Game Preview // 12/10 K-State Faces Road Test at Marquette Saturday

GAME 7
12/10 KANSAS STATE (6-0) at MARQUETTE (5-2)
Saturday, December 1, 2018 >> 1:30 p.m. CT >> Fiserv Forum (17,500) >> Milwaukee, Wis.

TELEVISION
FS1 / FOX Sports App

Jeff Levering (play-by-play)
Stephen Bardo (analyst)
Casey Carter (producer)

FOX Sports App – https://foxsports.onelink.me/SY6x/2622b9e

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 135 / XM 207 / Internet 963

LIVE STATS
www.GoMarquette.com
marquette.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS
www.GoMarquette.com/tickets
(414) 288.GOMU [4668]

Upper Bowl: $27-$37
Eastside Baseline: $48-$53
Lower Bowl: $53-$58

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 444-235/21^st season
At K-State: 131-80/7^th season
vs. Marquette: 0-0

Marquette: Steve Wojciechowski (Duke '98)
Overall: 78-61/5th season
At Marquette: 78-61/5th season
vs. Kansas State: 0-0

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (6-0)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Marquette (5-2)
G: #0 Markus Howard
F: #10 Sam Hauser
F: #22 Joey Hauser
F: #23 Jamal Cain
F: #4 Theo John

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 7-3
In Milwaukee: K-State leads 3-2
Last Meeting: W, 78-57, 1/3/1988
Weber vs. Wojciechowski: First Meeting

OPENING TIP

No. 12/10 Kansas State (6-0) will face its biggest challenge to date, as the Wildcats hit the road for the first time in 2018-19 with a trip to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face BIG EAST foe Marquette (5-2) at 1:30 p.m., CT on Saturday afternoon at the Fiserv Forum, the brand-new 17,500-seat home of the Milwaukee Bucks and Golden Eagles.
K-State is off to its best start in more than 14 seasons and the best since the Wildcats opened the 2004-05 season with eight consecutive victories. Overall, it is the 14^th 6-0 start in school history and just the seventh such start in the last 50 seasons (1977-78, 1979-80, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1997-98 and 2004-05). The school record for wins to start the season is 17 by the 1918-19 squad, while the 1947-48 Final Four team won their first 10 games.
K-State and Marquette will meet for the first time in more than 30 years on Saturday, including the first time in Milwaukee since 1987. The Wildcats have won four in a row in the series, including a 78-57 victory in the last meeting on January 3, 1988 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City and an 85-84 victory in the last visit to Milwaukee on January 7, 1987 at Milwaukee Arena.
Overall, the two schools have faced off 10 times since the first meeting in Manhattan in 1953 when the then top-ranked Wildcats defeating the Tex Winter-led Warriors, 88-72, at Ahearn Field House on January 10, 1953. The next season, Winter, formerly an assistant coach at K-State, would return as head coach, leading the Wildcats to eight Big Seven/Eight Conference titles, six NCAA Tournament appearances and two Final Fours (1959, 1964) over the next 15 seasons. The Hall of Fame coach passed away at the age of 96 on October 10.
Saturday's game will also be a homecoming for K-State head coach Bruce Weber, who born and raised in Milwaukee, only leaving his hometown to start his coaching career at Western Kentucky in 1979. He grew up going to Marquette games, even practices, when legendary Warriors head coach Al McGuire guided the school to the national championship.
In addition to the multiple off-the-court storylines, the game will pit some of the two of the best scoring tandems in the country, as K-State's Dean Wade (16.2 ppg.) and Barry Brown, Jr. (15.7 ppg.) combine 31.9 points per game on 49 percent shooting (74-of-151), while Marquette's Markus Howard (19.4 ppg.) and Sam Hauser (16.6 ppg.) combine for 36 points per game on 43.2 percent shooting (83-of-192).
Wade and Brown continued their move up the career scoring list in Saturday's 77-58 win against Lehigh, collecting 18 and 16 points, respectively. Brown, who recently cracked the school's Top 10, now ranks ninth with 1,377 points, while Wade now places 13^th with 1,284 points and needs just 82 points to join Brown in the Top 10.
Wade, who became the tallest player in school history with 200 career assists at the Paradise Jam, recently became just the fourth Wildcat with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists, joining Ed Nealy, Wesley Iwundu and Rolando Blackman.
With his four steals against Lehigh, Brown became just the second Wildcat to eclipse 200 career steals and moved within eight steals of the all-time mark set by Jacob Pullen (210; 2007-11).
K-State has been strong on the defensive end to start the season, holding opponents to 56.3 points on 37.7 percent shooting, including 29.9 percent from 3-point range, while forcing opponents into 17.3 turnovers per game. The Wildcats rank among the Top 35 in several defensive categories, including seventh in scoring defense, 19^th in turnover margin (+5.8), 28^th in field goal percentage defense and 32^nd in turnovers forced.

