Game Preview // 12/11 K-State Hosts Denver Monday

GAME 2
KANSAS STATE (1-0) vs. DENVER (1-0)
Monday, November 12, 2018 >> 8:07 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
FOX Sports Kansas City / FOX Sports App (link) / ESPN3 (link)

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (analyst)
Bridget Howard (sideline reporter)

Channel Listing: DirecTV 671-5 [HD] / Dish 441 or 412-29 / AT&T U-Verse 750 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: Sirius 78 / XM 200 / Internet 954

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

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

Advanced Single Game: $5 (bench/GA)
Gameday Single Game: $10 (bench/GA)/$20 (chairback)
Group (12+): $3

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 439-235/21st season
At K-State: 126-80//7th season
vs. Denver: 0-0

Denver: Rodney Billups (Denver '05)
Overall: 32-29/3rd season
At Denver: 32-29/3rd season
vs. Kansas State: 0-0

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (1-0)
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Denver (1-0)
G: #0 Ade Murkey
G: #2 Joe Rosga
F: #11 Jake Krafka
F: #25 Ronnie Harrell, Jr.
F: #32 Abiola Akintola

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 4-0
In Manhattan: K-State leads 4-0
Last Meeting: W, 60-56, 11/24/2004
Weber vs. Billups: First Meeting

OPENING TIP

No. 12/11 Kansas State (1-0) makes a quick turnaround to the hardwood, as the Wildcats host Summit League member Denver (1-0) on Monday night in the second game of a men's and women's doubleheader at Bramlage Coliseum. The contest is expected to tip at 8 p.m., CT following the season opener for the K-State women's team against Omaha, which is set for 5:30 p.m., CT.
Monday's game will be the last at home until Saturday, Nov. 24, as K-State heads to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Wednesday to begin preparations for three games in a four-day stretch at U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam at the UVI Sports and Fitness Center. The Wildcats open the tournament against Eastern Kentucky (1-1) at 6:30 p.m., CT on Friday before playing either Northern Iowa (1-1) or Penn (2-0) in round two on either Saturday or Sunday. The other teams in the bracket include Missouri (1-1), Old Dominion (1-1), Oregon State (2-0) and Kennesaw State (1-1).
K-State is attempting to start 2-0 for the 15th time in the last 16 seasons and have won its second game of the season 15 consecutive times. The Wildcats have started 2-0 or better 14 times in the last 15 seasons with the lone exception of the 2013-14 season when the team lost their opener to Northern Colorado. Last year, the squad started the season 4-0 before suffering their first loss to Arizona State.
The Wildcats have won 24 consecutive games against non-conference opponents at Bramlage Coliseum since the start of the 2015-16 season. Overall, the school has an 96-6 (.941) record at home in non-conference play since 2006-07, including 94-5 (.950) in the regular season, and has won 85 of their last 90 non-conference home games. The team went 11-2 in non-conference action in 2017-18, including 8-1 at home venues. The lone home loss came to Tulsa, 61-54, on Dec. 9, 2017 in Wichita.
K-State used its defense to open its 115th season on a winning note for the fifth consecutive season in a 56-41 victory over Kennesaw State on Friday. The Wildcats held the Owls to 32.7 percent shooting (17-of-52), including just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) in the second half, while also forcing 21 turnovers. The squad scored 20 points off of those 21 Owl miscues and held a 24-4 advantage in fast-break points. The 24 fast-break points were the most also scoring 24 against Emporia State in 2010.
K-State has now held nearly a third of its opponents (70 out of 206) to 60 points or less since Bruce Weber became head coach in 2012-13, including their fourth straight season opener. The 41 points were the fewest in a season opener in Bramlage Coliseum history and the fewest allowed in a home opener since holding Northern Iowa to 38 points on Dec. 1, 1979.
Offensively, the Wildcats were led by seniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade, who each accounted for 15 points in a combined 14-of-28 shooting. Junior Makol Mawien also registered double figures with 13 points on 6-of-9 field goals. Overall, the team connected on 51.1 percent (24-of-47) from inside the 3-point arc, but made just 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) 3-point attempts and was just 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from the free throw line.

