Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, March 9
Manhattan, Kan.
5 p.m.
Kansas State University
24-7 (14-4)
68
vs
53
Oklahoma
19-12 (7-11)
1
2
F
Oklahoma
22
31
53
Kansas State
32
36
68
Seniors Shine in Final Home Game to Clinch Big 12 Title for K-State
Mar 10, 2019 | Men's Basketball
Box ScoreFinal Stats (.pdf)Postgame Notes (.pdf)Quotes (.pdf)Photo GalleryHighlightsPostgame Press Conference
Seniors combine for 45 of the WIldcats' 68 points in finale
MANHATTAN, Kan. – It was a fitting Senior Day, as the trio of Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade all scored in double figures to help No. 18/17 Kansas State clinch a share of the Big 12 regular season title with a 68-53 win over Oklahoma before a sold-out crowd at Bramlage Coliseum.
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With the win, K-State (24-7, 14-4 Big 12) finished in a first-place tie with No. 8/8 Texas Tech (26-5, 14-4 Big 12), which defeated Iowa State, 80-73, earlier in the day, to earn the program 21st conference championship, including the 19th in the regular season, and the first since also sharing the title in 2012-13. By virtue of the tiebreaker, the Wildcats will be the No. 1 seed at next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center.
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The seniors combined to score 45 of the 68 points to go with 14 of the 15 assists in their final game at Bramlage Coliseum, as Stokes scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-15 field goals, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists in 34 minutes. He has now scored in double figures in 5 consecutive games. He was joined in double figures by Brown, who posted 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go with 4 assists and 3 steals, and Wade, who added 11 points on 5-of-14 field goals to go with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
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K-State is now 20-6 all-time when the trio scores in double figures in the same game in their respective careers, including 8-0 this season.
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In addition, the seniors each enjoyed milestones on the evening, starting with Brown, who became the school leader in games played with his 136th career appearance to break his tie with Jacob Pullen (2007-11) and Rodney McGruder (2009-13). With his 4 triples on the day, Stokes became just the fourth Wildcat to eclipse 200 career 3-point field goals, while Wade became just the 10th player in school history with top 1,500 career points.
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K-State led for more than 33 minutes of Saturday's game with the lead changing just four times, all in the first 6 minutes of play. Tied 14-all with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, the Wildcats took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Wade en route to finishing the half on an 18-8 run and leading 32-22.
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K-State opened the second half on an 8-1 run to push the lead to 42-23 at the 16:59 mark on the strength of back-to-back 3-pointers from Stokes. The Sooners were able to close the gap to 45-31 at the 13:41 mark, but the Wildcats responded with a 17-2 run over the next 6 minutes to build a 62-33 lead with just 7:12 to play.
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Oklahoma erupted for 12 straight points to close to within 62-45 with 4:29 remaining, but sophomore Mike McGuirl answered with a 3-pointer off a Brown assist to push the lead back to 20 points.
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K-State connected on 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including 31 percent (9-of-29) from 3-point range, while Oklahoma was held to a season-tying low of 53 points on 41.5 percent shooting (22-of-53), including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from long range.
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The Sooners were led junior Kristian Doolittle, who scored a team-high 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 36 minutes, while freshman Jamal Bieniemy had 12 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, to go along with 4 assists and 2 rebounds.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams went back and forth in the early going, including numerous lead changes and ties.
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K-State got on the board first but a layup from senior Christian James and a dunk from fellow senior Kristian Doolittle put Oklahoma up early, 4-2, at the 18:36 mark. A jumper from senior Dean Wade and a fast break layup from junior Xavier Sneed put K-State back in front moments later.
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Senior Barry Brown, Jr., tied the game at 9-all after going 1-of-2 from the line after the 16-minute media timeout and fellow senior Kamau Stokes followed with a 3-pointer to break the tie. Oklahoma tied it right back up, 12-12, after a Doolittle jumper and a James free throw after the 12-minute media.
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After both teams traded the lead four times in the first 10 minutes before three-pointers from Wade and Stokes on back-to-back possession put the Wildcats up 20-14 at the 8:11 mark.
