Game Preview // K-State Opens Season vs. American on Friday

GAME #1
KANSAS STATE (0-0) vs. AMERICAN (0-0)
Friday, November 10, 2017 >> 8:10 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 444 or 412-32 / 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: 413-223/20^th season
At K-State: 100-68/6^th season
vs. American: 0-0

American: Mike Brennan (Princeton '92)
Overall: 57-70/5th season
At American: Same
vs. Kansas State: 0-0

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

American (0-0)
G: #0 Sa'eed Nelson
G: #5 Larry Motuzis
G: #10 Chiekh 'CB' Diallo
F: #22 Sam Iorio
F: #45 Matt Cimino

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: First Meeting
In Manhattan: First Meeting
Last Meeting: n/a
Weber vs. Brennan: First meeting

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (0-0) will officially open its 114th season of men's basketball on Friday night, as the Wildcats host Patriot League foe American (0-0) in the second game of a doubleheader at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will tip off at 8 p.m. CT following the conclusion of the first game between the K-State women's basketball team and Stephen F. Austin, which is set for 5:30 p.m. CT.
K-State will be welcoming back a number of lettermen for its 5-year reunion weekend, as the group will be recognized at halftime of Friday's game. Among the alumni returning are All-Americans Rolando Blackman and Chuckie Williams.
Friday's opener is the first of four straight for the Wildcats at home to start the season, including Tuesday's tilt with UMKC at 7 p.m., the Nov. 17 contest with UC Irvine and the Nov. 20 game with Northern Arizona. The team has already played three home games in exhibition play with wins over Missouri State (78-62), Fort Hays State (79-56) and Emporia State (77-44).
K-State is 88-25 (.779) all-time in season openers dating back to the first season in 1903, including a 76-9 (.894) mark at home. The Wildcats have a 23-2 (.920) record in season openers played at Bramlage Coliseum, which includes a 16-game winning streak from 1995 to 2012. The two losses in that span have come to Southern Miss (74-60 on Nov. 27, 1993) and Northern Colorado (60-58 on Nov. 8, 2013). Overall, the team is 25-4 (.862) at Bramlage Coliseum in home openers.
The Wildcats have won 16 consecutive games against non-conference opponents in home venues (15 at Bramlage Coliseum). Overall, the school has an 87-5 (.946) record at home in non-conference play since 2006-07, including 85-4 (.955) in the regular season, and has won 76 of their last 79 non-conference home games.
K-State, which has won 13 of its last 14 home openers, earned an 82-55 win over Western Illinois in last season's opener on Nov. 11, as Barry Brown, Jr., led four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 18 points. Xavier Sneed came off the bench to score 17 points and Kamau Stokes added 11 points and 5 assists.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 17-2 (.895) in his 19-year head coaching career in season openers (Southern Illinois, Illinois and K-State), including a 17-1 (.944) mark in home openers. He is 4-1 in season openers at K-State.
Friday's game will match two of the youngest teams in the nation, as K-State and American combine for just one senior (K-State's Mason Schoen) and 19 freshmen (true or redshirt) and sophomores. The teams are among 14 nationally to have one senior or less, while American joins Kentucky, The Citadel and Holy Cross as the only schools to not have one senior on its roster.
The contest will also showcase two of nation's leaders in steals from a season ago in K-State's Barry Brown and American's Sa'eed Nelson. Brown ranked seventh nationally in total steals (82) and 11th in average (2.34), while Nelson was eighth in average (2.40) and 13th in total steals (72).

