Game Preview // K-State Travels to Baylor on Monday Night

Monday, January 22

Waco, Texas

8 p.m.

Kansas State University

Baylor

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Game Preview // K-State Travels to Baylor on Monday Night

Jan 21, 2018 | Men's Basketball

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Game Preview // K-State Travels to Baylor on Monday Night

GAME #20
KANSAS STATE (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) AT BAYLOR (12-7, 2-5 Big 12)
Monday, January 22, 2018 >> 8 p.m. CT >> Ferrell Center (10,284) >> Waco, Texas

TELEVISION
ESPNU // WatchESPN // ESPN3

Matt Schick (play-by-play)
Dino Gaudio (analyst)
Nicole Rachal (producer)

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: Sirius 83 // XM 83 // Internet 83

LIVE STATS
www.baylorbears.com.com
baylor.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS
www.baylorbears.com/tickets
(254) 710.1000
Single Game: $15 (reserved)/$35 (premium)

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 427-228/20^th season
At K-State: 114-73/6^th season
vs. Baylor: 5-6 (2-3 on the road)

Baylor: Scott Drew (Butler '93)
Career Record: 309-198/16^th Year
Record at Baylor: 289-187/15th Year
vs. Kansas State: 11-12 (5-4 at home)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (14-5, 4-3 Big 12)
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
G: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Baylor (12-7, 2-5 Big 12)
G: #20 Manu Lecomte
G: #22 King McClure
F: #11 Mark Vital
F: #25 Tristan Clark
F: #00 Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr.

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 19-18
Big 12 era: Baylor leads 17-14
In Waco: Baylor leads 8-6
In Manhattan: K-State leads 10-8
Active Streak: K-State, 2
Weber vs. Baylor: 5-6 (2-3 on the road)
Drew vs. K-State: 11-12 (5-4 at home)
Weber vs. Drew: 5-6 (2-3 on the road)

OPENING TIP

Winners of three of its last four games, Kansas State (14-5, 4-3 Big 12) makes a quick turnaround on Monday night, as the Wildcats travel to?Waco, Texas to take on Baylor (12-7, 2-5 Big 12) at 8 p.m., CT at the Ferrell?Center. The Bears enter the game with losses in three of their last four outings, but have won back-to-back home games (Texas and Oklahoma State). The game will air nationally on ESPNU and the WatchESPN?app with Matt Schick (play-by-play) and Dino Gaudio (analyst) on the call.
K-State is 4-3 away from home this season, including 3-2 in true road games, which includes wins at Vanderbilt (84-79), Washington State (68-65) and Iowa State (91-75). The Wildcats are one of five Big 12 schools with at least three true road wins this season. However, the squad has lost back-to-back on the road at Texas Tech (58-74) and No. 12/12 Kansas (72-73) after opening league play with a win at ISU.
K-State and Baylor will meet for the 28th time on the hardwood with the Wildcats holding a slight 19-18 edge in the series after consecutive wins last season for the first time since sweeping the season series in 2013. Baylor holds a 17-14 advantage since the start of Big 12 play with wins in six of the last nine meetings. The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing streak with a 56-54 upset of the second-ranked Bears last season at the Ferrell?Center on a last-second block by D.J. Johnson before posting a 70-64 win in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.
K-State's games with Baylor in Waco have been some of the Big 12's most exciting contests with four of the last five meetings being decided in the closing moments, including a buzz-beater by the Wildcats in 2013, a pair of double-overtime wins by the Bears in 2014 and 2016 and Johnson's shot block in 2017. Dating back to 2000, 10 of the last 12 games betwee the schools at the Ferrell Center have been decided by single-digits, including three points or less eight times.
A balanced scoring effort led by a game-high 20 points from junior Dean Wade helped carry K-State to its second consecutive Top 25 win of the week on Saturday in a 73-68 victory over No. 24/25 TCU before a season-best crowd of 11,194 fans at Bramlage Coliseum. It marked the first time the Wildcats have posted back-to-back victories at home over Top 25 teams since knocking off No. 8 Kansas (70-63) and No. 12 Iowa State (70-69) on February 23 and 28, 2015. The team now has 36 wins over Top 25 teams at Bramlage Coliseum, including 16 under head coach Bruce Weber.
For the fourth consecutive game and eighth time this season, four Wildcats reached double figures in the win against TCU, including a game-high 20 points from Wade, and a career-best 18 points from sophomore Makol Mawien. Junior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 12 of his 15 points after halftime, while sophomore Xavier Sneed added 10 points. Brown, who nearly posted a double-double with a career-best nine assists, became the 28th Wildcat in school history to post 1,000 career points.
Although K-State is averaging 79.5 points on 52.3 percent shooting in the last four games, the defense has been one of the most important aspects of the Wildcats' recent success. During this stretch, the team has held Oklahoma, Kansas, Oklahoma and TCU to an average of 73 points per game on 44.5 percent shooting, including 32.6 percent from 3-point range, while forcing an average of 14.5 turnovers per game.

