Game Preview // K-State Wraps Up 2019 with Tulsa on Sunday

GAME 12
KANSAS STATE (6-5) vs. TULSA (8-4)
Sunday, December 29, 2019 >> 5:02 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

STAR WARS DAY / JUNIOR WILDCAT DAY
K-State will celebrate both Star Wars Day and Junior Wildcat Day on Sunday with special Star Wars character appearances as well as a special ticket offer for Junior Wildcat members.

TELEVISION
Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
Missy Heidrick (analyst)
Bridget Howard (sideline reporter)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]
Satellite Radio: XM 375 / Internet 375

Brian Smoller (play-by-play)
Matt Walters (analyst)

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: $10 (bench & GA)/$20 (chairback)
Group (12+): $3

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 469-249/22^nd season
At K-State: 156-94/8^th season
vs. Tulsa: 2-2 (1-1 at home)

Tulsa: Frank Haith (Elon '88)
Overall: 290-199/16^th season
At Tulsa: 103-70/6^th season
vs. Kansas State: 2-2 (1-1 on the road)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (6-5)
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #11 Antonio Murphy
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Tulsa (8-4)
G: #3 Elijah Joiner
G: #11 Darien Jackson
F: #0 Brandon Rachal
F: #41 Jeriah Horne
F: #1 Martins Igbanu

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Tulsa leads 7-1
Current Streak: Tulsa, 3
In Manhattan: K-State leads 2-1
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: L, 46-47 [12/8/18 in Tulsa]
Weber vs. Haith: Haith leads 3-0

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (6-5) concludes the 2019 portion of its schedule with a rare Sunday afternoon game, as the Wildcats play host to Tulsa (8-4) at 5 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. The contest will wrap up a 3-game series between the Wildcats and Golden Hurricane that began in 2017 at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and continued last season in Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane own a 7-1 lead in the all-time series, including victories in the previous 2 meetings, a 61-54 win in Wichita on Dec. 9, 2017 and a 47-46 win at home on Dec. 8, 2018. This will be Tulsa's first visit to Bramlage Coliseum since K-State's lone win in the series -- a 75-69 victory -- on Dec. 14, 1989.
Both K-State and Tulsa head into Sunday's matchup on 2-game losing streaks. The Wildcats suffered narrow defeats to Mississippi State (61-67) in the Never Forget Classic in Newark, N.J., on Dec. 14 and Saint Louis (63-66) in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo., on Dec. 21 before taking an 8-day holiday break. The Golden Hurricane lost at Arkansas (79-98) on Dec. 14 before dropping a high-scoring 111-104 affair to Colorado State at the BOK Center in Tulsa on Dec. 21. This will be the last non-conference game for both teams before opening league play next week.
K-State will look to not only snap a 2-game losing skid on Sunday, but also avoid 3 non-conference home losses for the first time since 2001. The Wildcats saw their 33-game non-conference winning streak end in the 73-65 loss to Marquette on Dec. 7, while the 66-63 loss to Saint Louis snapped a 5-game winning streak in the Wildcat Classic, which is considered a home game since the university controls the tickets and runs the game operations.
Despite the losses to Marquette and Saint Louis, which are a combined 20-4 this season, K-State has still been an impressive 110-8 (.932) at home venues in non-conference play since 2006-07, including 101-6 (.944) at Bramlage Coliseum, with wins in 97 of their last 103 non-conference home games. Head coach Bruce Weber is closing in on his 100th win at Bramlage, boasting a 98-23 (.810) record with just 4 non-conference home losses in his tenure.
With K-State's 3-point field goal percentage consistent in both wins (32.1) and losses (34.7), it has been the Wildcats' ability to knock down shots inside the arc that has played the biggest difference. The Wildcats are connecting on 46.7 percent (158-of-338) from the field in their wins, including 56.4 percent (115-of-204) of their 2-point field goals, while they are hitting on just 37.6 percent (99-of-263) of their field goals in losses, including 39.4 percent (65-of-165) from inside the arc.
With the offense continuing to develop, K-State has had to rely on its defensive foundation. The Wildcats are allowing a Big 12-best 59.6 points on 40.5 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range, while posting a league-best 18.0 turnovers forced and the second-most steals (9.4 spg.). K-State ranks 17th in scoring defense, 18th in turnovers forced, 23rd in steals and 37th in turnover margin. The team is allowing just 52.3 points on 36.4 percent shooting in their 6 wins compared to 68.4 points on 45.5 percent shooting in their 5 losses.

