Game Preview // K-State Hosts Fort Hays State Sunday

EXHIBITION #1
KANSAS STATE (0-0) vs.
FORT HAYS STATE (0-0)
Sunday, October 29, 2017 >> 2:10 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
FOX Sports Kansas City // K-StateHD.TV [free] // ESPN3

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (analyst)

Channel Listing: DirecTV 671-5 [HD] / Dish 441 or 412-29 / AT&T U-Verse 750 [SD] or 1750 [HD]

RADIO
K-State Sports Network

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
Matt Walters (analyst)

Listen Online: TuneIn.com [free] // www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]
Satellite Radio: None

LIVE STATS
www.kstatesports.com
kstate.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS
www.kstatesports.com/tickets
(800) 221.CATS [2287]

Single Game: $10 (bench & GA)/$20 (chairback)
Wildcat 4 Pack: $30 (4 GA tickets)
Group (12+): $5

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 413-223/20th season
At K-State: 100-68/6th season
vs. Fort Hays State: 1-0

Fort Hays State: Mark Johnson (Pittsburg State '93)
Overall: 322-149/17th season
At Fort Hays State: Same
vs. Kansas State: 0-1

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (0-0)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
G: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #1 Mawdo Sallah

Fort Hays State (0-0)
G: #0 KeShawn Wilson
G: #5 Kyler Kinnamon
G: #12 Trey O'Neil
F: #4 Hadley Gillum
F: #25 Brady Werth

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 3-0 [exhibition]
In Manhattan: K-State leads 3-0 [exhibition]
Last Meeting: W, 70-52 [11/6/2015 in Manhattan]
Weber vs. Johnson: Weber leads 1-0

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (0-0) begins its regularly-scheduled exhibition season on Sunday afternoon, as the Wildcats play host to Division II foe Fort Hays State (0-0) at Bramlage Coliseum. The game is the first of two exhibitions for the Wildcats, which continues on Friday, Nov. 3 against fellow MIAA?member Emporia State at 8 p.m.
K-State started its exhibition season on Oct. 21, as the school received a waiver from the NCAA to host Missouri State in a special event to benefit the American Red Cross' hurricane relief efforts. The Wildcats defeated the Bears, 78-62, as redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra led three players in double figures with 14 points.
K-State is 64-20 (.762) all-time in exhibition play dating to 1964, including 49-9 (.845) at home. The Wildcats have a 43-9 (.827) record in exhibition play at Bramlage Coliseum, including 21 consecutive wins dating back to 2004.
The Wildcats have three wins over the Tigers during its current 21-game win streak, including 95-59 in 2007, 90-60 in 2011 and 70-52 in 2015.
K-State has primarily played the Kansas members of the MIAA (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) since switching to Division?II teams in exhibition play in 2004, which includes six meetings with?Washburn, four with Pittsburg State and three with Emporia State and Fort Hays State.
The last home setback in exhibition play came to the EA Sports All-Stars, 79-67, on Nov. 6, 2003. Overall, the last loss in an exhibition came during the team's tour of Italy and Switzerland last summer - an 85-74 setback to the Kosovo National Team on August 16, 2016. The Wildcats went 3-2 on the tour.
Last season, K-State posted wins over Pittsburg State (85-72) and Washburn (73-58) in exhibition play at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats averaged 79 points on 45.1 percent shooting, including 37 percent from 3-point range, during their exhibition slate, while allowing 65 points on 36.1 percent shooting.
Junior Barry Brown, Jr., was one of three Wildcats to average double figures during exhibition play last season, as he averaged a team-high 16 points on 55.6 percent shooting (10-of-18). Other returners include Xavier Sneed (11.0 ppg.), Dean Wade (9.5 ppg.), Kamau Stokes (5.0 ppg.), James Love III (2.0 ppg.), Brian Patrick (1.5 ppg.) and Pierson McAtee (1.0 ppg.).
K-State won its last exhibition with Fort Hays State, 70-52, on Nov. 6, 2015, as the Wildcats converted 19 Tiger turnovers into 23 points. Wesley Iwundu led three players in double figures with a game-high 17 points in a starting lineup that also featured Stokes (4 points) and Wade (3 points).
K-State is 9-0 under Bruce Weber in exhibition play at home with wins over Washburn (81-61) and Emporia State (81-51) in 2012, Pittsburg State (75-54) in 2013, Washburn (68-56) in 2014, ESU (80-42) and Fort Hays State in 2015 and Pittsburg State and Washburn last season.

