Game Preview // K-State Travels to Vanderbilt Sunday

GAME #8
KANSAS STATE (6-1) at VANDERBILT (3-4)
Sunday, December 3, 2017 >> 1:30 p.m. CT >> Memorial Gym (14,316) >> Nashville, Tenn.

TELEVISION
SEC Network Plus / SECSports.com/Watch / ESPN3

Kevin Ingram (play-by-play)
Shan Foster (analyst)

www.GetSECNetwork.com/channel-finder
DirecTV 611-1 [HD] / Dish 596-599
AT&T U-verse 607/608/608 [SD] /
1607/1608/1609 [HD] / COX 276

RADIO
K-State Sports Network

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (analyst)

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

LIVE STATS
www.vucommodores.com

TICKETS
www.vucommodores.com/tickets
(877) 44.VANDY [448.2639]

Single Game $15 (bench & GA)

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 419-224/20^th season
At K-State: 106-69/6^th season
vs. Vanderbilt: 2-0

Vanderbilt: Bryce Drew (Valparaiso '98)
Overall: 146-69/7^th season
At Vanderbilt: 22-20/2^nd season
vs. Kansas State: 0-0

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (6-1)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
G: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Vanderbilt (3-4)
G: #0 Saben Lee
G: #13 Riley LaChance
F: #2 Joe Toye
F: #11 Jeff Roberson
C: #12 Djery Baptiste

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 5-4
In Nashville: Vanderbilt leads 3-1
Last Meeting: L, 76-82, 3/28/1994
Weber vs. Drew: 0-0

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (6-1) plays its first true road game of the season on Sunday, as the Wildcats travel to Nashville, Tenn., to take on SEC foe Vanderbilt (3-4) at 1:30 p.m., CT at Memorial Gym. It will be the first of a two-game series between the schools with the second coming next season at Kansas City's Sprint Center. This will be the first meeting in Nashville against the Commodores since 1989 with the Wildcats' first and only victory at Memorial Gym coming by a score of 69-55 on Dec. 5, 1977.
This will be the 10th meeting between the schools with K-State holding a slight 5-4 advantage in a series that dates back to 1968. Vanderbilt boasts a 3-1 record in games played at home in the series, including wins in 1968, 1986 and 1989, while the Commodores have won the last two meetings, including an 82-76 victory in the semifinals of the Postseason NIT at Madision Square Garden on March 28, 1994.
K-State has a 125-32 (.796) record in non-conference play since 2006-07, which includes a 30-26 (.536) mark in games played at road and neutral sites. The Wildcats are 10-8 (.556) in that span in true road games, including a 1-3 mark against SEC foes on the road (losses at Tennessee in 2014 and 2017 and Texas A&M in 2015 and win at Georgia in 2015). Overall, the team is 161-149 (.519) all-time against the SEC, including a 48-83 (.366) mark in road contests. The Wildcats have played at least one SEC opponent each of the last 11 seasons with an 8-7 (.533) mark since 2008.
The Wildcats moved to 5-0 at home this season with a 77-68 win over Oral Roberts on Wednesday night, as junior Dean Wade collected his second career double-double with a career-best 25 points and 11 rebounds. Wade became the first K-State player to post at least 25 points and 10 rebounds since Jamar Samuels tallied 27 points and 10 rebounds against Oklahoma State in Big 12 Tournament on March 11, 2010 and the first to do it at home since Michael Beasley had 33 points and 14 rebounds against Colorado on March 1, 2008. The victory extended the team's winning streak to 21 vs. non-conference opponents in home venues and 20 at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State is off to a 6-1 start for the 10th time in the last 15 seasons, including the third consecutive season. The Wildcats started 4-0 for the 10th time in that span this season before losing a high-scoring affair to eventual Las Vegas Invitational champion Arizona State, 92-90, on Thanksgiving night before rebounding for wins over George Washington (67-59) and Oral Roberts. The team, which is off to a 5-0 start at home for the fourth consecutive season, has won their first five home games (American, UMKC, UC?Irvine, Northern Arizona and ORU) by an average of 22.4 points per game.
Wade (14.0 ppg.), along with fellow juniors Barry Brown, Jr. (14.3 ppg.) and Kamau Stokes (14.4 ppg.), are all averaging better than 14 points per game, while a fourth starter - sophomore Xavier Sneed (10.7 ppg.) - is also averaging double figures this season. Only Kansas has more players (four) averaging 14 or more points this season among Big 12 schools, while the Jayhawks, Texas and Texas Tech have four starters averaging in double figures. The trio have been responsible for more than 75 percent of the team's scoring the last two games (97 points out of 127) on 50 percent shooting (33-of-66). They have combined for 16 double-figures scoring games.