NOTES ON BAYLOR

Baylor enters Monday's game with a 12-7 overall record and a 2-5 mark in Big 12 play after dropping a 70-67 heartbreaker at No. 10/10 Kansas on Saturday afternoon. The Bears rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to take a six-point lead with just over three minutes to play before the Jayhawks rallied to post their fifth straight win in league play. The near victory was even more impressive in that the squad shot just 40 percent from the field, including 20 percent from 3-point range, but did score 16 second-chance points on 12 offensive boards. Seniors Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr., and Nuni Omot paced three players in double figures with 14 points each, while Lual-Acuil added a game-high 12 rebounds. Fellow senior Manu Lecomte added 10 points.
Baylor is averaging 77 points on 47.5 percent shooting, including 36.1 percent from 3-point range, while allowing opponents 67.1 points on 40.1 percent shooting, including 33.2 percent from 3-point range. The Bears are once again one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking 16th in rebounding margin (+7.3), 30th in blocks per game (5.1), 31st in rebounding (39.6) and 32nd in field goal percentage defense. The team leads the Big 12 in rebounding margin, while is second in defensive rebounds (28.0) and third in offensive rebounds (11.6).
The Bears have six players averaging eight or more points this season led by seniors Manu Lecomte and Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr., who are averaging 16.5 and 15.3 points per game, respectively. Lecomte, who has 57 3-point field goals on the year, is one of the Big 12's top long-range shooters, averaing 3.2 treys per game on 39.3 percent shooting. More than 65 percent of his field goals come from long range, while he connects on 89.2 percent from the free throw line. Lual-Acuil, Jr., is one of the league's top big men, hitting on 51.4 percent from the field to go with a team-best 9.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. He ranks among the Big 12's Top 15 in both scoring and rebounding. Junior King McClure and senior Nuni Omot average 9.7 and 9.5 points per game and have combined for 54 3-point field goals. Senior Terry Maston averages a near double-double with 8.6 points per game on 52.1 percent shooting and 6.3 rebounds per contest.
Baylor is led by head coach Scott Drew, who has a 289-187 (.607) record in his 15th season leading the Bears. Overall, he is 309-198 (.610) in his 16th season as a head coach, which includes a one-year stint at Valparaiso (2002-03). He has completely rebuilt the Baylor programs into one of the nation's most consistent with six consecutive 20-win seasons and seven NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 10 seasons.