NOTES ON TULSA

Tulsa enters Sunday's game with 3 losses in its last 4 games, including consecutive setbacks to Arkansas (79-98) and Colorado State (104-111). The Golden Hurricane had won 7 of their first 8 games, including an impressive 67-58 win at Vanderbilt on Nov. 30, before a narrow home 66-63 loss to Arkansas State on Dec. 7 and subsequent losses to Arkansas and CSU. The team's last win was an impressive one over Boise State (69-56) on Dec. 11.
Tulsa is averaging 74.2 points on 45.6 percent shooting, including 33.2 percent from 3-point range, with 37.5 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 7.9 steals and 2.5 blocks per game, while allowing 68.2 points on 40.8 percent shooting, including 30.4 percent from 3-point range. The team has connected on 71.3 percent from the free throw line.
Tulsa has a balanced offensive team with 8 players averaging at least 6.2 points or better this season, including 4 (Brandon Rachal, Jeriah Horne, Martins Igbanu and Darien Jackson) averaging 9.3 points or better. Rachal paces the squad in scoring (14.9 ppg.), rebounding (7.2 rpg.), steals (1.9 spg.) and blocks (0.8 bpg.), while connecting on 52.5 percent from the field. Horne also averages double figures at 10.8 points to go with a team-best 21 3-point field goals and a stellar 89.5 percent mark from the free throw line. Igbanu and Jackson average 9.8 and 9.3 points per game, while Jackson connects on a team-best 60.6 percent from the field. Junior Elijah Joiner (3.4 apg.) is one of 3 Golden Hurricanes with 29 or more assists.
Tulsa returns 6 lettermen, including 2 starters, from a team that posted an 18-14 overall record, including an 8-10 mark in American Athletic play. The team has won at least 18 games 4 times in the last 5 seasons.
Head coach Frank Haith is in his 16th season as a head coach, including his sixth at Tulsa. He has a 290-199 (.593) record in his career, including a 103-70 (.595) mark with the Golden Hurricane. He has been the head coach at Miami (Fla.) (2004-11), Missouri (2011-14) and now Tulsa (2014-present). He previously was an assistant coach for Rick Barnes at Texas (2001-04).

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Tulsa will meet for the ninth time on Sunday with the Golden Hurricane owning a 7-1 mark in those previous meetings, including 3 in a row dating back to 1990. Tulsa has won the first 2 games of the 3-game series, including a 61-54 win at INTRUST?Bank Arena in Wichita on Dec. 9, 2017 and a 47-46 win at home on Dec. 8, 2018.
Tulsa has a 3-1 mark in road games in the series, which includes that 61-54 win in Wichita in 2017 as well as victories in Manhattan in 1965 (70-63), 1968 (66-63) at Ahearn Field House. This will be the Golden Hurricane's second visit to Bramlage Coliseum, which was the lone win in the series so far for the Wildcats -- a 75-69 win -- on Dec. 14, 1989.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 2-2 all-time against Tulsa, including 1-1 at home, while Tulsa head coach Frank Haith is also 2-2 vs. K-State, including 1-1 on the road. Haith is 3-0 all-time against Weber, including a win at Missouri (2013) and wins the last 2 seasons while at Tulsa.
K-State is 39-35 all-time against teams from the American Athletic (AAC), including a 23-7 record in home games. The Wildcats have lost the last 3 meetings with AAC members (Tulsa, Cincinnati) with the last win coming against Tulane (72-41) on Dec. 28, 2013.

K-STATE/TULSA CONNECTIONS

Two Tulsa players (Darien Jackson and Josh Earley) are from Kansas, as Jackson is from Overland Park and played at Blue Valley Northwest, while Earley is from Shawnee Mission and Bishop Miege High School.
K-State's DaJuan Gordon and Elijah Joiner both hail from Chicago and Curie Metropolitan High School. Gordon and Joiner would have crossed paths for head coach Mike Oliver during the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons.
Tulsa director of operations Dave Reiter is a 2001 graduate of K-State, working in the school's athletics communications?office as an undergraduate. He joined head coach Frank Haith's Tulsa coaching staff in 2015-16.

