K-State, Arizona State To Play in Las Vegas Invitational

Buy Tickets Now | Updated Schedule in PDF Format

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State will play Pac-12 foe Arizona State to open the 17th annual Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on Thursday, November 23 at 6:30 p.m. CT, at the Orleans Arena.

The Wildcats will play either Elite Eight participant Xavier or Atlantic 10 opponent George Washington in the Championship Round on Friday, November 24 with the title game set for 4:30 p.m., CT and the consolation game at 7 p.m., CT. K-State’s contest with Arizona State on Thursday will air nationally on FS1, while the championship game on Friday will be broadcast on FOX with the consolation contest set for FS1.

“Arizona State is returning a veteran backcourt, which includes two career 1,000-point scorers, so this will be tough early-season opportunity for our team,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “The second day presents much of the same with a preseason Top 25 Xavier squad and a George Washington team that won 20 games last season.”

Led by former Duke All-American and third-year head coach Bobby Hurley, Arizona State returns a strong nucleus in 2017-18 which includes a pair of 1,000-point scorers in senior guards Tra Holder and Shannon Evans. Holder (16.2 ppg.) and Evans (15.0 ppg.) are two of the Top 5 returning scorers in the Pac-12, while a third returning starter – Kodi Justice (7.9 ppg.) – averaged 15.6 points per game in the final five games of 2017-18. The Sun Devils went 15-18 a season ago and finished eighth in the Pac-12 with a 7-11 mark.

This will be the ninth meeting between K-State and Arizona State on the hardwood and the first since an 84-80 overtime win by the Wildcats in the Maui Invitational on November 24, 1998. The teams played six times between 1973 and 1982 before their last meeting in 1998. This will be the first meeting in Las Vegas.

Tickets for the final round games at the Orleans Arena are now available in the K-State Athletics Ticket Office by calling (800) 221.CATS. They are also available at the Orleans Arena Box Office by calling (888) 234.2334 or (702) 284.7777. More information on the tournament can be found at http://www.orleansarena.com/events.

K-State will play four games in the Invitational – the first two at home before traveling to Las Vegas for the final two games at the Orleans Arena. The Wildcats will host reigning Big West champion UC Irvine on Friday, November 17 before another home game against Northern Arizona on Monday, November 20.

Previous winners of the Las Vegas Invitational include two-time champion Kentucky (2006, 2008) as well as Big 12 participants Oklahoma State (2009), Kansas (2010) and West Virginia (2015). Butler won the latest title with a 69-65 victory over Arizona on Nov. 25, 2016, while Vanderbilt defeated Santa Clara, 76-66, in the consolation game.

This will mark the Wildcats’ second appearance in the Las Vegas Invitational and first since going 0-2 in the 2008 event. K-State lost to Kentucky, 74-72, in the semifinals before falling to Iowa, 65-63, in the consolation game.

Season tickets for the 2017-18 season went on sale in early June with a variety of pricing options available, including the return of the Big Game and Pick 5 Mini-Plans. Fans can purchase season tickets in a variety of ways, including toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287), online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets and in-person at the Athletics Ticket Office located in Bramlage Coliseum.

Kansas State University Athletics

K-State, Arizona State To Play in Las Vegas Invitational

Related Videos