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The highlight-reel play of the first half came on a reverse dunk from Wade on a line-drive pass through the lane from Stokes, putting K-State up 24-18. The Wildcats scored five straight after a Rashard Odomes layup to hold their largest lead of the first half. Junior Austin Trice made a layup but was unable to convert the free throw on a three-point play opportunity. Brown connected on a jumper after Stokes saved the ball from going out of bounds seconds earlier. Stokes made 1-of-2 from the line for the 29-20 lead.
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A three-pointer from Brown with 1:54 to play were the last points scored in the first half, which gave K-State a 32-22 lead going into the break.
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The Wildcats came out of the locker room strong, starting the second half on a 10-1 run in the first 3:12. A Makol Mawien layup was followed by a jumper from Stokes to put them in front by 14 points. The senior then made it eight consecutive points after back-to-back three-pointers to give K-State its largest lead of the game at 42-23. After a dunk from Doolittle, a few missed shots from the Wildcats and a corner three from Odomes enabled the Sooners to cut into the 19-point deficit to trail 42-28 with 14:33 to play.
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Coming back from the break, Sneed hit 1-of-2 from the line and Wade followed with a lay-in on the next possession. Stokes answered an Oklahoma three with a driving layup, upping his game-high in points to 17. Sophomore Mike McGuirl hit a three for his first points to match the 19-point lead.
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A pair of Brady Manek free throws ended the 8-3 K-State spurt until the Wildcats jumped up to a game-high 25-point lead with an 8-0 run. Sneed was responsible for 4 of those points, connecting on two from the strike and a one-handed slam with 8:35 to go, resulting in Oklahoma's second-to-last timeout.
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The run went to 12-0 after a jumper from Brown and a fast break layup from Stokes. Oklahoma ended the overall 17-2 K-State run with back-to-back threes from Jamal Bieniemy. The Sooners went on to score 12 straight cut K-State's lead to 17 (62-45). Miles Reynolds, Bienemy and Manek all converted points in the paint to nearly cut their deficit in half.
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Another McGuirl three ended the run with 4:03 to play. Manek received a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game a few seconds later after an elbow to the throat of Trice.
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Brown, Stokes and Wade all exited the game with 1:05 to play with the Cats up 68-51. The Sooners ended the game on an 8-3 run with baskets from four different players in the last 3:16.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Kamau Stokes – Senior Kamau Stokes scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-15 field goals, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists in 34 minutes. With his 4 3-point makes, he became just the fourth Wildcat to eclipse 200 or more career 3-point field goals. He has scored in double figures in 5 consecutive games.
STAT OF THE GAME
45 – Seniors Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown and Dean Wade combined for 45 of K-State's 68 points. The trio all scored in double figures in the same game for the 26th time in their careers, including the eighth time this season.
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SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State 24-7 (14-4 Big 12)
Oklahoma 19-12 (7-11 Big 12)
IN THEIR WORDS
BRUCE WEBER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On teamwork…
"I keep saying be the best version of us and if we're us, we're really good. That first 32 minutes of defense, you're holding them to 30-something points. They're really good offensively the last five games, averaging 75 points per game. And we did a great job. The effort was there. When we moved the ball, we looked good. I thought the first half, we made a couple of good open 3's. We get a stretch of that, and then we didn't. And then in the second half we made that run and kept it going and I was hoping it would stay around 30, so I could get them all out, but they pushed us a little bit. They're good and Lon's (Kruger) done a great job with that group. They're going to be an NCAA [Tournament] team. I'm just so proud of the seniors, obviously, it's a special group. But the whole team stuck together, they've been resilient. Tough losses, injuries, sicknesses, they keep coming back. You lose your first two games in the conference and you still win the title. That even makes it a little more extra special. But the message I've given them, and I still blame myself. In 2013, we were so worried about getting that banner up there, getting that group, their names and numbers up there. I didn't help them for the NCAA Tournament and that's what we told these guys, this is just one phase of our mission. We have to keep going. Moving forward, there's a lot more stuff to add to their reach."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will be the No. 1 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and will play the winner of the first round game between No. 8 seed TCU (19-12, 7-11 Big 12) and No. 9 seed Oklahoma State (12-19, 5-13 Big 12) at 1:30 p.m., CT on Thursday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
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With the win, K-State (24-7, 14-4 Big 12) finished in a first-place tie with No. 8/8 Texas Tech (26-5, 14-4 Big 12), which defeated Iowa State, 80-73, earlier in the day, to earn the program 21st conference championship, including the 19th in the regular season, and the first since also sharing the title in 2012-13. By virtue of the tiebreaker, the Wildcats will be the No. 1 seed at next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center.