K-STATE/BAYLOR CONNECTIONS

Baylor assistant coach?Alvin Brooks III spent four seasons (2012-16) an assistant on Bruce Weber's staff at K-State before departing in 2016 for his home state of Texas. He helped the Wildcats to 79 wins, the 2013 Big 12 title and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be 38th meeting between Kansas State and Baylor on the hardwood, including the 32nd in the Big 12 era, with the Wildcats holding a slight 19-18 edge in a series that dates to 1948. Among the six meetings between the schools prior to the Big 12 era was a 60-52 win by the Bears in the 1948 NCAA Tournament. K-State has won five of the first six meetings before the inception of Big 12 play, but Baylor has held the advantage since winning 17 of 31 in league play, including an 8-5 lead at Ferrell Center. The Wildcats snapped a three-game losing skid in Waco last season with a last-second shot block by then senior D.J. Johnson to preserve a 56-54 win. The squad then won 70-64 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship. The team has won back-to-back in the series for the first time since sweeping the season series in 2013.
Senior D.J. Johnson blocked Johnathan Motley's game-tying jumper with one second remaining, as K-State held on to defeat No. 2/3 Baylor, 56-54, in the teams' last meeting at the Ferrell Center on Feb. 4, 2017. The win was the first over a Top 5 team on the road since knocking off No. 3 Missouri, 78-68, on Feb. 21, 2012 and the highest since upsetting top-ranked Kansas, 68-64, on Jan. 17, 1994. After Johnson made 1-of-2 free throws with 10 seconds to play, Motley had two chances to help Baylor tie the game, as his jumper with 3 seconds left missed before K-State was unable to corral the rebound to give the Bears' one last opportunity. The Wildcats were able to withstand the Bears' rally after leading by as many as 19 points in the first half, including 37-22 at halftime. Kamau Stokes scored team-high 15 points on 6-of-13 field goals, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
Barry Brown, Jr. poured in a near career-high 21 points, as K-State knocked off No. 9/10 Baylor, 70-64, in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in the teams' last meeting on March 9, 2017. The win not only clinched the Wildcats a berth in the semifinals for the first time since 2013, it also gave them a Top 10 victory at the Championship for the first time since knocking off No. 7 Kansas, 74-67, in the second round of the Big Eight Championship on March 13, 1993. Tied at 33-all with 14:13 left to play, K-State used a 7-0 run over a 3-minute span early in the second half to take control of the contest, which was capped by a Brown 3-pointer at the 11:26 mark. He scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, hitting both 3-point attempts and going an impressive 9-of-11 from the free throw line, including 6-of-8 in the last 49 seconds.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 5-6 all-time against Baylor, including 2-3 at home.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 73, 24/25 TCU 68

A balanced scoring effort led by a game-high 20 points from junior Dean Wade helped carry K-State to its second consecutive Top 25 win of the week in a 73-68 victory over No. 24/25 TCU on Saturday before a season-best crowd of 11,194 fans at Bramlage Coliseum. For the fourth consecutive game and eighth time this season, four Wildcats reached double figures, including a game-high 20 points from Wade, and a career-high 18 points from sophomore Makol Mawien. Junior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 12 of his 15 points after halftime, while sophomore Xavier Sneed added 10 points. Wade, who has post three consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career, was solid all-around with a team-high 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals in a career-best 39 minutes, while Brown had a near double-double with a game-high 9 assists in a career-high 40 minutes.
K-State is 36-57 all-time against Top 25 teams at Bramlage Coliseum, which includes 17 over teams ranked in the Top 10. The school is 33-54 against ranked Big 12 teams (since 1997), including a 21-17 mark since 2008. The Wildcats are 2-3 vs. ranked opponents this season (No. 6 West Virginia, No. 18 Texas Tech, No. 12 Kansas, No. 4 Oklahoma). The team has now executed consecutive home Top 25 victories for the first time since defeating No. 8 Kansas (70-63) and No. 12 Iowa State (70-69) on Feb. 23 and Feb. 28, 2015.
K-State is now 362-114 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum since its opening during the 1988-89 season. The 361 victories are the second-most at a home venue. The Wildcats are 161-34 at home over the last 12 seasons, including 69-29 in Big 12 play. Head coach Bruce Weber is now 77-18 at Bramlage Coliseum since taking over at K-State in 2012-13, including 34-15 in Big 12 home games.
K-State scored 73 points on 52.9 percent shooting (27-of-51), including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range, and connected on 78.6 percent (11-of-14) from the free throw line. It marked the 14th time scoring 70 or more points as well as the 10th time connecting on 50 percent or better from the field. The Wildcats scored 14 points off 14 TCU turnovers, which marked the 18th time with double digit points off opponent miscues.
Junior Dean Wade scored 20 points on 7-of-16 field goals, including 4-of-9 from 3-point range, grabbing six rebounds, six assists and two blocks. It marked his ninth career 20-point game, including his fifth this season, and the 15th time leading the team in scoring. He has now scored in double figures in 49 career games, including 15 this season. He has three consecutive 20-point games for the first time in his career.
Sophomore Makol Mawien scored 18 points on 8-of-11 field goals, nabbed 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. It marked the most points he has scored in a Big 12 game and the first time in double figures. He has now scored in double figures in four times and the first time since Washington State (12/20/17).
Junior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 15 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range and added a career-high 9 assists. He scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. He has now scored in double figures in 50 career games, including a team-best 16 this season.