After a slow start to the season, the offense seems to be gaining steam after averaging 79.5 points on 48.2 percent shooting in the last four games, including a season-high 95-point performance against Eastern Kentucky (11/16/18). Four Wildcats are averaging in double figures during that span, led by Wade's 17.5 points per game average, while Brown (13.5 ppg.), junior Xavier Sneed (11.8 ppg.) and senior Kamau Stokes (11.5 ppg.) have also averaged double digits.

NOTES ON MARQUETTE

Marquette (5-2) enters Saturday's game with consecutive wins after dropping a 77-68 decision to current No. 2/2 Kansas in the Preseason NIT on November 21. The Golden Eagles knocked Louisville, 77-74, in overtime in the consolation game in the Preseason NIT before moving to 4-0 at home with a 76-55 win over Charleston Southern on Tuesday night.
The Eagles return nine lettermen, including four starters (Markus Howard, Sam Hauser, Sacar Anim and Matt Heldt) from a squad that posted a 21-14 overall record, including a tie for sixth in the BIG EAST with a 9-9 mark, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. Howard, who twice has been named to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, ranked second nationally in free throw percentage in 2017-18 at 93.9 percent.
Marquette was picked second in the preseason BIG EAST coaches' poll, collecting 70 points and one first-place vote, just below reigning champion Villanova. Howard was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST First Team, while Hauser was selected to the Second Team.
The Eagles are averaging 75.3 points on 43.9 percent shooting, including 37.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with 40.0 rebounds, 16.0 assists, 4.7 steals and 5.1 blocks per game, while allowing 65.4 points on 38.1 percent shooting, including 33.1 percent from long range. The team is connecting on 77.8 percent from the free throw line.
Howard paces three players in double figures at 19.4 points per game on 40.7 percent shooting, including 36.5 percent from 3-point range, to go with 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 35.1 minutes per game, while Hauser averages 16.6 points on 46.4 percent shooting, including 42.6 percent from long range, to go with team-tying 5.7 rebounds in 31.9 minutes per game. Hauser's younger brother, Joey, also averages double figures at 10.3 points on 43.8 percent shooting to go with a team-tying 5.7 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per game.
An All-American during his playing career at Duke (1994-98), Steve Wojciechowski enters his fifth season at Marquette, collecting a 78-61 overall record, which includes an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2016-17 and a NIT appearance in 2017-18. He spent 15 years as an assistant coach at his alma mater from 1999 to 2014.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Marquette will meet for the 11^th time on the hardwood in a series that dates to 1953. Many of the meetings came during in a stretch from 1982-88 when the two schools played six times, including home-and-home matchups in 1981-82 and 1982-83, 1984-85 and 1985-86 and 1986-87 and 1987-88 seasons.
K-State leads the all-time series, 7-3, including a 3-2 mark in Milwaukee (1961, 1962, 1982, 1985, 1987). The Wildcats have won four straight meetings, including a 78-57 victory in the last meeting on January 3, 1988 at Kemper Arena in Kansas City.
This will be the first meeting between the schools since 1988 and the first in Milwaukee since an 85-84 victory on January 7, 1987 at the famed Milwaukee Arena (MECCA Arena).
One of the more memorable meetings between K-State and Marquette came in the 1977 NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals at the Myriad in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as Al McGuire-led Warriors knocked off Jack Hartman's Wildcats, 67-66, on March 17, en route to winning the national championship.
K-State is 24-23 all-time against the BIG EAST, including a 5-14 mark in road matchups. These matchups include Butler (0-1), Creighton (8-8), DePaul (3-3), Georgetown (0-1), Marquette (7-3), Providence (1-0), St. John's (1-1), Seton Hall (0-1), Villanova (0-1) and Xavier (4-4). The last meeting with the BIG EAST Conference foe came in the 2018 NCAA Tournament when the Wildcats knocked off Creighton, 69-59, in the first round on March 16 in Charlotte.

