Game Preview // K-State Continues Homestand against Kansas City Monday

GAME 3
KANSAS STATE (0-2) vs. KANSAS CITY (2-1)
Monday, November 30, 2020 >> 7:05 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
ESPNU

Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play)
Tim Welsh (analyst)
T.J. McGinnis (producer)

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

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (analyst)

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

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 474-267/23^rd season
At K-State: 161-112/9^th season
vs. Kansas City: 3-0

Kansas City: Billy Donlon (UNC Wilmington '99)
Overall: 127-109/8^th season
At Kansas City: 18-15/2^nd season
vs. Kansas State: First meeting

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (0-2)
G: #24 Nijel Pack
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #3 DaJuan Gordon
F: #11 Antonio Gordon
F: #1 Kaosi Ezeagu

Kansas City (2-1)
G: #0 Zion Williams
G: #3 Brandon McKissic
G: #11 Franck Kamgain
G: #3 Marvin Nesbitt, Jr.
F: #20 Josiah Allick

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 18-1
Current Streak: K-State, 4
In Manhattan: K-State leads 12-0
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 11-0
Last Meeting: W, 72-51 [11/14/17 in Manhattan]
Weber vs. Donlon: First meeting

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (0-2) continues its 5-game homestand to start the 2020-21 season, as the Wildcats play host to Kansas City (2-1) at 7 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum on ESPNU. It will be the first meeting between the schools in more than 3 seasons since a 72-51 Wildcat win at home on Nov. 14, 2017. K-State has won 18 of 19 meetings with Kansas City, including a 12-0 mark in games played at home.
The youthful Wildcats, who have started one senior, three sophomores and a true freshman in their first 2 games, dropped both games in the Little Apple Classic over the Thanksgiving break, falling to Drake, 80-70, on Nov. 25 to snap a 6-game winning streak in season openers before a 76-58 setback to a veteran Colorado team on Nov. 27. It marks the first time since 2002-03 that K-State has started a season 0-2 and the first the Wildcats have lost its first 2 home games in a season since 1962-63. Head coach Bruce Weber is 0-2 for the first time in his college coaching career, which spans 42 seasons as an assistant coach and head coach (1979-present).
High-scoring Kansas City has already played 3 games on the season, defeating NAIA foe Culver-Stockton (105-35) and Division III foe Greenville (138-97) before a home loss to SE Missouri State (71-66) on Saturday night. The 'Roos are averaging 103 points on 66 percent shooting, including 73.1 percent inside the 3-point arc, with a whooping 28.7 assists and 39.3 rebounds per game.
K-State ran into one of the best point guards in the country on Friday night, as an experienced Colorado overcame an early 13-point deficit behind the play of its senior point guard McKinley Wright IV, who led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-15 field goals to go with a team-high 5 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 steal in 39 minutes. Wright scored 10 of his 24 points in a 20-8 second-half run that turned a 44-42 lead with 13:52 to play into a 64-50 advantage with just under 7 minutes to play. The Wildcats could get no closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
K-State brought the energy early against Colorado, breaking open a 22-9 lead on the strength of a 12-0 run that saw four Wildcats (Nijel Pack, DaJuan Gordon, Rudi Williams and Davion Bradford) all score points. An unfortunate Flagrant-1 technical on Bradford changed the momentum, as the Buffaloes rattled off 14 points in a row to take 23-22 lead with 4:52 before halftime. K-State was able to regain its composure to take a 31-30 in the locker room after connecting on 54.5 percent (12-of-22) of its field goals, including 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from 3-point range.
The defense — a trademark of all Bruce Weber teams — has been the biggest challenge for K-State in the early going, as the Wildcats have allowed 156 points (78.0 ppg.) in their first 2 games on 48.7 percent shooting (55-of-113), including 60.9 percent (42-of-69) from inside the 3-point arc. Teams are averaging 38 points in the paint and 20 points off turnovers. It is the most points allowed by a Weber-coached team in the first 2 games since his 2000-01 Southern Illinois squad allowed 161 points.
Despite the 2 losses to start the season, the Wildcats have still won 98 of their last 106 non-conference homes games. K-State is 111-10 (.917) at home venues in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season, including a 102-8 (.927) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.