NOTES ON AMERICAN

American returns five lettermen, including a pair of starters (Sa'eed Nelson and Mark Gasperini), from a squad that posted an 8-22 overall record and finished tied for ninth in the Patriot League with a 5-13 mark in 2016-17. The Eagles are one of the youngest teams in the country with a combined 10 freshmen and sophomores in 2017-18 and one of just four nationally with no seniors. The team also welcomes 10 newcomers, including junior transfer guards Cheikh 'CB' Diallo and Larry Motuzis, who are expected starters.
The Eagles averaged 61.5 points per game on 44.9 percent shooting, including 31.8 percent from 3-point range, with 28.9 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.4 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 68.3 points on 46.9 percent shooting, including 36.6 percent from long range, in 2016-17.
Sophomore guard Sa'eed Nelson led the Eagles in scoring (14.9 ppg.), assists (2.7 apg.), steals (2.4 spg.) and minutes (37.8 mpg.) in 2016-17, connecting on 44.1 percent from the field. Nelson ranked among the Top 15 nationally in three categories, including minutes (3rd), steals/game (8th) and total steals (13th). Fellow sophomore Mark Gasperini also averaged in double figures, ranking second in scoring at 11.7 points per game on 48.9 percent shooting. Both players were named to the Patriot League All-Rookie Team. Other returnees include James Washington (3.7 ppg., 1.9 rpg.), Matt Cimino (3.1 ppg., 1.7 rpg.) and Kevin Brown (0.0 ppg., 0.0 rpg.).
Among the 10 newcomers are a pair of transfers in junior guards Cheikh 'CB' Diallo (Kilgore Community College) and Larry Motuzis (Saint Xavier).
Diallo averaged 9.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 59 career games at Kilgore Community College in Texas, while Motuzis averaged 20.7 points and 5.3 rebounds as a sophomore at Saint Xavier in 2015-16 before sitting out the 2016-17 season due to NCAA?transfer rules. Freshman forward Sam Iorio scored a program-best 1,892 points in his career at Parkland High School in Allentown, Pa., including 25 points per game as a senior.
Head coach Mike Brennan enters his fifth season with a 57-70 (.449) overall record at American. The 2014 Patriot League Coach of the Year led the Eagles to a 20-13 overall record in year one, including a Patriot League Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA?Tournament, where they lost to No. 2 seed Wisconsin.
Prior to becoming head coach at American in 2013, Brennan won 252 games in 15 years as an assistant coach at various schools, including Princeton (2000-07), American (2007-09) and Georgetown (2009-13). A four-year starter at Princeton for famed head coach Pete Carril, he led the school to consecutive Ivy League titles and NCAA?Tournament appearances in 1991 and 1992.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the first-ever meeting with American on the hardwood and the first against a Patriot League opponent at home since 1995. Overall, the Wildcats are 4-2 all-time against the league, including wins over Boston University (2009), Holy Cross (1975), Lafayette (1992) and Loyola (1995).

K-State is 2-0 all-time against the Patriot League at home, including an 86-63 win over Lafayette in 1992 and a 76-69 win over Loyola in 1995.
The last overall meeting with a Patriot League foe came in the 2009 Puerto Rico Tipoff, as the Wildcats dispatched of Boston University, 80-70.

HISTORY IN SEASON OPENERS

K-State is 88-25 (.779) all-time in season openers dating back to the first season in 1903. The Wildcats have a 76-9 (.894) record in season openers played at home, including a 23-2 (.920) mark at Bramlage Coliseum. The team won 16 home openers in a row from 1995 to 2012, which spanned the only two season-opening losses at Bramlage Coliseum (Southern Miss, 74-60, Nov. 27, 1993 and Northern Colorado, 60-58, on Nov. 8, 2013).
Head coach Bruce Weber is 17-2 (.895) in his 19-year head coaching career in openers (Southern Illinois, Illinois and K-State), including a 17-1 (.944) mark in home openers. His two losses have come at Murray State, 65-62, on Nov. 14, 1998 while at SIU and at home to Northern Colorado, 60-58, on Nov. 8, 2013 at K-State. He is 4-1 in season openers at K-State, including an 82-55 win over Western Illinois last season.

NON-CONFERENCE HISTORY

K-State has an 87-5 (.946) record at home venues (includes both home games played at Bramlage Coliseum and the Sprint Center) in non-conference game dating back to the 2006-07 season, including an 85-4 (.955) mark during the regular season. The Wildcats have won 76 of their last 79 non-conference home games, including their current 16-game winning streak in home non-conference games.
K-State went 8-0 in non-conference games played at home venues (7-0 at Bramlage Coliseum and 1-0 at the Sprint Center in Kansas City) with an average margin of victory of 19.1 points per game. The last home non-conference loss came in a 50-46 loss to Georgia on Dec. 31, 2014.
Overall, the Wildcats went 11-2 in non-conference play in 2016-17, which included a pair of road victories at Saint Louis (84-53) and Colorado State (89-70). The two setbacks came to No. 23 Maryland (69-68) on Nov. 26, 2016 at the Barclays Center Classic in Brooklyn, N.Y., and at Tennessee (70-58) in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 28, 2017. The team has won double-digit non-conference games each of the past two seasons (23 total/23-5 record) since posting a 7-6 record in non-conference play in 2014-15.
The school registered a 12-3 record in non-conference play in 2015-16, topping double-digit wins for the first time since 2013-14. The Wildcats had a streak of eight consecutive seasons with at least 10 non-conference victories from 2006-07 to 2013-14.