NOTES ON VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt enters Sunday's contest with a 3-4 despite playing one of the most difficult schedules in the country, which has included games against Belmont, USC, Virginia and Seton Hall. Those four schools are a combined 21-6 on the season. The Commodores won two of their first three games before losing in overtime to USC?(89-93) and then on a neutral court to Virginia (42-68) and Seton Hall (59-72) in back-to-back games. The team rebounded for a 74-62 win over Radford on Tuesday.
The Commodores are averaging 68 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting, including 29.6 percent from 3-point range, with 37.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 4.6 steals and 2.9 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 70.6 points on 43.5 percent shooting, including 35.4 percent from long range. The team is connecting on 73.7 percent from the free throw line.
Senior forward Jeff Roberson averages a near double-double with team-highs in scoring (13.3 ppg.) and rebounding (9.3 rpg.), while connecting on 40.3 percent from the field and 94.4 percent from the free throw line. Fellow senior guard Riley LaChance averages 13.1 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting, including 48.6 percent from 3-point range, while another senior guard - Matthew Fisher-Davis - averages 12.7 points on 33.3 percent shooting and 6.0 rebounds per game. The trio have combined for 37 of the Commodores' 47 3-pointers and have combined to miss just 8 of 78 free throw attempts this season. Freshman guard Saben Lee leads the way with 20 assists (2.9 apg.) to go with 6.3 points per game, sophomore center Djery Baptiste averages 5.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per outing. In all, six players are averaging 5 or more points and eight are averaging better than 2 rebounds per game.
Vanderbilt is led by second-year head coach Bryce Drew, who has a 146-69 (.679) overall record in his seventh season as a head coach, including a 22-20 (.523) mark in his tenure in Nashville. The brother of Baylor head coach Scott Drew, he led the Commodores to the NCAA?Tournament in his first season in 2016-17 with a 19-16 overall record, including a 10-8 mark in SEC play. He previously coached 11 seasons (2006-16) at his alma mater, Valparaiso, including the last five seasons (2012-16) as head coach, leading the Crusaders to a 124-49 (.717) record and five postseason appearances.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be the 10th meeting between K-State and Vanderbilt on the hardwood with the Wildcats owning a slight 5-4 advantage in a series that dates all the way back to 1968. The Commodores own a 3-1 record against the Wildcats in Memorial Gym, winning matchups in 1968 (92-80), 1986 (79-72) and 1989 (91-81). The Wildcats' only win at Memorial Gym came in a 69-55 victory on Dec. 5, 1977, while their last overall win in the series came in the first year of Bramlage Coliseum by a score of 71-62 on Dec. 10, 1988.
Vanderbilt has won the last two meetings in the series, including a 91-81 victory at home on Dec. 9, 1989 before an 82-76 win in the semifinals of the Postseason NIT on March 28, 1994 at Madison Square Garden. Billy McCaffrey (28) and Ronnie McMahan (27) combined for 54 of the 82 points, as the Commodores connected on 56.5 percent from the field, including 75 percent in the second half. All five Wildcat starters scored in double figures led by Anthony Beane (19 points) and Askia Jones (17 points), while Demond Davis had a near double-double (10 points, 8 rebounds).
Head coach Bruce Weber is 2-0 all-time against Vanderbilt, having won a home-and-home with the Commodores while head coach at Illinois in 2008 and 2009. The Fighting Illini won 69-63 at Memorial Gym on Nov. 20, 2008 then against at home, 79-68, on Dec. 8, 2009.
K-State is 161-149 all-time against teams from the SEC, including a 48-83 mark on the road. The Wildcats have played at least one SEC?foe in each of the last 11 seasons, posting an 8-7 mark in those matchups against Alabama (twice), Georgia (twice), Florida (twice), Kentucky (twice), Ole Miss (three times), Missouri (once), Tennessee (twice) and Texas A&M (twice). The school will play Georgia later this year for a third time on Jan. 17, 2018.

