98 career starts currently rank 7th in school history and needs just 2 more starts 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 11.7 points on 62.7 percent shooting (42-of-67) with team-bests in rebounding (6.4 rpg.) and blocks (2.0 bpg.)... He has double figures in 5 games, including 2 20-point games.
• 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.
• His career 58.3 field goal percentage ranks 2nd in school history after shooting a school-record 60.8 percent as a junior.
• His 18 blocked shots are more than half of his total from 2015-16 (29), while twice he has posted a career-best 4 blocks.

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: COLORADO STATE (7-2)
• The Wildcats will take a week off for final exams before traveling to Denver, Colo., to take on Mountain West foe Colorado State (7-2) in the Pepsi Center at 2 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are as low as $10 and can be purchased by calling (970) 491.RAMS (7267) or online at www.csurams.com.

Kansas State University Athletics