LAST TIME OUT

K-State received a jump-start to the 2017-18 season last Saturday (Oct. 21), as the Wildcats received a special waiver to play Missouri State in a special exhibition to benefit the victims of the recent hurricanes. The department was able to raise just over $15,000 from the game to benefit the American Red Cross.
Behind the strength of balanced scoring, the Wildcats knocked off the Bears, 78-62, in a game in which they led for nearly 39 minutes. Redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra registered a team-high 14 points in just 18 minutes off the bench, while juniors Kamau Stokes (13) and Barry Brown, Jr. (12) also posted double figures. The Bears were led by Jarrid Rhodes' game-high 20 points.
All 15 available Wildcats saw action in the contest with only three (Brown, Stokes and Dean Wade) playing more than 20 minutes. Twelve of the 15 players scored with 11 tallying at least one made field goal. Six newcomers saw action, including a start by junior graduate transfer Mawdo Sallah (2 points/3 rebounds).
Wade led all players with 7 rebounds, while Brown and Stokes each dished out a team-best 3 assists. Stokes paced all players with 4 steals.
The Wildcats connected on 47.4 percent (27-of-57) of their field goals, including 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the first half. The team shot 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point range and 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from the free throw line. The Bears went 33.9 percent (20-of-59) from the field, including 39.1 percent (9-of-23) from long range.
Both teams capitalized on turnovers with K-State forcing 17 turnovers, including 11 steals, to score 24 points off of miscues, while Missouri?State made the most of 12 Wildcat turnovers to post 19 points.
The Wildcats held the advantage in points in the paint (28-20), points off turnovers (24-19), fast-break points (12-4) and bench points (39-22), while the Bears had a slight 13-11 edge in second-chance points with a 44-37 rebounding margin.
K-State used a starting lineup of juniors Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade, sophomore Xavier Sneed and graduate transfer Mawdo Sallah... Stokes and Wade have now started all 5 career exhibition games dating back to the 2015-16 season.
In addition to Sallah's start, five other newcomers saw action, including Makol Mawien (7 points/4 rebounds), Mike McGuirl (2 points), Nigel Shadd (4 points/5 rebounds), Levi Stockard III (1 point/1 rebound) and Amaad Wainright (0 points/4 rebounds).

NOTES ON THE TIGERS

Fort Hays State returns seven lettermen, including three starters (senior Hadley Gillum and juniors Kyler Kinnamon and Trey O'Neil), from a team that posted an 18-11 overall record, including a tie for fourth place in the MIAA with an 11-8 mark, in 2016-17.
The Tigers averaged 73.9 points per game on 46.2 percent shooting, including 38.7 percent from 3-point range, with 37.0 rebounds, 12.5 assists, 4.9 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 69.7 points on 42.5 percent shooting, including 37.5 percent from long range.
Gillum is the team's top returner in both scoring (13.5 ppg.) and rebounding (6.4 rpg.), while four other returners (O'Neil, Brady Werth, Kinnamon and Aaron Nicholson) averaged between 4.6 and 7.0 points per game. Gillum connected on 47.5 percent of his field goals, including nearly 40 percent from 3-point range (39.6), and posted a stellar 75.3 free throw percentage. O'Neil is the team's top 3-point shooter after making 46 on a 37.1 percent clip, while Kinnamon was the team's leader in both assists (97) and steals (33) a year ago.
Kinnamon is the cousin of K-State junior walk-on Kade Kinnamon. Both are the sons of high school head coaches, as Kyler's dad, Kurt, is the longtime head coach at McPherson High School in McPherson, Kan., while Kade's dad, Clint, is the head coach at St. John High School in St. John, Kan. Kurt Kinnamon has led the Bullpups to six state titles since 1996, while Clint Kinnamon has guided St. John to state titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Head coach Mark Johnson enters his 17th season with a 322-149 (.684) overall record at Fort Hays State. His 322 wins are a program-best for the Tigers, as he ranks among the Top 25 among Division II?coaches in winning percentage. He has led the Tigers to seven NCAA?Tournament apperances, including four trips (2010, 2011, 2014, 2016) in the last eight seasons. He has also guided the team to nine 20-win seasons.

LAST MEETING WITH THE TIGERS

K-State won its last exhibition meeting with Fort Hays State, 70-52, on Nov. 6, 2015, as the Wildcats took advantage of 19 Tiger turnover to score 23 points in a game they led for all but 10 seconds. Three Wildcats scored in double figures led by Wesley Iwundu's 17 points.
The Wildcats connected on 42.4 percent (25-of-59) from the field, including 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from 3-point range, while the Tigers shot just 34 percent (18-of-53), including 20 percent (5-of-25) from long range.
In all, 11 players are returning that played in the 2015 exhibition, including Wildcats Barry Brown, Jr., Pierson McAtee, Mason Schoen, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade. Both Stokes and Wade earned starts as true freshmen in that exhibition with Stokes totaling 4 points, a game-high 4 assists and 2 rebounds in 23 minutes and Wade posting 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 16 minutes.
The six Tigers to return include Hadley Gillum, Grant Holmes, Kyler Kinnamon, Aaron Nicholson, Trey O'Neil and Brady Werth.

UP NEXT: EMPORIA STATE

K-State concludes exhibition play on Friday, Nov. 3, as the Wildcats play host to Emporia State in a women's and men's basketball doubleheader at 8 p.m. The women's team takes on Emporia State at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available starting at $10, while fans can take advantage of the Wildcat 4 Pack for just $30. The men's contest will be televised on FOX Sports Kansas City (state of Kansas, Kansas City area), K-StateHD.TV (free) and ESPN3 (outside of state of Kansas).

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Wesley Iwundu

Kade Kinnamon

James Love III

Makol Mawien

Pierson McAtee

Mike McGuirl

Brian Patrick

Mawdo Sallah

Mason Schoen

Nigel Shadd

Xavier Sneed

Levi Stockard III

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Amaad Wainright

Kansas State University Athletics