ANOTHER MEETING WITH A DREW

Head coach Bruce Weber will face a member of the Drew family (father, Homer, and sons Scott and Bryce) for the 13th time in his coaching career on Sunday afternoon, boasting a 6-6 mark in those meetings.
Although this will be the first meeting with Bryce Drew in their respective coaching careers, Weber won the only matchup with his father, Homer Drew, while head coach at Illinois with a 93-56 victory over Valparaiso on Dec. 19, 2004, while he is 5-6 against his brother, Baylor's Scott Drew, during his time at K-State which includes a 2-3 mark away from home.

WEBER FACES FORMER PLAYER POWELL

Head coach Bruce Weber will meet a former player in Vanderbilt associate head coach Roger Powell, Jr. Powell played his final two seasons at Illinois for Weber in 2003-05, as the duo helped the Fighting Illini to a 63-9 record, two Big Ten championships and a trip to the 2005 Final Four.
Powell was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in each of his final two seasons, averaging career best of 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds as a senior. He led closed his four-year Illinois career with 1,178 points, among the top-30 scorers in Illini history, and 531 rebounds.

NON-CONFERENCE ROAD GAMES UNDER WEBER

K-State will be playing eighth true non-conference road games under head coach Bruce Weber on Sunday, as the Wildcats boast a 3-4 mark in those matchups. The team has wins over George Washington (65-62, 2012), Georgia (68-66, 2015) and Saint Louis (84-53, 2016) while their losses have come to Long Beach?State (60-69, 2014), Tennessee (64-65, 2014 and 58-70, 2017) and at Texas A&M (68-78, 2015).
Last season, the Wildcats went 9-9 away from home (6-6 on the road and 3-3 at neutral sites). The nine wins were the most away from home since posting 10 such wins in 2012-13, while the six true road wins were also the most on the road since posting seven such wins in 2012-13. The four Big 12 road wins tied for the fourth-most in the Big 12 era, trailing the six in 2009-10 and 2012-13 and five in 2011-12.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 77, ORAL ROBERTS 68

K-State moved to 5-0 on the season at home on Wednesday night with a 77-68 victory over Oral Roberts. The Wildcats connected on 48.3 percent (29-of-60) from the field, including 51.9 percent (14-of-27) in the second half, while holding the Golden Eagles to 36.8 percent (21-of-57) shooting.
Junior Dean Wade continued his impressive play of late with his second career double-double with a career-best 25 points and 11 rebounds, while fellow junior Kamau Stokes added 12 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Wade became the first Wildcat with a 25-point, 10-rebound effort since Jamar Samuels tallied 27 points and 10 rebounds against Oklahoma State in Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center on March 11, 2010.

HISTORY OF STRONG STARTS

K-State is looking to continue a history of strong starts to season on Sunday, as the Wildcats has jumped out to a 6-1 record or better for the 10th time in the last 15 seasons, including the 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. The school has started 7-1 in each of the last two seasons.
The Wildcats have started 2-0 (2014-15), 4-0 (2015-16), 5-0 (2016-17) and 4-0 (2017-18) in each of the last four seasons after dropping their opener to Northern Colorado in 2013. The 5-0 start last season was the best since the 2012-13 season. The squad has started 5-0 five times in the last 15 seasons, including 2004-05 (8-0), 2008-09 (5-0), 2011-12 (5-0), 2012-13 (5-0) and 2016-17 (5-0).
The best start in the last 15 seasons came in 2004-05 when K-State won each of its first eight games en route to a 10-1 start to the season. The best-ever start to a season came in 1918-19 when the squad opened the year 17-0 before losing their last two games to finish 17-2 and win the Missouri Valley Conference title under head coach Zora Clevenger for the second time in three seasons.
K-State's best start after 10 games has been a 9-1 mark, which has been done on five occasions, including 2004-05, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2016-17. Last season, the team opened the year winning 12 of their first 13 games.
Other impressive starts to a season include 7-0 in 1915-16, 10-0 in 1947-48, 9-0 in 1957-58, 7-0 in 1961-62, 8-0 in 1979-80 and 9-0 in 1997-98.