LAST TIME OUT: SAINT LOUIS 66, K-STATE 63

Senior Xavier Sneed's 3-point field goal with 2 seconds left was just off the mark, as Saint Louis held on for a 66-63 win over K-State before 11,625 fans in the 10th Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center.
The loss snapped the Wildcats' 5-game winning streak in the Wildcat Classic, which has been held since 2007. It was the first loss in the Classic in nearly a decade since a 63-59 setback to UNLV on Dec. 21, 2010.
In a highly-contest game where neither team led by more 3 points in the second half, Saint Louis broke a 63-all tie on freshman Yuri Collins' driving layup with 2:02 to play. Collins extended the lead to 66-63 on a free throw with 52 seconds before a final sequence, in which, Sneed had an opportunity to tie the game on the final possession. The teams battled through 13 ties and 12 lead changes, including 10 of each in the second half.
The loss spoiled an impressive effort by junior forward and St. Louis native Levi Stockard III, who scored a career-high 17 points off the bench on 5-of-5 field goals and 7-of-9 free throws. It marked the first time in his 79-game career that he has scored in double figures and the first time he has led the team in scoring. Sneed also scored in double figures with 11 points on 3-of-7 field goals, all coming from 3-point range.
Stockard was part of a Wildcat bench that scored 31 of the team's 63 points, as junior David Sloan chipped in 7 points to go with a season-best 8 assists in a season-high 28 minutes and true freshmen DaJuan Gordon and Montavious Murphy added 5 and 2 points, respectively. It marked Murphy's first action after missing the last 7 games due to injury.
For the game, K-State connected on 45 percent (18-of-40) from the field, including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) in the second half. The Wildcats did take advantage of their opportunities at the free throw line, knocking down 20 of 23 attempts from the stripe for an 87 percent clip.
The Billiken bench also proofed to be effective with 31 points of their own, as junior Javonte Perkins scored of all his team-high 12 points in the second half, while freshman Terrance Hargrove, Jr., added 10 points. Perkins and Hargrove went a combined 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Junior Jordan Goodwin also had double figures with 11 points.

LEADING WITH DEFENSE

K-State has continued its reputation as one of the top defensive teams in the country under head coach Bruce Weber, holding its first 11 opponents to Big 12-best 59.6 points on 40.5 percent shooting (233-of-576), including 31.4 percent (66-of-210) from 3-point range, while posting a league-best 18.0 turnovers forced per game and the second-most steals (9.4 spg.).
K-State ranks among Top 50 in 5 different defensive categories, including 17th in scoring defense, 18th in turnovers forced (18.0), 23rd in steals per game, 37th in turnover margin (+3.4) and 49th in total steals (103).
K-State has held 24 of its last 45 opponents to 60 points or less with just four eclipsing 70 (with 3 occurring in the last 12 games). The squad has held 93 opponents to 60 points or less in Bruce Weber's tenure, boasting an 85-8 mark in those contests. Alabama State was held to a season-low 41 points.
K-State had one of the top defensive teams in the country in 2018-19, holding opponents to 59.6 points on 41.5 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range, while forcing 14.8 turnovers per game and averaging 7.5 steals per game. The Wildcats ranked among the nation's best in a number of defensive categories, including fourth in scoring defense, 16th in turnover margin (+3.5), 36th in 3-point field goal percentage defense, 43rd in total steals (256) and 48th in steals per game.
The 59.6 points per game average was the lowest opponent scoring average since the introduction of the shot clock in 1985-86, surpassing the 60.4 points per game average in 2012-13, while it was the sixth-lowest all-time and the lowest since the 1982-83 team allowed 58.4 points per game. Only eight other teams (1948-49, 1949-50, 1950-51, 1961-62, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83) allowed less than 60 points per game in school history.
K-State held foes to an average of 14.5 points under their average in 2018-19, including a 14.6 average in Big 12 play. Eleven opponents (6 Big 12 foes) were held to 20 or more points under their average, most notably Texas Tech (26.6), TCU?(25.4 and 23.5), Iowa State (24.3) and OSU?(21.8).
In Big 12 play, K-State allowed 59.6 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting, including 33.8 percent from 3-point range. It is the school's lowest defensive scoring average in a Big 12 season and a tie for the ninth-best in a conference season and the lowest since 1961-62. The Wildcats held Big 12 opponents (Iowa State, TCU [twice], Texas Tech, Oklahoma State [twice], West Virginia, Baylor and Oklahoma) to 60 points or less on 9 occasions.