NOTES ON KANSAS CITY

Kansas City is off to a 2-1 start to the season after posting wins over NAIA Culver-Stockton (105-35) on Nov. 25 and Division III Greenville College (138-97) on Nov. 27 before a 71-66 loss to SE Missouri State on Saturday night. Ironically, the win by SEMO was the first for former K-State assistant coach Brad Korn, who is in his first season at Cape Girardeau. Monday's game will be the 'Roos fourth game in a 6-day span to start the season.
Kansas City was picked seventh in the 9-team Summit League, just ahead of Denver and Western Illinois. The school is returning to the Summit after a 7-year stint in the WAC after playing in the Summit for 19 years.
Kansas City returns 8 lettermen and 2 regular starters from a team that posted a 16-14 overall record and finished fourth in the WAC with an 8-7 record under first-year head coach Billy Donlon in 2019-20. Four players (Brandon McKissic, Marvin Nesbitt, Jr., Josiah Allick and Zion Williams) return started at least 9 games a season ago. McKissic was the team's leading scorer (11.0 ppg.) on 51.7 percent shooting and entered the 2020-21 campaign 20th on the school's all-time scoring list with 868 points on 47.4 percent shooting in 91 career games with 71 starts.
The 'Roos are averaging 103 points per game on 66.0 percent shooting, including 35.1 percent from 3-point range, with 39.3 rebounds, 28.7 assists, 13.3 steals and 2.0 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 67.7 points on 38.7 percent shooting, including 26.1 percent from long range. The team is connecting on 57.1 percent from the free throw line.
Five different players are averaging in double figures for the 'Roos led by Allick's 19 points per game average on 75 percent shooting (24-of-32), while Nesbitt is averaging 14.7 points on 80 percent (20-of-25) shooting. Three others (Caden Boser, McKissic and Oklahoma State transfer Hidde Roessink) are also averaging in double figures. Nesbitt is the team leader in rebounding at 8.7 per game, while Williams and Nesbitt have 15 and 12 assists, respectively, to pace the squad.
Head coach Billy Donlon enters his second season at Kansas City with an 18-15 record. Overall, he has a 127-109 (.538) overall record as a head coach, which includes a stint at Wright State (2010-16), where he led the school to 3 20-win season and a pair of postseason appearances. He has been an assistant at both Northwestern and Michigan. Donlon, who played college ball at UNC Wilmington (1996-99) was coached in high school by Bruce Weber's brother, Dave, at Glenbrook North in Northbrook, Illinois.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Kansas City will meet for the 20th time on Monday night in a series that dates to 1987. The Wildcats own an 18-1 mark in those previous 19 meetings, including a 12-0 mark in games played in Manhattan.
K-State has won the last 4 meetings with Kansas City, including a 72-51 win in the last matchup on Nov. 14, 2017 at Bramlage Coliseum. No current Wildcat remains from the 2017 meeting.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 3-0 in his career vs. Kansas City, all while coaching at K-State, as he has posted wins over the 'Roos in 2012 (52-44), 2014 (83-73) and 2017 (72-51).
K-State is 53-3 all-time against teams from the Summit League, including a 46-0 mark in games played at home. This will be the first of two meetings with teams from the Summit League in 2020-21, as Omaha is set to visit Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 29.

POSTGAME NOTES vs. COLORADO

K-State is 0-2 to start a season for the first time since 2002-03... The team lost back-to-back non-conference home games for the first time since losing to Texas Southern (56-58) on Dec. 28 and Georgia (46-50) on Dec. 31, 2014.
K-State is now 176-110 all-time in tournament play in its 86th in-season tournament... The Little Apple Classic marked the first home tournament.
K-State is now 96-48 all-time against Colorado, including 54-11 in games played at home and 15-9 at Bramlage Coliseum... The Buffaloes have now won 4 in a row in the series, all under current head coach Tad Boyle.
The Wildcats' starting lineup has been relatively consistent with senior Mike McGuirl, sophomore DaJuan Gordon, true freshman Nijel Pack and sophomore Kaosi Ezeagu each starting the first 2 games... Sophomores Montavious Murphy and Antonio Gordon have traded off starting the first 2 games... Pack became the 16th true freshman to start a season opener since freshmen became eligible in 1971-72, including the fifth under head coach Bruce Weber, following Marcus Foster (2014), Kamau Stokes (2015), Dean Wade (2015) and teammate Montavious Murphy (2019).
Nine of the 10 Wildcats who played against Colorado scored at least one field goal, while 7 had at least one assist... Pack led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range in just 26 minutes... Three others — Kaosi Ezeagu, Antonio Gordon and Mike McGuirl — each had 8 points, while freshman Selton Miguel added 6.
K-State knocked down a season-high 10 3-pointers vs. Colorado, as five different Wildcats had at least one triple led by Pack's game-high 4 3-pointers while Antonio Gordon and McGuirl each had two.
The 156 points allowed in the first 2 games are the most by a Wildcat team since the 1999-2000 squad allowed a combined 159 to No. 10 Arizona (88) on Nov. 16 and and Northwestern State (71) on Nov. 21, 1999.

NON-CONFERENCE HISTORY

K-State has a 111-10 (.917) 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 102-8 (.927) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
Despite seeing their 33-game winning streak end at Bramlage Coliseum with a loss to Marquette on Dec. 7, 2019, the Wildcats have still won 98 of their last 106 non-conference home games.
K-State has posted a 147-44 (.770) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season. Prior to last season, the team had posted double-digit non-conference wins in 12 of the last 13 seasons.

UP NEXT: VS. UNLV (0-1)

K-State will continue its homestand on Saturday, as the Wildcats welcome UNLV (0-1) to Bramlage Coliseum to conclude a home-and-home series between the schools. It will mark the Rebels' first visit to Manhattan since an 82-65 Wildcat win on Jan. 4, 1982.
UNLV opened the season with a 91-78 loss to Montana State on Nov. 25 and will open play in the Maui Invitational on Monday against No. 16 North Carolina before 2 more expected games in the tournament.

Game Preview // K-State Continues Homestand against Kansas City Monday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Davion Bradford

Kaosi Ezeagu

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

Mike McGuirl

Selton Miguel

Montavious Murphy

Nijel Pack

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Rudi Williams

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Continues Homestand against Kansas City Monday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Davion Bradford

Kaosi Ezeagu

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

Mike McGuirl

Selton Miguel

Montavious Murphy

Nijel Pack

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Rudi Williams

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