OFFENSE OFF TO A GOOD START

K-State is averaging 76.7 points on 48.8 percent shooting, including 37.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with a solid 74.2 percent clip from the free throw line through 19 games. The Wildcats' offensive numbers are nearly identical since the start of Big 12 play with the team averaging 76.6 points on 49.7 percent shooting, including 42 percent from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent from the free throw line in Big 12 play. Although the team ranks eighth in scoring offense in the league, they are third in field goal percentage, fourth in 3-point field goal percentage and fifth in 3-point field goals per game (8.1). The Wildcats lead the Big 12 in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage since the start of league play.
The Wildcats have scored 80 or more points nine times, including a pair of 90-point efforts against Arizona State (11/23) and Iowa State (12/29), and have eclipsed the 75-point barrier nine times in the last 16 games. It is the most 90-point and 80-point games in the first 19 games since 2009-10 (which had 13 80-point and 4 90-point games), while the 1,457 points are the most points through 19 games since scoring 1,552 (81.7 ppg.) in the same span to start the 2009-10 season.
K-State scored a season-best 91 points at Iowa State (12/29) on 55.2 percent shooting (32-of-58), including 50 percent (13-of-26) from 3-point range. It was the most points in a Big 12 opener since scoring 97 at home against Nebraska on Jan. 8, 2000, while it was the most in a Big 12 opener on the road since scoring 92 at Colorado on Jan. 21, 1987. The 91 points were the most in a Big 12 road game overall since scoring 96 at Oklahoma State on Jan. 18, 2017. The Wildcats connected on 50 percent or better in both halves for the sixth time this season. The 13 3-point field goals tied for the ninth-most makes in school history and most in a Big 12 game since hitting 14 against the Cyclones at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 5, 2011.
K-State also posted 90 points vs. Arizona State (11/23), which tied for the fourth-most points ever scored in a loss and the most since a 112-95 loss at No. 4 Oklahoma on Feb. 13, 1988. The 84 points at Vanderbilt (12/3) were the most in a non-conference road game since also scoring 84 at Saint Louis on Dec. 3, 2016. The squad also has 80-point efforts vs. American (11/10), NAU?(11/20), USC?Upstate (12/5), SE Missouri State (12/16), Oklahoma State (1/10) and Oklahoma (1/16). The 87 points against the Sooners were the most in a Big 12 home game since scoring 89 vs. OSU on Jan. 23, 2016.
K-State has connected on better than 50 percent from the field in 10 games, including a season-best 62.5 percent (35-of-56) in the win over SE?Missouri State (12/16). The team has hit on 50 percent or better in both halves in seven games (American, Arizona State, Vanderbilt, USC?Upstate, SE Missouri State, Iowa State and TCU). The Wildcats tied a season-high for both field goals made (35) and attempted (62) against Oklahoma (1/16), while they registered season-highs for assists (25), points in the paint (44) and dunks (7) vs. SE?Missouri State (12/16). It was the most assists in a game since dishing out 25 at Baylor on Feb. 15, 2014, while it was the most points in the paint since posting 46 in a win over Iowa State on Feb. 28, 2015.