NOTES ON DENVER

Denver returns six lettermen, including three starters (Joe Rosga, Ade Murkey and Jake Krafka, from a squad that posted a 15-15 overall record and finished third in the Summit League with an 8-6 mark in 2017-18. The Pioneers are a veteran team with a combined seven juniors and seniors and also have the additions of transfers Ronnie Harrell, Jr. (Creighton) and Kansas City, Kan., native Tory Stewart-Miller (Colorado).
Denver was picked third in the nine-team Preseason Summit League coaches polls and picked up one first-place vote, trailing favorite South Dakota State and South Dakota. Rosga was selected to the Preseason First Team.
Denver opened the season on Tuesday night with a 63-50 win over Maine at home, as the Pioneers broke a 27-all tie at the half with seven second-half 3-point field goals. Harrell registered a double-double with 18 points on 6-of-13 field goals to go with 13 rebounds and 4 blocks, while reserve Jase Townsend added 16 points on 5-of-8 field goals with a pair of 3-pointers.
A season ago, the Pioneers averaged 73.1 points per game on 47.3 percent shooting, including 40.0 percent from 3-point range, with 36.9 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 4.3 steals and 2.4 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 73 points on 43.4 percent shooting, including 33.5 percent from long range. The team connected on 69.4 percent from the free throw line.
Rosga was one of three players to average double figures for Denver in 2017-18, as he averaged a team-best 16.1 points on 48.1 percent shooting, including 44 percent from 3-point range, to go with 4.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 34.2 minutes per game. He led the team with 73 treys and knocked down 90.1 percent (100-111) from the free throw line. Returning starters Ade Murkey and Jake Krafka averaged 7.5 and 5.4 points per game.
A 2005 graduate of Denver, head coach Rodney Billups enters his third season as the head coach of his alma mater with a 32-29 (.525) overall record. Following his playing career, he was an assistant at Colorado from 2012-16. He started for the Pioneers against K-State in the last meeting between the schools in 2004, posting 6 points, 7 assists and 2 rebounds in 34 minutes.

K-STATE/DENVER CONNECTIONS

Denver graduate transfer Tory Stewart-Miller is a native of Kansas City, Kansas and played AAU for Kansas City Run GMC.
Denver senior Ronnie Harrell, Jr., is no stranger to K-State, as he played against the Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Tournament while at Creighton. He played 15 minutes, posting 2 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks.
Denver assistant coach Ricardo Patton was formerly the head coach at Colorado, leading the Buffaloes to six postseason appearances from 1995 to 2007. He went 15-11 against K-State during his time in Boulder.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Denver will meet for the fifth time in their histories on Monday night with the Wildcats holding a 4-0 record. The series dates to a 65-55 win by K-State on Dec. 15, 1951 and includes meetings in 1953 (70-41), 1963 (72-65) and most recently in 2004 (60-56), all in Manhattan.
K-State overcame a huge effort by Denver's Yemi Nicholson to win a 60-56 defensive slugfest in the last meeting between the schools on Nov. 24, 2004 at Bramlage Coliseum. Nicholson scored a game-high 27 points on 12-of-15 shooting to go with a game-high 18 rebounds and 5 blocks. The 18 boards tie two others for the most by any opponent in Bramlage history.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 56, KENNESAW STATE 41

K-State held Kennesaw State to just 41 points, including 14 in the second half, as the Wildcats used a strong defensive effort to open their season with a 56-41 victory on Friday night at Bramlage Coliseum.
The 41 points were the fewest allowed in a season opener at Bramlage Coliseum and the fewest allowed in a home opener since holding Northern Iowa to 38 points on Dec. 1, 1979. K-State has now held 70 opponents to 60 points or less under head coach Bruce Weber. The 14 second-half points were the fewest allowed in any half since also allowing 14 points to Missouri in the first half of a 66-42 win on Nov. 23, 2015.
K-State held Kennesaw State to just 32.7 percent (17-of-52) shooting, including 21.4 percent (6-of-28) in the second half, while also forcing 21 turnovers. The Wildcats took advantage and scored 20 points off those 21 Owl miscues and held a 24-4 edge in fast-break points. The 24 fast-break points were the most-ever by a Bruce Weber team and the most since 2010.
K-State also held advantages of 42-12 in points in the paint and 20-16 in points off of turnovers. The Wildcats have now totaled at least 20 points off of opponent turnovers in 35 games under Bruce Weber.
Offensively, three Wildcats scored in double figures led by a game-high 15 points from seniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade on 14-of-28 field goals. Junior Makol Mawien added 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Wade (8) and Mawien (7) combined for 15 rebounds, while newcomer Austin Trice made the most of his 14 minutes with a game-high 12 rebounds.
In addition to his game-tying 15 points, Brown registered 4 steals, which improved his career total to 193, moving him past Steve Henson (190) into second place all-time. Brown is 17 steals shy of Jacob Pullen's record (210).
K-State opened the year with Brown, Wade and fellow senior Kamau Stokes plus junior Makol Mawien and sophomore Cartier Diarra in the starting lineup. Junior Xavier Sneed did not play due to an ankle injury.
With the win, K-State ran its non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 24 consecutive games. The Wildcats have now won 15 of their last 16 home openers, including six of seven under head coach Bruce Weber.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS

K-State has a 99-6 (.942) record at home venues (includes home games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST?Bank Arena in Wichita and the Sprint Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play dating back to the 2006-07 season, including a 91-5 (.947) mark at Bramlage Coliseum
The Wildcats have won 86 of their last 90 non-conference home games, including a 24-game winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum. The last home non-conference loss came against Georgia, 50-46, on Dec. 31, 2014.
K-State has posted a 131-33 (.798) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season, which includes an 11-2 (.846) mark in 2017-18. The team has posted double-digit non-conference wins in 11 of the last 12 years, averaging 10.8 non-conference wins in that span, and went a program-best 13-1 in non-conference play during the 2009-10 season.
Since going 7-6 in non-conference in 2014-15, which included back-to-back losses to Texas Southern and Georgia, the Wildcats has won double-digit non-conference games each of the past three seasons and is 34-6 (.850) in non-conference play since the start of 2015-16 season. It is during this span that the school has won 24 consecutive games at Bramlage Coliseum.

A LOOK AT THE 24 STRAIGHT NON-CONFERENCE WINS AT BRAMLAGE COLISEUM

A closer look at K-State's current 24-game non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum, which dates to the start of the 2015-16 season. During this span, the Wildcats have averaged 75.6 points per game, while holding their opponents to 56.8 points and winning by nearly 19 points per game.

11/13/15 -- Maryland-Eastern Shore, 80-53
11/16/15 -- Columbia, 81-71
11/20/15 -- South Dakota, 93-72
11/29/15 -- South Carolina State, 68-66
12/9/15 -- Coppin State, 83-58
12/22/16 -- North Dakota, 63-49
12/29/16 -- Saint Louis, 75-47
1/30/16 -- Ole Miss, 69-64 (Big 12/SEC Challenge)
11/11/16 -- Western Illinois, 82-55
11/15/16 -- Omaha, 81-68
11/20/16 -- Hampton, 89-67
11/22/16 -- Robert Morris, 61-40
11/30/16 -- Green Bay, 80-61
12/6/16 -- Prairie View A&M, 74-55
12/21/16 -- Gardner-Webb, 67-54
11/10/17 -- American, 83-45
11/14/17 -- UMKC, 72-51
11/17/17 -- UC Irvine, 71-49
11/20/17 -- Northern Arizona, 80-58
11/29/17 -- Oral Roberts, 77-68
12/5/17 -- USC?Upstate, 86-49
12/16/17 -- SE?Missouri State, 89-71
1/27/18 -- Georgia, 56-51 (Big 12/SEC Challenge)
11/9/18 – Kennesaw State, 56-41

HISTORY AT BRAMLAGE COLISEUM

K-State has posted a 367-116 (.760) record at Bramlage Coliseum since its opening during the 1988-89 season. The 367 wins are the second-most at a home venue, trailing the 378 wins at Ahearn Field House (1950-88).
K-State has registered a 166-36 (.822) record at home over the past 13 seasons, including a 72-31 (.699) mark in Big 12 play. The 166 wins rank fourth among all Big 12 schools in that span, while the 72 league victories at home are only surpassed by Kansas and Texas. In all, the program has earned double-digit victories in 25 of its 30 seasons in the arena, including a current streak of 17 straight seasons.
K-State has a 227-59 (.794) record at home, including a 133-10 (.930) mark in non-conference action, since the 2001-02 season for an average of just over 13 home wins (13.3) per season in that span.
Head coach Bruce Weber has tallied an 82-20 (.804) 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 20 losses (17 of which have come in Big 12 play) have come by a grand total of 140 points or just 7.0 points per game.