NON-CONFERENCE HISTORY

K-State has a 110-8 (.932) 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 101-6 (.944) mark at Bramlage Coliseum
Despite seeing their 33-game winning streak end at Bramlage Coliseum with a loss to Marquette on?Dec. 7, the Wildcats have still won 97 of their last 103 non-conference home games. The last home non-conference loss before Marquette came against Georgia, 50-46, on Dec. 31, 2014.
K-State has posted a 146-41 (.781) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season, which includes a 10-3 (.769) mark in 2018-19. The team has posted double-digit non-conference wins in 12 of the last 13 years.
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 four seasons and is 49-14 (.778) in non-conference play since the start of 2015-16 season.
K-State has not lost three non-conference home games since 2001.

HISTORY AT BRAMLAGE COLISEUM

K-State has posted a 383-119 (.764) all-time record at Bramlage Coliseum since its opening during the 1988-89 season. The 383 wins are the most at a home venue for the Wildcats, surpassing the 378 wins at Ahearn Field House (1950-88). It is the school's third home venue.
K-State has registered a 183-39 (.827) record at home over the past 14 seasons, including a 79-33 (.705) mark in Big 12 play. The 183 wins rank fourth among all Big 12 schools in that span, while the 79 league victories at home are only surpassed by Kansas and Texas. In all, the program has earned double-digit victories in 26 of its 31 seasons in the arena, including a current streak of 18 straight seasons.
K-State has a 243-62 (.799) record at home, including a 143-11 (.934) 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 a 98-23 (.817) 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 23 losses (19 of which have come in Big 12 play) have come by a grand total of 182 points or just 7.9 points per game.

WEBER NAMED USA BASKETBALL CO-NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

After leading Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup this past summer, K-State men's basketball coach Bruce Weber was selected as the co-recipient of the 2019 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award.
Weber shared the honor with Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz, who also led the USA Women's U19 World Cup Team to a gold medal on July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Since 1996, USA Basketball has awarded its National Coach of the Year honor to a USA Basketball head coach, who during the year of the award, made a significant impact on the success of the individual athlete and team performance at the highest levels of competition in a manner consistent with the highest ethical, professional and moral standards.
Weber, who served as a head coach in the USA Basketball system for the first time in his career, led Team USA to their seventh gold medal at the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) U19 World Cup, including the first since 2015, with a perfect 7-0 record. Team USA capped their perfect performance with a 93-79 win over Mali in the gold-medal game in Greece on July 7.
Team USA averaged better than 100 points per game and won the tournament by an average of 28.7 points per game, including victories over New Zealand (111-71), Lithuania (102-84) and Senegal (87-58) to capture Group A then wins over Latvia (116-66) in the group of 16, Russia (95-80) in the medal round, Lithuania (102-67) in the semifinals and Mali (93-79) in the finals. The team ranked first in points per game (100.9), field goal percentage (.475), assists per game (28.6 apg.) and steals per game (15.9 spg.).

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS

K-State is once again using its defense to generate offense this season, as the Wildcats are forcing a Big 12-best 18.0 turnovers per game, including the second-most steals per game (9.4 spg.), while averaging 18.2 points per game off those opponent turnovers.
K-State has scored 20 or more points in 6 of the last 9 games off opponent turnovers, including a season-high 26 against Alabama State on?Dec. 11. The team has also scored 20 or more points off turnovers against Monmouth (21), Arkansas-Pine Bluff (20), Pittsburgh (24) Bradley (22) and Florida A&M (20).
K-State has forced 4 opponents into 20 or more turnovers, including a season-best 25 turnovers by UNLV and Monmonth..

SCORING INSIDE THE 3-POINT LINE

Despite knocking down a season-best 12 triples in the win over Alabama State, K-State is getting much of its scoring from inside the arc. Of the 732 points scored so far, 360 have come from 2-point field goals, including 300 inside the paint. The team is averaging 27.3 points per game in the paint.
The Wildcats are connecting on 48.8 percent (180-of-369) inside the 3-point line compared to just 33.2 percent (77-of-232) from 3-point range. Both Xavier Sneed (46.9/30-of-64) and Cartier Diarra (49.2/32-of-65) are hitting 47 percent or better from the field inside the 3-point arc.
K-State is averaging 33.3 points in the paint in its 6 wins compared to just 20 points in the paint in the 5 losses.