THE 1977 NCAA TOURNAMENT GAME AND THE "WINSTON RULE"

The K-State/Marquette NCAA Tournament game in 1977 finds an interesting place in school history, as its ending led to the adoption of the so-called "Winston Rule" named for former Wildcat Darryl Winston.
With K-State trailing Marquette, 67-64, in the final minute, Winston hit a tip-in lay-up while being fouled. But tip-ins weren't considered controlled shots at the time, so the basket was waved off. Instead of counting the basket and going to the free throw line with a chance to tie the game, as would be the case under the current rules, Winston went to the line with his team trailing by three. He made both free throws, and K-State lost 67-66.
The NCAA adopted the "Winston Rule" the following year, allowing tips to be counted despite fouls, but that meant little to Winston. He vowed never to return to Oklahoma City. It wasn't until K-State started the 2010 NCAA Tournament in Oklahoma City as a No. 2 seed that Winston relented and returned to the city for the games.

MORE MEETINGS TO COME

Saturday's game will be the first of a home-and-home series between K-State and Marquette, as the schools will at a date to be determined at Bramlage Coliseum in December 2019.
The game in Manhattan in 2019 will be part of the newly-inked Big 12 and BIG EAST four-year scheduling agreement that will start in 2019-20 and include all 10 teams from both leagues. Ten games will be played every year at five campus sites in each conference.
Aside from K-State and Marquette, other planned matchups in 2019 include Kansas at Villanova, Oklahoma at Creighton and Texas at Providence.

BOTH SCHOOLS SHARE TEX

The schools share several connections, but no more important than that of Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame head coach Fred "Tex" Winter, who served as head coach at both schools during his illustrious coaching career.
A native of Huntington Park, California, Winter began his coaching career as the first full-time assistant at K-State for fellow Hall of Fame head coach Jack Gardner from 1947-51, helping the Wildcats to the Final Four in 1948 and 1951. He became the youngest coach in the nation at Marquette in 1951, guiding the Warriors to the National Catholic Championship in his first season. After his second season, he replaced Gardner as head coach at K-State in 1953.
Winter owns the second-most wins (261) of any K-State coach, and laid claim to more league titles (eight) than any other Wildcat coach, while his winning percentage of 68.9 ranks third all-time in school history. He led the Wildcats to six NCAA Tournament appearances, including Final Four appearances in 1958 and 1964.
K-State wears a triangle patch on its uniform to honor Winter, who passed away at the age of 96 on October 10, 2018, and the only person associated with all four Final Four appearances.

WEBER RETURNS TO HOMETOWN OF MILWAUKEE

Head coach Bruce Weber was born and raised in Milwaukee, becoming the first member of his family to leave the area when he accepted a graduate assistant coaching spot at Western Kentucky for head coach Gene Keady in 1979.
Weber grew up going to Marquette games under famed head coach Al McGuire and even attended McGuire's practice on Friday and Saturday nights early in the season.
Weber attended Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where he earned a bachelor's degree in education in 1978, and later coached at Milwaukee's Marquette and Madison High Schools.
His brother, Ron, was inducted into the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2011 after 27 years coaching high school basketball in the state, including the last 23 years as a successful head coach Waupaca High School.