DEFENSIVE PROWESS

K-State has impressed on defense to start the season, allowing a 60.3 points through the first seven games while holding its opposition to 36.5 percent shooting (132-of-362), including 29.5 percent (44-of-149) from long range. The team ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring defense and turnover margin (+5.3), third in field goal percentage defense and assist/turnover ratio (1.5), fourth in steals and fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense.
The Wildcats rank among the Top 50 in nine defensive categories, including 15th in field goal percentage defense, 17th in turnover margin, 19th in assist turnover ratio, 21st in scoring defense and 29th in steals per game.
Only five times in the modern era (since 1953-54) has a K-State team allowed 60 points or less five times to the first six opponents, as the 2017-18 squad joins the 1981-82, 1984-85, 2005-06 and 2012-13 teams to accomplish the feat. If you remove the ASU game, the Wildcats are allowing just 55 points on 33.7 percent shooting (105-of-312), including 26.7 percent (35-of-131) from 3-point range.
The Wildcats have held five of their first six opponents to 45, 51, 49, 58 and 59 points, respectively, as they have now held 63 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber's direction with the squad boasting a 56-7 (.885) mark in those contests (losses to Kansas in 2012, Northern Colorado and Kentucky in 2013, Texas Southern and Georgia in 2014, Texas and Oklahoma State in 2016 and West Virginia in 2017).
The 45 points by American (11/10/17) were the fewest points allowed in an opener since holding South Dakota to 45 points in a 50-point win on Nov. 29, 1986, while the 38 points was the largest margin of victory since also winning by the same margin against Loyola Chicago on Nov. 13, 2009. UMKC, which scored 100 points twice in four games so far, was held to just 51 points on 26 percent shooting (13-of-50), including 28.6 percent (8-of-28) from 3-point range. It was the fewest points scored by the uptempo Kangaroos since scoring 43 at Oklahoma State on Dec. 29, 2015.
K-State has put up some impressive defensive numbers under Weber, leading the Big 12 in scoring defense twice in the past five seasons (60.4 ppg., in 2012-13 and 65.4 ppg., in 2013-14). Since his arrival in 2012-13, the Wildcats are allowing opponents just 64.9 points per game (11,293 points) on 42.5 percent shooting (3903-9194), including 31.7 percent (995-3144) from 3-point range.
Under Weber's direction, K-State has a 91-25 (.785) record when holding an opponent to 69 points or less since 2012-13 and a 15-44 (.259) mark when allowing an opponent to score 70 or more points.

SUCCESS BEYOND THE ARC

K-State has been successful to start the season from 3-point range, averaging 8.7 treys per game on 38.1 percent shooting (61-of-160). Junior Kamau Stokes is one of five players to connect on at least six 3-pointers this season, as he leads all players with 18 treys on 47.4 percent shooting (18-of-38) this season. Stokes hit on a career-high 7 3-point field goals against Arizona State (11/23), which tied for the fourth-most in school history. Fellow junior Dean Wade as well as redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra are hitting at 46.7 percent (7-of-15) clip so far this season.
K-State has hit on six or more 3-pointers in 7 of 8 games this season, including double-digits against American (12, 11/10) and Arizona State (11/23). The 15 makes against the Sun Devils tied for the second-most in school history and were the most since also converting on 15 3-pointers in a home game against Nebraska on Jan. 8, 2000. It was also the most-ever made away from home. Overall, the Wildcats hit on 46.9 percent from beyond the arc against ASU with 32 attempts the third-most ever in a game and the most since attempting a school-record 37 at Texas on Feb. 12, 2005.
Four Wildcats (Diarra, Stokes, Wade and Brown) had have at least one game making 3 or more 3-pointers this season.