2-POINTERS ARE KEY

With its 3-point percentage nearly identical in wins (32.1; 43-of-134) as in losses (34.7; 34-of-98), K-State's 2-point field goal percentage has been a key factor in its wins this season. On the year, the Wildcats are connecting on 48.8 percent (180-of-369) from inside the 3-point line.
K-State is connecting on 46.7 percent (158-of-338) of its field goals in the 6 wins, including 56.4 percent (115-of-204) from inside the arc, while the team is hitting just 37.6 percent (99-of-263) of their field goals in the 5 losses, including 39.4 percent (65-of-165) from inside the arc.
This has been illustrated in the losses to Marquette and Mississippi State, as K-State connected on 32.3 percent (20-of-62) of its field goals, including 33.3 percent (13-of-39) from inside the arc, in the 73-65 loss to the Golden Eagles and 32.6 percent (14-of-43) of its field goals, including 32 percent (8-of-25) from inside the arc, in the 67-61 loss to the Bulldogs.
No 2 players have been as impactful in this statistic, as senior Xavier Sneed and junior Cartier Diarra. Sneed is averaging a team-best 17 points on 50.7 percent (36-of-71) shooting, including 61.8 percent (21-of-34) from inside the arc, in the 6 wins, while he is averaging 10.6 points on just 28.8 percent (15-of-52) shooting in the 5 losses, including 30 percent (9-of-30) from inside the arc. Diarra is averaging 11.5 points on 39.4 percent (26-of-66) shooting, including 53.7 percent (22-of-41) from inside the arc, in the 6 wins, while he is averaging 11.8 points on 39.1 percent (18-of-46) shooting, including 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from inside the arc, in the 5 losses.

SNEED GETTING HOT

Senior Xavier Sneed has led the Wildcats in scoring in 6 of the last 10 games, averaging 14.6 points on 42 percent shooting (47-of-112), including 37 percent (20-of-54) from 3-point range, which includes wins against UNLV, Monmouth, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Florida A&M and Alabama State.
Sneed scored 19 points in the overtime win over UNLV, including the go-ahead jumper with 28 seconds left, then followed that up with a 15-point effort in the win over Monmouth on Nov. 13 before posting a season-high 21 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 19. His 18-point effort against Florida A&M on Dec. 2 lifted him to the Top 20 scoring, while he claimed his second 20-point game with 20 against Alabama State on?Dec. 11.
With his first rebound against Marquette on Dec. 7, Sneed became the 13th player in school history with at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. He currently has 1,163 points in 116 career games to go with 516 rebounds. He joins a 1,000-point/500-rebound list that includes legends Dick Knostman, Jack Parr, Bob Boozer, David Hall, Steve Mitchell, Rolando Blackman, Ed Nealy, Jamar Samuels, Rodney McGruder, Thomas Gipson, Wes Iwundu and Dean Wade.
Sneed is one of 9 players to rank in the Big 12's Top 20 in both scoring and rebounding, as he ranks ninth in scoring (14.1 ppg.) and 20th in rebounding (5.1 rpg.). He joins Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton, Oklahoma's Austin Reaves, Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek, Kansas' Udoka Azubuike and West Virginia's Oscar Tshiebwe and Jermaine Haley. Sneed also ranks fifth in steals (1.73), 11th in minutes (31.54), 12th in 3-point field goals made (1.91) and 14th in free throw percentage (71.1).

DIARRA PROVING TO BE A SOLID PG

Junior Cartier Diarra is proving to be a solid point guard for the Wildcats, averaging 11.6 points on 39.3 percent (44-of-112) shooting with 5.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 31 minutes per game. He has led the team in scoring 4 times, including twice in the last 4 games, while has led in assists in 9 of 11 games to start the season.
Diarra's 63 assists are the most by a Wildcat in the first 11 games since assists began being kept in 1976-77, surpassing the previous 11-game high of 59 done by (current UTSA?head coach) Steve Henson in 1988-89. He has at least 5 assists in 9 of 11 games, including a career-high 10 against Alabama State on?Dec. 11. He became the first Wildcat with a 10-assist game since Marcus Foster (at Baylor) on Feb. 15, 2014.
Diarra ranks among the top 50 nationally in both assists (32nd/5.7 apg.) and total assists (47th/63). He also places among the top 75 in steals (45th/2.1 spg.) and total steals (72nd/23).
Diarra ranks second in the Big 12 in assists and steals, while he is 13th in assist/turnover ratio (1.66), 14th in minutes (30.99) and 19th in scoring.
Diarra was the only player to score in double figures in the first 2 games, including a career-best 23 points in the opener against North Dakota State on Nov. 5, connecting on 8-of-21 field goals, including 2-of-8 from 3-point range, and went a perfect 5-of-5 from the line to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists in 32 minutes. He followed that with 12 points before fouling out in the overtime win at UNLV on Nov. 9.
Diarra has scored in double figures in 4 times in the last 7 games, including team-highs against Marquette (14) and Mississippi State (20). During that span, he is averaging 11.1 points on 42.6 percent shooting to go with 5.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 23 steals in 30.1 minutes per game.