K-STATE HOLDS STEADY IN THE POLLS

K-State held steady in both major polls, staying at No. 12 in The Associated Press poll for the third consecutive week, while the team moved to No. 10 in the USA Today Coaches poll for the first time since 2010.
K-State has a 263-102 record as an AP ranked team, including a 14-4 mark as the No. 12 team.
K-State opened 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 polls since the 2010-11 campaign when the school opened at No. 3 in the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 77, LEHIGH 58

A big second-half push, including 14 points from senior Dean Wade, helped No. 12/12 Kansas State knock off Patriot League favorite Lehigh, 77-58, on Saturday afternoon at Bramlage Coliseum to give the Wildcats their best start to a season in 14 years.
Wade scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half to pace four players in double figures, as he added 8 rebounds, a team-tying 5 assists and 2 steals in 34 minutes of action. Fellow senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 16 points, while senior Kamau Stokes and junior Makol Mawien chipped in 10 points each.
K-State scored 75 or more points for the third time in 4 games with 77 against Lehigh on 41.5 percent shooting. The Wildcats dished out a season-high 19 assists on 27 made field goals.
K-State scored 18 points off 16 Lehigh turnovers and have now scored at least 16 points off turnovers in all 6 games this season.
K-State is now 98-6 in non-conference play at home since the 2006-07 season with wins in 88 of its last 92 non-conference home games. The Wildcats have won 26 straight non-conference games at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-STATE WINS PARADISE JAM; FIRST TITLE SINCE 2011

Included in K-State's 6-0 start is a 3-game sweep to win the 19^th annual U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., Nov. 16-19, as the Wildcats knocked off Eastern Kentucky (95-68), Penn (64-48) and Missouri (82-67).
The tournament championship marked the 14^th in school history and the first since winning the 2011 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i. It was also the sixth career tournament title for head coach Bruce Weber and his first with the Wildcats.
Senior Dean Wade was named the tournament's most valuable player after averaging 17.3 points on 61.8 percent (21-of-34) shooting with 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in three games, including a team-high 21 points in the title game against the Tigers, while fellow senior Barry Brown, Jr., was one of five players selected as Paradise Jam Tournament All-Stars.

'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.
K-State is holding opponents to 56.3 points on 37.7 percent shooting, including 29.9 percent from 3-point range, while forcing opponents into 17.3 turnovers per game. The Wildcats rank seventh nationally in scoring defense, 19th in turnover margin (+5.8), 28^th in field goal percentage defense and 32^nd in turnovers forced.
K-State has held 4 of 6 opponent to 60 points or less this season with none eclipsing 70 on the season. The squad has now held 73 opponents to 60 points or less in Weber's tenure, boasting a 66-7 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 110-28 (.797) record under Weber when holding a foe to 69 points or less and a 21-52 (.288) when allowing 70 or more points.

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS

Nearly a third of K-State's points (123/438) this season have come off turnovers, as the Wildcats are averaging 20.5 points off 17.3 opponent mistakes per game.
The Wildcats scored 20 or more points of turnovers in the first four games before being held to a season-low 16 in the win over Missouri (11/19/18) at the Paradise Jam. The squad scored a season-high 24 in the win over Eastern Kentucky (11/16/18), while they had 23 vs. Denver (11/12/18) and 22 vs. Penn (11/18/18).
K-State has scored more than 3,000 points (3,223) off turnovers during Weber's tenure, an average of 15.3 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 scored at least 20 points off 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.