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The seniors combined to score 45 of the 68 points to go with 14 of the 15 assists in their final game at Bramlage Coliseum, as Stokes scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-15 field goals, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists in 34 minutes. He has now scored in double figures in 5 consecutive games. He was joined in double figures by Brown, who posted 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting to go with 4 assists and 3 steals, and Wade, who added 11 points on 5-of-14 field goals to go with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
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K-State is now 20-6 all-time when the trio scores in double figures in the same game in their respective careers, including 8-0 this season.
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In addition, the seniors each enjoyed milestones on the evening, starting with Brown, who became the school leader in games played with his 136th career appearance to break his tie with Jacob Pullen (2007-11) and Rodney McGruder (2009-13). With his 4 triples on the day, Stokes became just the fourth Wildcat to eclipse 200 career 3-point field goals, while Wade became just the 10th player in school history with top 1,500 career points.
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K-State led for more than 33 minutes of Saturday's game with the lead changing just four times, all in the first 6 minutes of play. Tied 14-all with just under 10 minutes to play in the first half, the Wildcats took the lead for good on a 3-pointer by Wade en route to finishing the half on an 18-8 run and leading 32-22.
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K-State opened the second half on an 8-1 run to push the lead to 42-23 at the 16:59 mark on the strength of back-to-back 3-pointers from Stokes. The Sooners were able to close the gap to 45-31 at the 13:41 mark, but the Wildcats responded with a 17-2 run over the next 6 minutes to build a 62-33 lead with just 7:12 to play.
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Oklahoma erupted for 12 straight points to close to within 62-45 with 4:29 remaining, but sophomore Mike McGuirl answered with a 3-pointer off a Brown assist to push the lead back to 20 points.
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K-State connected on 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field, including 31 percent (9-of-29) from 3-point range, while Oklahoma was held to a season-tying low of 53 points on 41.5 percent shooting (22-of-53), including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from long range.
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The Sooners were led junior Kristian Doolittle, who scored a team-high 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists in 36 minutes, while freshman Jamal Bieniemy had 12 points on 5-of-11 field goals, including 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, to go along with 4 assists and 2 rebounds.
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HOW IT HAPPENED
The two teams went back and forth in the early going, including numerous lead changes and ties.
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K-State got on the board first but a layup from senior Christian James and a dunk from fellow senior Kristian Doolittle put Oklahoma up early, 4-2, at the 18:36 mark. A jumper from senior Dean Wade and a fast break layup from junior Xavier Sneed put K-State back in front moments later.
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Senior Barry Brown, Jr., tied the game at 9-all after going 1-of-2 from the line after the 16-minute media timeout and fellow senior Kamau Stokes followed with a 3-pointer to break the tie. Oklahoma tied it right back up, 12-12, after a Doolittle jumper and a James free throw after the 12-minute media.
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After both teams traded the lead four times in the first 10 minutes before three-pointers from Wade and Stokes on back-to-back possession put the Wildcats up 20-14 at the 8:11 mark.
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The highlight-reel play of the first half came on a reverse dunk from Wade on a line-drive pass through the lane from Stokes, putting K-State up 24-18. The Wildcats scored five straight after a Rashard Odomes layup to hold their largest lead of the first half. Junior Austin Trice made a layup but was unable to convert the free throw on a three-point play opportunity. Brown connected on a jumper after Stokes saved the ball from going out of bounds seconds earlier. Stokes made 1-of-2 from the line for the 29-20 lead.
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A three-pointer from Brown with 1:54 to play were the last points scored in the first half, which gave K-State a 32-22 lead going into the break.