HISTORY AT BRAMLAGE COLISEUM

K-State has posted a 352-113 (.757) all-time record at Bramlage Coliseum since its opening during the 1988-89 season. The 352 victories are the second-most at a home venue for the Wildcats, trailing the 378 wins at Ahearn Field House (1950-88).
K-State has collected a 151-33 (.821) record at home over the past 11 seasons, including a 66-28 (.702) mark in Big 12 play. The 151 wins rank fourth among Big 12 schools in that span, while the 66 league victories at home are only surpassed by Kansas and Texas. In all, the school has earned double-digit victories in 24 of its 29 seasons in the arena, including a current streak of 16 consecutive seasons.

The Wildcats have a 212-56 (.791) record at home, including a 124-10 (.925) mark in non-conference action, since the 2001-02 season for an average of just over 13 home wins (13.3) per season. Last season, the team went 11-5 at home, including 7-0 in non-conference play.
Head coach Bruce Weber has a 67-17 (.798) record at Bramlage Coliseum since taking over at K-State in 2012-13 with non-conference home losses to Northern Colorado (2013), Texas Southern (2014) and Georgia (2014). The 17 losses (14 of which have come in Big 12 play) have come by a grand total of 99 points or just 5.8 points per game. Among the 67 victories are 12 over ranked teams, including top-ranked Oklahoma in 2016.

RECAPPING EXHIBITION PLAY

K-State posted a 3-0 mark in exhibition play, beginning with a 78-62 win over Missouri State in a charity game on Oct. 21 followed by victories over Fort Hays State (79-56) on Oct. 29 and Emporia State (77-44) on Nov. 3.
With the wins, K-State is now 66-20 all-time in exhibition play, including 51-9 in home exhibition games. The Wildcats are 45-9 in exhibition games at Bramlage Coliseum with 23 consecutive wins dating back to 2003. Overall, the team has now won six straight in exhibition play since 2016.
The Wildcats averaged 78.0 points in exhibition play on 51.8 percent shooting (88-of-170), including 34.6 percent (18-of-52) from 3-point range, to go with 36.7 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 11.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. They hold their three opponents to 54 points on 33.1 percent shooting (52-of-157), including 31 percent (22-of-71) from 3-point range. The team forced their opponents into 55 turnovers (with 33 steals) and scored 77 points off those miscues.
K-State held advantages in points in the paint (34.7 to 17.3 per game), points off turnovers (25.7 to 14.3 per game), second-chance points (12.0 to 6.3 per game), fast-break points (13 to 4.0 per game) and bench points (28.0 to 23.1 per game).
Junior Dean Wade paced five players in double figures with a team-high 13.7 points per game average on 64 percent shooting (16-of-25) to go with a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. Sophomore Xavier Sneed was second in both scoring (12.3 ppg.) and rebounding (5.3 rpg.), while juniors Barry Brown, Jr. (10.7 ppg., 4.7 rpg., 3.7 apg.) and Kamau Stokes (10.5 ppg., 3.5 apg.) and redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra (10.0 ppg., 3.7 apg.) also averaged double figures.
Others who played significant minutes in exhibition included junior college transfers Amaad Wainright (5.3 ppg., 2.7 rpg.) and Makol Mawien (4.3 ppg., 2.3 rpg.), freshman Nigel Shadd (3.3 ppg., 3.0 rpg.), sophomore Brian Patrick (3.3 ppg., 1.3 rpg.) and graduate transfer Mawdo Sallah (2.7 ppg., 2.7 rpg.). In all, 15 available players saw action in at least one exhibition game.
Wade, Sneed and Brown started all three exhibition games, while Stokes and Mawien each started two and Diarra and Sallah one. Stokes missed the Fort Hays State (10/29) game due to having his wisdom teeth pulled with Diarra earning the start in his place.
Brown was one of four Wildcats to average better than 20 minutes in exhibition play with a team-best 26.3 per game average, along with Stokes (23.5), Wade (23.0) and Diarra (21.7). Others to log significant minutes were Sneed (19.3), Wainright (17.3), Patrick (17.3) and Mawien (14.7).