OFFENSIVE SPARK

K-State's offense gained a spark during the run to the Paradise Jam Championship, averaging 80.3 points on 50.6 percent (91-of-180) shooting, including 37.5 percent (18-of-48) from 3-point range, after averaging just 60 points on 40 percent (48-of-120) shooting, including 17.5 percent (7-of-40) from long range, after the first two games.
Including last Saturday's win over Lehigh, K-State has now scored 75 or more points in 3 of the last 4 games on a collective 48.2 percent shooting from the field.
The Wildcats connected on 50 percent or better from the field in five of six halves at the tournament, hitting on 55.2 percent (37-of-67) against Eastern Kentucky (11/16/18) and 53.6 percent (30-of-56) against Missouri (11/19/18).
K-State scored a season-high 95 points in the first-round win over Eastern Kentucky (11/16/18), hitting on 55.2 percent (37-of-67) from the field, as five players scored in double figures led by junior Xavier Sneed's game-high 16 points.
After hitting on just 4 of their first 19 attempts in the first 13 minutes against Penn (11/18/18), the Wildcats connected on 52.6 percent (20-of-38) in the last 27 minutes in a 64-48 victory. Three players scored in double figures led by Dean Wade's 17 points.
K-State connected on 50 percent or better in each half in the win over Missouri (11/19/18), hitting on 53.6 percent for the game, including 50 percent (12-of-24) from 3-point range. Four players scored in double figures, including 21 from Wade and 19 from Barry Brown, Jr.
The 12 3-point field goals were the most since hitting 13 at Iowa State (12/29/17).

OFFENSIVE BALANCE KEY TO SUCCESS

Much like 2017-18, balance has been key to K-State's offensive success this season, as five players are averaging 7.0 points per game, including three (Dean Wade, Barry Brown, Jr., and Xavier Sneed) in double figures. Three different players (Wade, Brown and Sneed) have led the Wildcats in scoring, while six players have at least one double-digit scoring game.
Since Weber took over as head coach in 2012-13, K-State has posted a 55-18 record when four or more players score in double figures, including a 3-0 mark in 2018-19. The Wildcats are 11-1 (9-1 in 2017-18) when Makol Mawien scores in double figures, while the team is 9-2 (8-2 in 2017-18) when Cartier Diarra reaches double-digits.

GAME OF RUNS

The Paradise Jam was a tournament of runs for Kansas State, as the Wildcats put together decisive runs, particularly at the end of the first half, en route to double-digit wins.
Leading 23-22 against Eastern Kentucky with 5:57 before halftime, K-State used a 12-2 run to take a 37-28 lead into halftime. After the Colonels had closed to within 43-37 with 16:14 to play, the Wildcats rattled off a 20-6 run to take a 63-43 lead at the 11:28 mark. The lead was never less than 17 the rest of the way and actually grew to 30 with 4:13 remaining.
Down 19-11 to Penn at the 7:16 mark of the first half, K-State erupted for a 17-2 run to take a 28-21 lead into halftime. Again, after the Quakers had closed to 46-40 with just under 10 to play, the Wildcats used a 14-4 run to push ahead en route to a 14-point win.
After an early lead evaporated into a 27-all tie with 4:17 before halftime against Missouri,

K-State scored 20 of the next 22 points, including a 13-0 run to end the half. After the Tigers had closed to 60-47 midway through the second half, a 10-4 spurt by the Wildcats pushed the lead back up to 19 points en route to a 15-point win.

Even though K-State slowly took control early in the second half in the 77-58 win over Lehigh, the Wildcats used a 20-7 run late to blow the game open, extending a 57-48 lead with less than eight minutes to play to 77-55 with 2:22 remaining.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS

K-State will be playing the 11^th non-conference road game under head coach Bruce Weber, as the Wildcats boast a 6-4 mark in those matchups. The team has wins over George Washington (65-62, 2012), Georgia (68-66, 2015), Saint Louis (84-53, 2016), Colorado State (89-70, 2016), Vanderbilt (84-79, 2017) and Washington State (68-65, 2017), while their losses in that span have come at Long Beach State (60-69, 2014), Tennessee (64-65, 2014 and 58-70, 2017) and Texas A&M (68-78, 2015).
K-State has posted a 136-33 (.804) 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 39-6 (.864) in non-conference play since the start of 2015-16 season. It is during this span that the school has won 26 consecutive games at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State has a 101-6 (.943) 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 since the 2006-07 season, including a 93-5 (.948) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
The Wildcats have won 88 of their last 92 non-conference home games, including a 26-game winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum. The last home non-conference loss came against Georgia, 50-46, on Dec. 31, 2014.