TRIPLE SCORING THREAT

Even without junior Kamau Stokes, K-State still has a trio of scoring threats in juniors Barry Brown, Jr. (16.9 ppg.) and Dean Wade (15.6 ppg.) and sophomore Xavier Sneed (11.5 ppg.). They rank fourth, 11th and 26th in scoring in the Big 12, as the three are averaging 44 points per game on 49.3 percent shooting, including 36.7 percent from long range, and 75.6 percent from the free throw line. Since the injury to Stokes, the trio have averaged 50.2 points per game on 49.4 percent shooting, including 39.7 percent from long range, and 80 percent from the free throw line.
The trio of Brown, Wade and Sneed have all scored in double figures in 12 career games, including eight this season. The three have combined for 50 or more points three times this season, including 51 against No. 6/5 West Virginia (1/1) on 50 percent shooting, 59 against Oklahoma State (1/10) on 55.2 percent shooting and 58 against No. 4/6 Oklahoma (1/16) on 57.5 percent shooting (23-of-40). They combined for 48 points against No. 12/12 Kansas (1/13) on 46.2 percent shooting. They have combined for 43 double-digit scoring games, including Brown's team-high 16 this season.
Brown is averaging 21.1 points on 51 percent shooting (50-of-98) and 72.5 percent (37-of-51) from the free throw line, through the first seven Big 12 games. His scoring average ranks second in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma's Trae Young (33.3 ppg.). His 148 points are the second-most by a Wildcat though the first seven Big 12 games since 2007-08, trailing the 192 scored by Michael Beasley in 2008. Brown's career-best 38 points vs. Oklahoma State (1/10) were the most by a Wildcat since Jacob Pullen also scored 38 against Wisconsin on March 19, 2011 and the most in a home game since Pullen's 38 against Kansas on Feb. 14, 2011. It was also the fifth-most by a junior in school history. Brown leads the Wildcats with 11 career 20-point games, including a team-best seven this season (with five in the last eight outings).
Wade is not far behind Brown in Big 12 games, averaging 19.7 points on 58.6 percent shooting (51-of-87), including 57.7 percent (15-of-26) from 3-point range, and 80.8 percent (21-of-26) from the free throw line to go with 6.6 rebounds through the first seven league contests. The average ranks fourth in the league, while Wade is second in 3-point field goal percentage, fifth in field goal percentage, seventh in free throw percentage and 10th in rebounding. His 138 points tie for the fourth-most by a Wildcat through the first seven Big 12 games, along with Jacob Pullen in 2011. He has scored 20 or more points in each of the last three games for the first time in his career, including game-high 22 points vs. No. 12/12 Kansas (1/13), which was his third consecutive 20-point game against the Jayhawks, 21 vs. No. 4/6 Oklahoma (1/16) and 20 vs. No. 24/25 TCU (1/20).
Brown (22.2 ppg.) and Wade (19.7 ppg.) have combined to score 286 points on 54.6 percent shooting in the first seven Big 12 games, which is the most points by a duo since Michael Beasley (27.4 ppg.) and Bill Walker (17.0 ppg.) combined for 311 points in the first seven league games in 2008.
Sneed is starting to heat back up with five double-figure scoring games in the last six outings and has registered double-digit points 12 times this season, including three 20-point games (Vanderbilt, SE Missouri State and West Virginia). He is the 3-point leader with 33, which includes a career-best 6-of-9 effort vs. West Virginia (1/1). He collected his first career double-double vs. Oklahoma State (1/10) with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