McGUIRL STEPPING UP

Junior Mike McGuirl is starting to become a consistent offensive weapon for the Wildcats, as he has scored in double figures in 3 of the last 6 games, including a season-high 16 points vs. Florida A&M on Dec. 2. During that 6-game span, he is averaging 9.7 points on 50.0 percent (18-of-36) shooting, including 48 percent (12-of-25) from 3-point range.
McGuirl averaged just 3.5 points in the first 4 games on 33.3 percent (4-of-12) shooting, including 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from 3-point range. He has averaged 9.1 points in the last 7 games on 50 percent (20-of-40) shooting, including 50 percent (14-of-28) from 3-point range.
McGuirl is connecting on 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, including 46.9 percent (16-of-35) from 3-point range. He ranks second on the team in 3-point field goals (16) and 3-point field goal percentage, while he is just 2 triples away from equaling his entire 3-point total (18) from 2018-19.

FRESHMEN PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE

Three freshmen (DaJuan Gordon, Antonio Gordon and Montavious Murphy) are playing major roles for the Wildcats, as each are averaging 20 or more minutes this season, including 7 starts by Antonio Gordon and 3 by Murphy before he was injured against Monmouth on Nov. 14.
The Gordons (who are not related) have played in all 11 games this season and have combined for 140 points on 44.8 percent shooting (52-of-116), including 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from 3-point range, with 83 rebounds, 22 steals and 8 blocks. Both scored in double figures in the same game for the first time with 13 points each against Alabama State on Dec. 11. DaJuan now has 3 double-digit scoring games (12 vs. Pittsburgh and 10 vs. Marquette). Antonio, who ranks third on the team in rebounds (51), has totaled 26 in just the last 4 games (6.5 rpg.) while leading the team in each game.
Murphy, who became the first true freshmen to start an opener since 2015, started each of the first 3 games of the season before his injury on Nov. 13. He returned to play 18 minutes against Saint Louis.

'CATS EARN FIRST OVERTIME ROAD WIN SINCE 2015

Senior Xavier Sneed scored a season-high 19 points, including 4 of the team's last 6 points in overtime, to help propel K-State to a 60-56 come-from-behind victory at UNLV on Nov. 9 at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Playing in their first overtime in more than a year, the Wildcats went back and forth with the Runnin' Rebels in the extra session before a jumper by Sneed with 28 seconds left gave the team the lead for good at 56-54. A deflection off a missed shot by senior Amauri Hardy went the way of K-State with 18 seconds, and junior Mike McGuirl calmly sank a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 58-54 with 13 seconds remaining.
Freshman DaJuan Gordon blocked a desperation 3-pointer by junior Jonah Antonio on the next Rebel possession with 7 seconds to play and Sneed finished off the Wildcat scoring with two free throws for a 60-54 lead with 4 seconds. A lay-up Hardy at the buzzer closed the scoring at 60-56.
Playing in their earliest road game in school history, the Wildcats claimed their first non-conference true road victory in close to two years, snapping a 3-game losing streak, and earned their first overtime victory in a road venue since a 66-63 win at No. 16 Oklahoma on Jan. 10, 2015.