'CATS HAVE BEEN STELLAR ON DEFENSE UNDER WEBER

K-State has put up some impressive defensive numbers under head coach Bruce Weber, leading the Big 12 in scoring defense twice in the last 6 years (60.4 ppg., in 2012-13 and 65.4 ppg., in 2013-14). Last season, the Wildcats held opponents to 67 points on 42.5 percent shooting.
After Friday's opener, the Wildcats have now held 70 opponents to 60 points or less in Weber's tenure, boasting a 63-7 mark (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).
K-State has a 105-28 (.788) record under Weber when holding a foe to 69 points or less and a 21-52 (.288) when allowing 70 or more points.
K-State has scored more than 3,000 points (3,120) off turnovers during Weber's tenure, average of 15.1 points per game. In 2017-18, the Wildcats averaged 17.3 points per game off turnovers, including 15.9 points per game in Big 12 play, and outscored opponents, 639-423. The team has scored at least 20 points off of opponent turnovers in 13 games with a school-record 38 vs. Northern Arizona on Nov. 20 and 36 vs. USC?Upstate on Dec. 5, 2017.
A?year ago, K-State ranked eighth nationally in total steals (294) and 18th in steals per game (7.9), while the school was one of just 5 nationally (Georgia State, Nicholls State, Purdue and Stephen F. Austin) with three players (Barry Brown, Jr., Dean Wade and Xavier Sneed) with 40 or more steals.

MORE ABOUT K-STATE

The Wildcats return 10 lettermen, including six players (Barry Brown, Jr., Cartier Diarra, Makol Mawien, Xavier Sneed, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade) that combined to start all 37 games a season ago, for a team that posted a 25-12 overall record (10-8 in Big 12 play) and advanced to the Elite Eight for the 12th time in school history and the first time since 2010. It marked just the sixth 25-win campaign in school history, including the second under head coach Bruce Weber, while the school advanced to the NCAA?Tournament for the fourth time in six seasons and 30th time overall.
K-State returns 185 combined starts from 2017-18, which is the most of any Division I team in the country, and ahead of other schools which return all of its starts, including George Mason (165), Iowa (165), Lipscomb (165) and North Florida (165).
K-State returns 93.2 percent (2,452 of 2,630 points) of its offense from 2017-18, which ranks 11th among Division I teams (trailing George Mason, Harvard, Wofford, Washington, Brown, Iowa, Wisconsin, UC Irvine, Syracuse and St.?Francis). The Wildcats also returns more than 90 percent of their field goals made (869/92.7%), 3-point field goals made (232/91.3%), free throws made (482/96%), assists (476/93.3%) and steals (266/90.5%) as well as 80 or better percent of their minutes (6,558/85%), rebounds (905/80%) and blocks (98/89%).
K-State returns seven of its top-8 scorers from last season, including three with double-digit averages [Wade (16.2 ppg.), Brown (15.9 ppg.) and Sneed (11.1 ppg.). Other returners include Kamau Stokes (9.0 ppg.), Cartier Diarra (7.1 ppg.), Makol Mawien (6.8 ppg.) and Mike McGuirl (3.3 ppg.). The Wildcats return their individual leader in scoring (Wade), rebounding (Wade), assists (Brown), steals (Brown) and blocks (Mawien).

'CATS EARN PRESEASON RANKINGS

K-State will open the 2018-19 season in the Top 15 in both major polls, as the Wildcats earned a No. 11 ranking in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll to go with a No. 12 ranking in the preseason Associated Press poll.
It marks the first time that K-State has started with preseason rankings in both major polls since the 2010-11 campaign when the school opened at No. 3 in both the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.
K-State appeared in the Preseason AP poll for the 17th time in school history, while it was the highest preseason ranking since starting the 2010-11 campaign at No. 3. It was also the 12th time debuting in the AP Top 15 (1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1961-62, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1975-76 and 2010-11).
The Wildcats have received several preseason rankings, including No. 11 by NBCSports.com, Yahoo! Sports, Street & Smith's, Lindy's and Athlon, No. 12 by ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Stadium, No. 13 by The Athletic, Blue Ribbon Yearbook and No. 14 by SI.com.
K-State was one of four Big 12 teams to place in both Top 25 polls, as Kansas was the unanimous No. 1 team. West Virginia was No. 13 in both polls, while TCU was ranked No. 20 (Coaches) and No. 21 (AP), respectively.