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The Wildcats came out of the locker room strong, starting the second half on a 10-1 run in the first 3:12. A Makol Mawien layup was followed by a jumper from Stokes to put them in front by 14 points. The senior then made it eight consecutive points after back-to-back three-pointers to give K-State its largest lead of the game at 42-23. After a dunk from Doolittle, a few missed shots from the Wildcats and a corner three from Odomes enabled the Sooners to cut into the 19-point deficit to trail 42-28 with 14:33 to play.
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Coming back from the break, Sneed hit 1-of-2 from the line and Wade followed with a lay-in on the next possession. Stokes answered an Oklahoma three with a driving layup, upping his game-high in points to 17. Sophomore Mike McGuirl hit a three for his first points to match the 19-point lead.
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A pair of Brady Manek free throws ended the 8-3 K-State spurt until the Wildcats jumped up to a game-high 25-point lead with an 8-0 run. Sneed was responsible for 4 of those points, connecting on two from the strike and a one-handed slam with 8:35 to go, resulting in Oklahoma's second-to-last timeout.
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The run went to 12-0 after a jumper from Brown and a fast break layup from Stokes. Oklahoma ended the overall 17-2 K-State run with back-to-back threes from Jamal Bieniemy. The Sooners went on to score 12 straight cut K-State's lead to 17 (62-45). Miles Reynolds, Bienemy and Manek all converted points in the paint to nearly cut their deficit in half.
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Another McGuirl three ended the run with 4:03 to play. Manek received a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game a few seconds later after an elbow to the throat of Trice.
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Brown, Stokes and Wade all exited the game with 1:05 to play with the Cats up 68-51. The Sooners ended the game on an 8-3 run with baskets from four different players in the last 3:16.
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PLAYER OF THE GAME
Kamau Stokes – Senior Kamau Stokes scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-15 field goals, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists in 34 minutes. With his 4 3-point makes, he became just the fourth Wildcat to eclipse 200 or more career 3-point field goals. He has scored in double figures in 5 consecutive games.
STAT OF THE GAME
45 – Seniors Kamau Stokes, Barry Brown and Dean Wade combined for 45 of K-State's 68 points. The trio all scored in double figures in the same game for the 26th time in their careers, including the eighth time this season.
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SEASON RECORD UPDATE
K-State 24-7 (14-4 Big 12)
Oklahoma 19-12 (7-11 Big 12)
IN THEIR WORDS
BRUCE WEBER, K-STATE HEAD COACH
On teamwork…
"I keep saying be the best version of us and if we're us, we're really good. That first 32 minutes of defense, you're holding them to 30-something points. They're really good offensively the last five games, averaging 75 points per game. And we did a great job. The effort was there. When we moved the ball, we looked good. I thought the first half, we made a couple of good open 3's. We get a stretch of that, and then we didn't. And then in the second half we made that run and kept it going and I was hoping it would stay around 30, so I could get them all out, but they pushed us a little bit. They're good and Lon's (Kruger) done a great job with that group. They're going to be an NCAA [Tournament] team. I'm just so proud of the seniors, obviously, it's a special group. But the whole team stuck together, they've been resilient. Tough losses, injuries, sicknesses, they keep coming back. You lose your first two games in the conference and you still win the title. That even makes it a little more extra special. But the message I've given them, and I still blame myself. In 2013, we were so worried about getting that banner up there, getting that group, their names and numbers up there. I didn't help them for the NCAA Tournament and that's what we told these guys, this is just one phase of our mission. We have to keep going. Moving forward, there's a lot more stuff to add to their reach."
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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE
- With the win, K-State earns a share of the 2018-19 Big 12 Championship with a 14-4 record… It marks the 21st conference championship in school history, including the 19th in the regular season… It is the first conference championship since also tying for the title in 2012-13.
- K-State swept the season series from five conference opponents (Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia), while it split with Iowa State, Kansas, Texas and Texas Tech.
- The 24 regular-season wins are the most since the 2012-13 team also won 24 games, while the 14 conference wins tie for the most in school history, along with the 1958-59 and 2012-13 teams.