'CATS WIN OPENER AGAIN

K-State opened the season with a hard-fought 67-54 win over preseason Summit League favorite North Dakota State on Nov. 5. Behind the play of junior Cartier Diarra who scored a career-high 23 points, the Wildcats used a second-half resurgence to break open a tight game.
K-State is now 91-25 (.784) all-time in season openers dating to the first season in 1903, including a 79-9 (.898) mark at home. The Wildcats have a 26-2 (.929) record in season openers played at Bramlage Coliseum. Overall, the team is now 28-4 (.875) at Bramlage Coliseum in home openers. Head coach Bruce Weber is now 7-1 (.875) in season openers at K-State.
It marked the first time the school has opened a season against an NCAA?Tournament opponent in nearly 20 seasons (an 88-69 loss at Arizona on Nov. 16, 1999) and the first time at home since hosting Purdue (with then head coach and K-State alum Gene Keady and assistant coach Bruce Weber) in the first-ever game at Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 26, 1988.

A QUICK LOOK AT K-STATE

The Wildcats return nine lettermen, including four players (Xavier Sneed, Makol Mawien, Cartier Diarra and Mike McGuirl) who registered starts, in 2019-20 from a squad that posted a 25-9 overall record a year ago and earned a share of the Big 12 regular-season championship for the second time under head coach Bruce?Weber. The 25-win season was the seventh in school history, including the first time in consecutive seasons. K-State is one of just 24 schools -- 15 in power conferences -- and 3 in the Big 12 (Kansas and Texas Tech) -- with 25 wins in each of the last 2 seasons.
All-Big 12 honorable mention Xavier Sneed (10.6 ppg., 5.5 rpg.), fellow senior Makol Mawien (7.0 ppg., 4.9 rpg.) and key reserve and junior Cartier Diarra (6.8 ppg., 3.3 rpg.) form the core of a group returning for the Wildcats, who must replace their top three scorers in Barry Brown, Jr. (14.6 ppg.), Dean Wade (12.9 ppg.) and Kamau?Stokes (11.0 ppg.). All three have played pivotal roles with the consecutive 25-win seasons, including 71 and 70 starts, respectively, by Mawien and Sneed and major minutes by Diarra.
Sneed is the team's top returner in nearly every stat category, including scoring (349), rebounding (182), assists (64), steals (45) and minutes (1014). He enters his senior season ranking 29th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,008 points having seen action in 105 career games with starts in 70 of the last 71 games. Mawien, who has started every game of his K-State career, has the fifth-highest career field goal percentage (56.1; 204-of-364) in school history after posting the sixth-highest (59.8; 104-of-174) field goal percentage in a single season as a junior in 2017-18. Diarra scored in double figures in four consecutive games, including three in Big 12 play, before missing eight games due to a broken finger. He did come back to play in the last three games with Wade out for the season, including a 15-point effort against Iowa State in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and a 9-point effort in the NCAA?Tournament.
The Wildcats also return rising senior Pierson McAtee (0.5 ppg., 0.5 rpg.), juniors Mike McGuirl (3.6 ppg., 1.5 rpg.), Levi Stockard III (1.8 ppg., 1.5 rpg.) and James Love III (0.3 ppg., 0.4 rpg.), sophomores Nigel Shadd (0.2 ppg., 0.4 rpg.) and Shaun?Williams [was Neal-Williams] (1.4 ppg., 1.1 rpg.).

'CATS WELCOME FIVE NEWCOMERS

The Wildcats will welcome five newcomers in 2019-20, including a pair of junior college transfers (David Sloan and Joe Petrakis) and three true freshmen (Antonio Gordon, DaJuan Gordon and Montavious Murphy).
Sloan was regarded as one of the top community colleges players in the country (and a Top 150 player out of high school) in 2018-19 after helping John A. Logan College to a 27-5 overall record as a sophomore. The NJCAA All-American twice led the NJCAA ranks in both total assists and assists per game, including 10.2 assists per game a year ago.
The freshmen were all consensus Top 200 prospects, as the recruiting class was a consensus Top 40 class nationally by a number of recruiting services, ranking No. 39 by Rivals.com and No. 40 by 247Sports.com. DaJuan Gordon was a consensus Top 150 player by both recruiting services.
Antonio Gordon scored nearly 1,600 points in his high school career at Eisenhower High School in Lawton, Okla., and averaged 26.3 points and 10.1 rebounds as a senior in 2018-19. DaJuan Gordon was the Chicago Sun-Times City Player of the Year after averaging 17.6 points in leading Curie to the school's first city title. Murphy was one of the best players in Houston and a finalist for the Guy V. Lewis Award, averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds as a senior at Concordia Lutheran.