LAST TIME OUT

Junior Dean Wade pulled down game-highs in both points (20) and rebounds (10) to help K-State wrap up exhibition play with a 77-44 win over Emporia State on Nov. 3 at Bramlage Coliseum. Wade's double-double paced three Wildcats in double figures, along with sophomore Xavier Sneed (13) and junior Amaad Wainright (12). Wainright also added a team-tying 4 assists and 3 steals in 22 minutes.
K-State connected on 54.5 percent (30-of-55) from the field in the game, including 60 percent (15-of-25) in the second half, while holding Emporia State to 29.2 percent shooting (14-of-48), including 22.7 percent (5-of-22) in the first half. The Wildcats held the advantage in points in the paint (38-20), points off turnovers (26-10), second-chance points (10-1) and bench points (30-16). The team had 20 assists on 30 made field goals.
Wade, who posted a double-double for the second time in any game at K-State, scored his game-high 20 points on 8-of-11 field goals, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range, in just 24 minutes of action to go with 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block and 1 assist. Sneed's 13 points came on 4-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-5 from long range, with 6 rebounds in just 17 minutes, while Wainright hit on 6-of-7 shots in his 22 minutes.
All 14 available Wildcats saw action in the contest with 10 playing double digit minutes. Nine of the 13 players scored with all registering at least one made field goal. Six newcomers saw action, including a second start by sophomore community college transfer Makol Mawien, while junior Kamau Stokes returned the lineup after missing the Fort Hays State (10/29) due to a wisdom tooth. Stokes scored 8 points on 4-of-6 field goals with 4 assists and 2 steals in 22 minutes. Wade has now started all 7 career home exhibition games dating back to the 2015-16 season.

EXHIBITION TO BENEFIT HURRICANE RELIEF

K-State received a jump-start to the 2017-18 season on Oct. 21, as the Wildcats received a special waiver to play Missouri State in an 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.
The Wildcats used a balanced scoring effort to knock off the Bears, 78-62, as 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. Overall, the team connected on 47.4 percent (27-of-57) of their field goals, including 53.8 percent (14-of-26) in the first half, while holding MSU to 33.9 percent shooting.

ONE OF THE YOUNGEST TEAMS

K-State is one of 14 schools nationally (Auburn, American, Bowling Green, The Citadel, Holy Cross, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Marquette, Montana, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Toledo and Wofford) to have one or fewer seniors on its roster in 2017-18, while the Wildcats' nine freshmen (true and redshirt) and sophomores ranks eighth nationally and are only surpassed by the 12 at Auburn and Kentucky and 10 each by American, The Citadel, Tennessee, Toledo and Wofford.

K-STATE WELCOMES SHAUN WILLIAMS

Head coach Bruce Weber announced the signing of Shaun Williams (St. Louis, Mo./Hazelwood Central) on the first day of the National Signing Period Wednesday.
A 6-foot-3, 170-pound guard, Williams led Hazelwood Central in 12 categories en route to helping the Hawks to a 17-11 record and a trip to the Class 5, District 3 Championship Game. He averaged a team-best 18.6 points on 47.4 percent shooting (155-of-237), including 35.2 percent (38-of-108) from 3-point range, to go with 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He connected on a team-best 83.8 percent (98-of-117) from the free throw line. He was a First Team Class 5 All-State selection by the Missouri Basketball?Coaches Association as a junior.

UP NEXT: UMKC

K-State will make a quick turnaround, as the Wildcats play host to UMKC on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. Tickets are available starting at $10, while fans can take advantage of the Wildcat 4 Pack for just $30. The 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).

Game Preview // K-State Opens Season vs. American on Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Brian Patrick

Mawdo Sallah

Mason Schoen

Nigel Shadd

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Amaad Wainright

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Opens Season vs. American on Friday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Brian Patrick

Mawdo Sallah

Mason Schoen

Nigel Shadd

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Amaad Wainright

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