- K-State finishes 14-2 at home this season, including 13-2 at Bramlage Coliseum.
- K-State is now 378-118 all-time at Bramlage Coliseum since its opening in 1988-89… The 378 wins now tie for the most at a home venue, along with the 378 at Ahearn Field House (1950-88).
- Oklahoma still leads the all-time series with K-State, 108-101, while the series is tied 16-all in the Big 12 era… The Wildcats now lead 62-36 at home… K-State has won 7 of the last 10 meetings with Oklahoma, including a season sweep for the first time since 2015.
- Oklahoma was held to season-tying 53 points on 41.5 percent shooting (22-of-53), including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range… The Sooners also scored 53 at Baylor on Feb. 11… K-State has now held six Big 12 opponents (Iowa State, TCU (twice), Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma).
- K-State has now held 87 opponents to 60 points or less in the Weber era with the Wildcats boasting a 79-8 mark in those contests, including 18 of 31 opponents (9 times in Big 12 play) this year.
- K-State held a 34-31 advantage in rebounding, which marked the 18th time in 31 games, including 9 Big 12 contests, that the Wildcats have out-rebounded their opponent.
- K-State scored 16 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds… It was the second-most second-chance points and the most since scoring 17 vs. Lehigh (11/24/18).
- K-State scored 17 points off 12 Oklahoma turnovers, marking the 22nd time (13th time in Big 12 play) this season with at least 15 or more points off turnovers.
- K-State turned the ball over just 7 times, which marked the ninth time with single-digit turnovers.
- All three seniors (Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade) all scored in double figures in the same game for the 26th time in their careers, including the eighth time this season… K-State is now 20-6 in those games, including 8-0 this season.
- Senior Kamau Stokes scored a game-high 19 points on 7-of-15 field goals, including 4-of-10 from 3-point range, and 1-of-2 from the free throw line to go with a game-high 6 assists (against zero turnovers) and 1 steal in 34 minutes… He has now led the team in scoring in 17 career games, including 5 this season… He has now scored in double figures in 67 career games, including 18 this season… He has now led the team in assists in 55 career games, including 14 times this season.
- With his four 3-pointers, Stokes became the fourth Wildcat (Jacob Pullen, Steve Henson and Askia Jones) to eclipse 200 career 3-point field goals.
- Senior Barry Brown, Jr., scored 15 points on 5-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, and 3-of-4 free throws to go with 4 assists and 3 steals in 39 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 89 career games, including a team-high 26 this season.
- With 3 steals, Brown extends his school-record steals total to 252… He is now all alone in sixth place in career steals in Big 12 history.
- Brown has now seen action in a school-record 136 consecutive games, including 114 straight starts… His 114 consecutive starts rank second behind Henson's school record of 118… His 136 games played are now a school record, breaking his tie with Jacob Pullen (2007-11) and Rodney McGruder (2009-13).
- Senior Dean Wade scored 11 points on 5-of-14 field goals, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with a team-tying 7 rebounds, 4 assists, a team-high 2 blocks and 1 steal in 33 minutes… He has now scored in double figures in 81 career games, including 19 this season… He has now led the team in rebounding 43 career games, including 12 this season.
- Wade has now played in 126 career games, including 123 starts… His 123 starts are the second-most in school history, trailing the 124 career starts by Wesley Iwundu (2013-17).
- Junior Xavier Sneed tied a career-high with 5 steals to go with 7 points and 4 rebounds… It was his most steals in a game since also posting 5 at Texas Tech (1/16/18).
- Junior Austin Trice posted 6 points and a team-tying 7 rebounds in 20 minutes… He has now led the team in rebounding in 3 career games.
WHAT'S NEXT
K-State will be the No. 1 seed at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and will play the winner of the first round game between No. 8 seed TCU (19-12, 7-11 Big 12) and No. 9 seed Oklahoma State (12-19, 5-13 Big 12) at 1:30 p.m., CT on Thursday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
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Team Stats
OU
KS
FG%
.415
.448
3FG%
.294
.310
FT%
.667
.412
RB
31
34
TO
12
7
STL
6
12
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
F
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