'CATS PICKED NINTH IN BIG 12 POLL;
SNEED NAMED HONORABLE MENTION ALL-BIG 12

K-State was picked to finish ninth by the league coaches in the annual Big 12 Preseason poll released on Oct. 17, as the Wildcats received 23 points. Kansas was selected first for the ninth consecutive season, while Baylor, Texas Tech, Texas and West Virginia rounded out the Top 5.
The ninth-place selection tied for the lowest by a K-State team in the history of the 10-team poll, joining the 2016-17 team which was also picked to finish ninth by the league coaches. The team has been picked to finish eighth or worse 13 times in the history of the 24-year poll, including eighth in 2001-02, 2003-04, 2008-09, 2015-16 and 2017-18, ninth in 1996-97, 2004-05, 10th in 1999-2000, 11th in 2002-03 and 2005-06 and 12th in 1997-98 and 2000-01.
Senior Xavier Sneed was one of eight players to be selected to the honorable mention All-Big 12 preseason team, along with Oklahoma's Kristian Doolittle, Oklahoma State's Yor Anei, Texas' Matt?Coleman, Texas Tech's Chris Clarke, Davide Moretti and Jahmi'us Ramey and West Virginia's Derek Culver.
Kansas' Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson, along with Baylor's Tristan Clark, Iowa State's Tyrese Haliburton and TCU's Desmond Bane were named to the Preseason All-Big 12 team. Azubuike was the Preseason Player of the Year, while Chris Clarke was the Preseason Newcomer of the Year and West Virginia's Oscar Tshiebwe was the Preseason Freshman of the Year.

SNEED NAMED CANDIDATE FOR JULIUS ERVING AWARD

Senior Xavier Sneed was named one of 20 watch list members for the 2020 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Oct. 16.
Sneed was one of two Big 12 players named to the watch list, including Texas Tech transfer Chris Clarke. Other candidates include Arizona's Josh Green, Duke's Matthew Hurt, Florida's Scottie Lewis, Gonzaga's Corey Kispert, Harvard's Seth Towns, Kentucky's Kahlil Whitney, Louisville's Jordan Nwora, Memphis' Precious Achiuwa, Oregon State's Tres Tinkle, Providence's Alpha Diallo, Purdue's Nojel Eastern, St. John's L.J. Figueroa, Syracuse's Elijah Hughes, Vermont's Anthony Lamb, Villanova's Saddiq Bey, Washington's Jaden McDaniels, Washington State's C.J. Elleby and Xavier's Naji Marshall.
Wade is the first K-State player to be a preseason candidate for the Wooden Award since Rodney McGruder in 2012. Jacob Pullen, who was a preseason candidate in 2010, was the last Wildcat to earn recognition to the Wooden All-American team, while Michael Beasley (2008) was the last finalist.
The 20-member watch list for the Erving Award will be narrowed to just 10 by mid-February. In March, five finalists will be presented to Julius Erving and the Hall of Fame's selection committee. The winner will be presented at The College Basketball Awards presented by Wendy's on April 10, 2020.

UP NEXT: NEVER FORGET CLASSIC

Kansas State will meet SEC foe Mississippi State in the fourth annual Never Forget Tribute Classic presented by United Rentals, which is set for Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. The matchup between the Wildcats and Bulldogs will be part of doubleheader in the Classic, which also includes a contest between reigning Big East champion Villanova and Delaware.
The Classic, which began in 2016, serves as a partner with SoldierStrong, which was created in 2009 to support the men and women of the armed forces in the wake of the events on September 11, 2001. SoldierStrong helps to service American veterans by providing resources that aid both mental and physical rehabilitation, as well as assisting with scholarship grants for domestic and foreign affair grants.

AT OKLAHOMA (8-3)

K-State open Big 12 play on Saturday, Jan. 4 with a trip to Norman, Okla., to face Oklahoma (8-3) at noon CT on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

Game Preview // K-State Wraps Up 2019 with Tulsa on Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

James Love III

Makol Mawien

Pierson McAtee

Mike McGuirl

Montavious Murphy

Joe Petrakis

Nigel Shadd

David Sloan

Xavier Sneed

Levi Stockard III

Dean Wade

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Wraps Up 2019 with Tulsa on Sunday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Barry Brown, Jr.

Cartier Diarra

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

James Love III

Makol Mawien

Pierson McAtee

Mike McGuirl

Montavious Murphy

Joe Petrakis

Nigel Shadd

David Sloan

Xavier Sneed

Levi Stockard III

Dean Wade

Related Videos