DIARRA FILLING IN NICELY

Redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra has played well since having taking over for Kamau Stokes, who was injured 15 minutes into the first half against Texas Tech (1/6) and has missed the last four games. Diarra, who was averaging 3.9 points on 44.2 percent shooting in the 14 games prior to the Texas Tech game, has averaged 13.6 points on 58.5 percent shooting (24-of-41), including 58.8 percent (10-of-17) from 3-point range, and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line in 32.8 minutes per game in the last five games. Since earning his first start against Oklahoma State (1/10), he is averaging 14.3 points on 58.3 percent shooting (21-of-36), including 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from long range, and 87.5 (7-of-8) percent from the line.
Diarra, who leads the Big 12 in 3-point shooting in league play at 61.1 percent (11-of-18) and is 25th in scoring at 10.9 points per game, has tallied double-digit points in four of the last five games (had just two before being inserted into the lineup), which includes 17 points vs. Oklahoma State (1/10), a season-best 18-point effort at No. 12/12 Kansas (1/13) and 16 against No. 4/6 Oklahoma (1/16). He has knocked down at least two 3-pointers in each of the four of the last five, including three against the Jayhawks.

IMPRESSIVE SCORING FEAT, PART 1

In the Big 12 opener at Iowa State, Dean Wade (34), Kamau Stokes (23) and Barry Brown, Jr. (21) combined for 78 of the team's 91 points on 62.8 percent shooting (27-of-43), including 64.7 percent (11-of-17) from 3-point range. It marked just the second time that the Wildcats had a 30-point scorer and two 20-point scorers in the same game since Chuckie Williams (34), Daryl Winston (23) and Mike Evans (20) accomplished the feat in a 108-93 victory at Iowa State on Jan. 29, 1975. It was also the most combined points for three players in a game since Michael Beasley (44), Bill Walker (31) and Clent Stewart (5) combined for 80 points in a loss a Baylor on Feb. 23, 2008. In addition, it was the first time K-State had three 20-point scorers (Jacob Pullen, Denis Clemente and Curtis Kelly) since the 2010 NCAA West Regional Semifinal against Xavier on March 25, 2010.
Wade became the first 30-point scorer since Marcus Foster also scored 34 vs. Texas on Feb. 8, 2014, while it was the most points by in a Big 12 road game since Clemente scored 44 at Texas on Jan. 31, 2009 and most in a Big 12 opener since Beasley had 32 at Oklahoma on Jan. 12, 2008.

IMPRESSIVE SCORING FEAT, PART 2

Barry Brown, Jr., enjoyed a special night with a career-high 38 points in the Wildcats' 86-82 win over Oklahoma State on Jan. 10. The 38-point scoring output by Brown was the most by a Wildcat since Jacob Pullen also scored 38 points against Wisconsin in the NCAA?Tournament on March 19, 2011, while it was most in a Big 12 home game since Pullen's 38 against top-ranked Kansas on Feb. 14, 2011. Brown, who scored 20 or more points in the fourth time in a five-game stretch, connected on 12-of-17 from the field to go with an 11-of-16 effort from the free throw line. He scored 26 of his 38 points after halftime on 8-of-10 field goals and 9-of-13 free throw line. He also added 6 steals, which were the most by a Wildcat in a Big 12 game.
The Wildcats' leader with 16 double-figure scoring games, Brown paces the team with 11 career 20-point games, which includes seven this season. Brown scored a then career-best 27 points in a loss to Arizona State (11/26) and also has 20-point efforts against Northern Arizona (11/20), Washington State (12/20), Iowa State (12/29), Texas Tech (1/6) and No. 4/6 Oklahoma (1/16) to go with the 38-point effort vs. Oklahoma State (1/10).

TAKING CARE OF THE BALL

K-State has been solid taking care of the basketball this season, averaging a Big 12-low 11.4 turnovers per game. The average ranks 30th nationally, while the 216 total turnovers rank 27th in the nation. In contrast, the Wildcats have also forced their opponents into 15.1 turnovers per game, which ranks fourth in the league. The team ranks 25th nationally and third in the Big 12 in turnover margin (+4.1).
K-State has posted 12 turnovers or less in 14 of 19 games, including single-digit turnovers on five occasions (UC Irvine, George Washington, Oral Roberts, Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State). The team is averaging just 10.9 turnovers over the last 14 games (152). Since turning over the ball a season-high 17 vs. American (11/10), the Wildcats have averaged just 11.1 turnovers in the last 18 games, including eight games of 10 turnovers or less.
K-State is averaging 15.5 assists per game on 27.3 made field goals per game, which ranks seventh in the Big 12. However, when comparing it to the low turnover average, the team ranks 33rd nationally and third in the league in assist turnover ratio at 1.37. They have dished out 20 or more assists four times, including a season-best 25 against SE?Missouri State (12/16) and 22 against American (11/10) and Northern Arizona (11/20).