'CATS PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 PLAY; WADE NAMED PRESEASON POY

K-State was picked to finish second by the league coaches in the annual Big 12 Preseason poll released on Oct. 19, as the Wildcats received 72 points and two first-place votes. Kansas was selected first for the eighth consecutive season, while West Virginia, TCU and Texas rounded out the Top 5.
The second-place selection was the second-highest by a K-State team in the history of the poll, following the 2010-11 team which was picked to finish first with 119 points. In fact, the Wildcats have been picked to finish fifth or better on just six other occasions in the poll, including fourth in 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2014-15 and fifth in 2006-07, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Senior Dean Wade became just the second Wildcat to ever be selected the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year by the league coaches, while Wade and Barry Brown, Jr., were both named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The duo was joined on the team by Kansas' Dedric Lawson, Iowa State's Lindell Wigginton and West Virginia's Sagaba Konate.
Wade's selection marked the second time that a K-State player has been named the preseason Player of the Year and the first since Jacob Pullen in 2010-11. It also was just the second time that two Wildcats appeared on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, following Pullen and Curtis Kelly in 2010-11. Wade and Brown are just the sixth and seventh players in school history to earn recognition to the Preseason All-Big 12 (since 1996-97), following Manny Dies in 1998-99, Kelly and Pullen in 2010-11, Rodney McGruder in 2012-13 and Marcus Foster in 2014-15.

FIRST TRIO TO SCORE A 1,000 POINTS

Senior Kamau Stokes needs 119 points to become the 30th player in school history to post 1,000 in a career and join fellow seniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade in achieving the milestone. If Stokes is able to achieve the mark, the trio would become the first senior class in school history to each top 1,000 career point in a career.
Brown (1,298 points) and Wade (1,202 points) each eclipsed the mark as juniors and currently rank 12th and 17th, respectively, on the all-time scoring list. Brown needs just 29 points to crack the school's Top 10, while Wade needs 125 to join the Top 10.
Stokes already ranks in the career Top 10 for both 3-point field goals made (140/10th) and attempted (409/9th), while he is one of just eight players in school history with 300 or more assists in a career. His current total of 310 assists ranks eighth on the all-time list.

BROWN CLOSING IN ON STEALS MARK

Senior Barry Brown, Jr. has a chance to become the school's all-time steals leader, as he trails career leader Jacob Pullen (210, 2007-11) by a mere 17 steals. Brown has 193 career steals in 106 games played, which ties for second on the career per game (1.80) list. He set the school single-season mark with 82 as a sophomore in 2016-17, while his 67 a season ago tied Pullen for the second-most on the single season list.
Brown also ranks among the leaders in games played, as his current streak of 106 consecutive games played ranks eighth in school history, while his 84 consecutive starts ranks fifth. With 106 career games played, he has a chance to eclipse the school record of 135 set by Jacob Pullen (2007-11) and Rodney McGruder (2009-13).

DON'T?FORGET?SNEED

With all the attention paid to the three seniors, the accomplishments of junior Xavier Sneed has somehow been overlooked. The St. Louis native enjoyed a career best year in 2017-18, averaging 11.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 31.4 minutes per game while starting all 37 games. He was named to the NCAA South Regional All-Tournament team after averaging 19 points and 7.5 rebounds in games against Kentucky and Loyola Chicago.

NEXT UP: EASTERN KENTUCKY (1-1)

K-State will head south for the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, as the Wildcats open the tournament with a matchup with Ohio Valley member Eastern Kentucky (1-1) on Friday at 6:30 p.m., CT. Under the direction of first-year coach A.W. Hamilton, the Colonels earned their win of the season on Saturday night in an 81-78 victory at Chattanooga. Senior forward Nick Mayo, a Preseason All-OVC selection, accounted for nearly half of the points, scoring 40 points and grabbing 12 rebounds in the win.

Schedule

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Austin Trice

Dean Wade

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Gonzaga on Nov 24, 2026 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Alabama or Baylor on Nov 26, 2026 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus TBD on Nov 27, 2026 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Wichita State on Dec 11, 2026 at TBD

Results

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus BYU on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 91, to, 105

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Kansas on March 7, 2026 , Loss , 85, to, 104

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus West Virginia on March 3, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 63

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus TCU on February 28, 2026 , Loss , 68, to, 77

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Colorado on February 25, 2026 , Loss , 70, to, 79

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Texas Tech on February 21, 2026 , Loss , 72, to, 100

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Baylor on February 17, 2026 , Win , 90, to, 74

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Houston on February 14, 2026 , Loss , 64, to, 78