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

K-State enjoyed quite the memorable night on defensive end against Northern?Arizona (11/20), as the Wildcats tied the school record with 19 steals while forcing 31 total turnovers and enjoying a 38-15 edge in points off turnovers in the convincing 80-58 win. The 19 steals tied the school mark set against Tulane on Jan. 10, 1976 at Ahearn Field House. The 31 turnovers tied for the fifth most and were the most since also forcing 31 against Kentucky on Nov. 28, 2008. The 38 points off of turnovers were the fourth-most and the most since totaling 39 against Washington State on Dec. 5, 2009.
In all, five different Wildcats had at least two steals, including a career-best 6 by junior Barry?Brown, Jr., and 5 by junior Dean?Wade. The 6 steals by Brown tied nine other players for the eighth-most steals in a game. He now has 135 in his career, which ranks third on the all-time list. Junior Kamau Stokes also had 3 steals, while sophomore Xavier Sneed and freshman Cartier Diarra had 2 each.
A year ago, K-State ranked 21st nationally in total steals (271) and 31st in steals per game (7.7), while was 41st in turnovers forced (14.94) and 49th in turnover margin (+2.0). The 271 steals were the fourth-most in school history and the most since the 2009-10 season. The 7.74 steals average ranked fifth in school history and was the highest average since the 1994-95 season (8.44).
Brown set the single-season record with 82 steals in 2016-17, while his 2.34 per game placed third for a single-season. He ranked second in the Big 12 in overall steals, while his 45 in league play led all players. He ranked seventh nationally in total steals and 11th in average.

OFFENSIVE BALANCE CONTINUES

One of the hallmarks of the 2016-17 NCAA?Tournament team was its offensive balance, as four of five starters averaged in double figures led by Wesley Iwundu (13.0 ppg.), Kamau Stokes (11.7 ppg.), Barry Brown (11.7 ppg.) and D.J. Johnson (11.3 ppg.). The last time K-State saw four players average in double digits was 2009-10, while you would have to go all the way back to 1980-81 to find four Wildcat starters in double figures.

That balance has continued to start the 2017-18 season, as four of the team's five starters (Stokes, Brown, Dean Wade and Xavier Sneed) are all currently averaging in double figures. Stokes (14.4 ppg.), Brown (14.3 ppg.) and Wade (14.0) are all averaging 14 points per game, as K-State joins Kansas as the only Big 12 schools to have at least three players averaging 14 points per game, while the Wildcats are one of just four Big 12 teams (along with Kansas, Texas and TCU) to have four starters averaging in double figures so far this season.
At least three of the five starters have tallied double figures in 5 of 7 games this season, including four in the opener against American (11/10) and Northern Arizona (11/20). In all, five players registered double figures as 10 posted at least one made field goal in the season-opening win. Wade led all scorers with 17 points on 6-of-7 field goals, while redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra (13 points), sophomore Makol Mawien (12), Brown (10) and Stokes (10) each tallied double digits. Sneed nearly recorded double figures, finishing with 8 points.
K-State saw four players scored in double figures in the win over UMKC (11/14), as Brown scored a game-high 14 points followed by Sneed's first double-digit outing of the year with 13 points to go with 11-point efforts from Wade and junior Mawdo Sallah. Three players registered double figures against UC?Irvine (11/17) led by Stokes' game-high 14 points, joining Sneed (12) and Diarra (10).
Just like the opener, four of the five starters tallied double figures in the win over Northern Arizona (11/20) with Brown recording his fifth career 20-point game on 9-of-13 field goals, while Stokes (16 points), Wade (15) and Sneed (12) also registered double-digit points.
K-State had multiple 20-point scorers for the first time this season against Arizona State (11/23), as Brown and Stokes combined for 50 of the team's 90 points... Brown had a career-high 27 points, while Stokes was one short of his career-high with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting (all 3-pointers).
In all, the Wildcats have seen seven players total 24 double-digit scoring games this season with 12 different players registering at least one made field goal. Stokes has posted double-figure points in 6 of 7 games, while Brown and Wade have done it five times.
At least four Wildcats scored in double figures in 19 of 35 games in 2016-17, including at least three in 28 games. In all, nine players had at least one double-digit scoring game with six having at least 12 double-digit scoring games led by Iwundu's 26. The other four starters had at least 17 double-figure scoring games. In all, starters were responsible for 78 percent of the team's 2,523 points and 848 made field goals.

ONE OF THE YOUNGEST TEAMS

K-State is one of 15 schools (Auburn, American, Bowling Green, UC?Irvine, 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 ninth nationally and are only surpassed by the 12 at Auburn and Kentucky, 11 by UC Irvine and 10 each by American, The Citadel, Tennessee, Toledo and Wofford.

NEXT UP: USC UPSTATE (3-6)

K-State returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 5 when the Wildcats play host to USC Upstate (3-6) at 7 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. 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).

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Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Mawdo Sallah

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Kansas State University Athletics