SUCCESS BEYOND THE ARC

K-State has been successful to start the season from 3-point range, averaging 8.1 treys per game on 37.2 percent shooting (154-of-414). Junior Kamau Stokes is one of five players with double-digit 3-point field goals, as he leads all players with 33 treys on 41.3 percent shooting (33-of-80) this season. Xavier Sneed is tied for the 3-point lead with 33 on a 35.9 percent clip, while Barry Brown, Jr. (25), Dean Wade (23), Cartier Diarra (19), Brian Patrick (10) and Amaad Wainright (8) all have more than eight 3-point makes. Wade (ISU) and Sneed (West Virginia) both hit a career-high 6 treys recently, while Brown had a career-best 4 against Arizona State (11/23) and Diarra had 4 vs. American (11/10).
K-State has hit on six or more 3-pointers in 14 of 19 games this season, including double-digits against American (12), Arizona State (15), USC Upstate (12), SE?Missouri?State (11), Iowa State (13) and West Virginia (10). 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 against Nebraska on Jan. 8, 2000. Overall, the Wildcats hit on 46.9 percent from beyond the arc against ASU with the 32 attempts the third-most ever in a game and the most since attempting a school-record 37 at Texas on Feb. 12, 2005.

DEFENSIVE PROWESS

K-State has been solid on the defensive end to start the season, allowing 66.6 points while holding its opposition to 41.8 percent shooting, including 37.2 percent from 3-point range. The team ranks among the Top 55 in steals per game (22nd), turnover margin (25th) and scoring defense (55th), while they are second in the Big 12 in steals, third in turnover margin and 3-point field goal percentage defense and fourth in scoring defense.
The Wildcats have held six of the 19 opponents to 45, 51, 49, 58, 59 and 49 points, respectively, as they have now held 64 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber's direction with the squad boasting a 57-7 (.891) record in those contests. The squad has held 17 opponents to 50 points or less under Weber (16-1 record), which includes a Weber era-best 26 points allowed to Alabama-Huntsville on Nov. 13, 2012.
K-State has held all but two opponents (Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State) to below its scoring average and has held its opponents to an average of 11 points below its season scoring average. The nation's top-ranked scoring team -- Oklahoma (93.6 ppg.) -- was held to a season-low 69 points on 41.9 percent shooting, including 28 percent from 3-point range, and were forced into a season-worst 20 turnovers. TCU, who ranked fifth in scoring offense at 88.6 points per game on 50.8 percent shooting, were held to 68 points on 42.9 percent shooting in Saturday's victory.
K-State has put up some impressive defensive numbers under Weber, leading the Big 12 in scoring defense twice in his tenure (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 64.5 points per game (12,065 points). K-State has a 95-26 (.785) record when holding a foe to 69 points or less since 2012-13 and a 19-47 (.288) mark when allowing an opponent to score 70 or more.

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 Barry?Brown, Jr., and 5 by Dean?Wade. The 6 steals by Brown tied nine other players for the eighth-most steals in a game. He now has 150 in his career, which ranks third on the all-time list. Kamau Stokes also had 3 steals, while sophomore Xavier Sneed and redshirt freshman Cartier Diarra had 2 each.

ONE OF THE YOUNGEST TEAMS

K-State is one of 15 schools nationally (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 nine nationally and are only surpassed by the 12 at Auburn and Kentucky, 11 by UC Irvine, 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 on Nov. 8.
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: GEORGIA (12-5, 3-3 SEC)

K-State takes a break from Big 12 play on Saturday, as the Wildcats play host to Georgia (12-5, 3-3 SEC) at 1 p.m., CT on ESPNU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge presented by Sonic.