WADE CONTINUES TO PRODUCE

Senior Dean Wade has continued where he left off before his injury in 2017-18, as he averages a team-best 16.2 points on 56.5 percent shooting (39-of-69) to go with team-highs in both rebounding (8.5 rpg.) and assists (3.8 apg.) in a team-best 32.5 minutes per game.
Wade has scored in double figures in all 6 games this season, leading the Wildcats in scoring 4 times, in rebounding 3 times and in assists 3 times.

Wade, who became the tallest player in school history with 200 career assists at the Paradise Jam, recently became just the fourth Wildcat with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 200 assists, joining Ed Nealy, Wesley Iwundu and Rolando Blackman.
In 2017-18, Wade was one of just 15 players in the Big 12 era to average at 15 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in a single-season, joining the likes of Iowa State's Curtis Stinson, Oklahoma State's Tony Allen, Texas' P.J. Tucker and Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart. He was one of just three Big 12 players to accomplish the feat since 2012-13, joining Smart (2012-13 and 2013-14) and Kansas' Josh Jackson.
Wade was the fourth Wildcat to shoot 50 percent or better from the field, 40 percent or better from the 3-point line and 75 percent from the free throw line in a single season and the first double-digit scorer to do it since Mitch Richmond and Will Scott did it in 1987-88.

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 8 steals. Brown has 202 career steals in 111 games played, which ties for second on the career per game (1.82) 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 111 consecutive games played ranks seventh in school history, while his 89 consecutive starts ranks fourth. With 111 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).

ATTEMPTING TO BECOMING FIRST TRIO TO SCORE 1,000 POINTS

Senior Kamau Stokes needs 67 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 achieves the mark, the trio would become the first senior class in school history to each top 1,000 career points in a career.
Brown (1,377 points) and Wade (1,284 points) each eclipsed the mark as juniors and currently rank 9th and 13th, respectively, on the all-time scoring list. Brown cracked the school's Top 10 during the Paradise Jam and recently passed Chuckie Williams (1,364 points; 1972-76) for ninth place with 16-point effort vs. Lehigh, while Wade needs 82 points to join the Top 10.
Stokes already ranks in the career Top 10 for both 3-point field goals made (147/t-8th) and attempted (433/8th), while he is one of just eight players in school history with 300 or more assists in a career. His current total of 325 assists ranks sixth on the all-time list.

DON'T?FORGET?SNEED

With all the attention paid to the three seniors, the accomplishments of junior Xavier Sneed have 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.
Since missing the opener with Kennesaw State, Sneed has scored in double figures in 4 of the last 5 games, including a season-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range. His 8 treys pace the team, as he has connected on 7 of his last 16 attempts from long range after going just 1-of-7 in his first game against Denver (11/12/18).
Sneed ranks second on the team with 9 steals, snagging at least 2 in 3 of 5 games, including a game-high 4 against Penn (11/18/18).

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 opened 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 polls since the 2010-11 campaign when the school opened at No. 3 in 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, 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.

NEXT UP: AT TULSA (5-2)

K-State continues its road swing on Saturday, Dec. 8, as the Wildcats travel to Tulsa, Oklahoma to face American Athletic Conference foe Tulsa (5-2) at 3:30 p.m., CT, at the Donald W. Reynolds Center in downtown Tulsa. The game will air nationally on CBS Sports Network.

Game Preview // 12/10 K-State Faces Road Test at Marquette Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // 12/10 K-State Faces Road Test at Marquette Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Xavier Sneed

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

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