Game Preview // K-State Plays Host to Fort Hays State Tuesday

GAME 5
KANSAS STATE (1-3) vs. FORT HAYS STATE (0-3)
Tuesday, December 8, 2020 >> 7:01 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
Big 12 Now on ESPN+

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (analyst)

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

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
Matt Walters (analyst)

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

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 475-268/23^rd season
At K-State: 162-113/9^th season
vs. Fort Hays State: 0-0 (2-0 in exhibition play)

Fort Hays State: Mark Johnson (Pittsburg State '93)
Overall: 373-189/20^th season
At Fort Hays State: 373-189/20^th season
vs. Kansas State: 0-0 (0-4 in exhibition play)

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

Fort Hays State (0-3)
G: #5 Kaleb Hammeke
G: #0 Alvin Thompson
F: #4 Bjarni Jonsson
F: #21 Jared Vitztum
F: #34 Gilbert Peters

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 3-2 [regular season only]
Current Streak: K-State, 3 [regular season only]
In Manhattan: K-State leads 3-1
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: W, 83-76 [12/1/09 in Manhattan]
Weber vs. Johnson: 0-0 [2-0 in exhibition play]
In Exhibition Play: K-State leads 4-0
Last Exhibition: W, 79-56 [10/28/17 in Manhattan]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (1-3) returns to the court on Tuesday night when the Wildcats play host to Division II foe Fort Hays State (0-3) at 7 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will air on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. The contest was quickly added on Sunday after K-State could not reschedule its road game with Butler in the Big 12/Big East Battle that was originally set for Friday, Dec. 11 but was postponed on Nov. 28 due to COVID-19 related issues within the Bulldog program. The game continues what is now a 6-game homestand to start the season for the Wildcats, which is the longest such stretch since starting the 2001-02 season with 6 straight home games.
Tuesday's game will count as one of K-State's 27 allowable contests in 2020-21 and will be the first regular season meeting with Fort Hays State since 2009. The schools have met just 5 times in their respective histories in the regular season, which includes an 83-76 win by the Wildcats in the last such meeting on Dec. 1, 2009. The other 4 meetings came between 1936 and 1947 with K-State leading the series, 3-2, including wins in each of the last 3 such games. The schools typically meet every 2-4 years in exhibition play with K-State earning wins in 2007 (95-59), 2011 (90-60), 2015 (70-52) and 2017 (79-56). The game will count as an exhibition for FHSU, as the Tigers can only play 22 regular-season games in 2020-21.
UNLV used a strong start to the second half to break open a tight game, as the Runnin' Rebels avenged their 2019 home loss to K-State with a 68-58 win on Saturday in front of a limited capacity crowd of 910 fans at Bramlage Coliseum. Leading 31-30 at halftime, UNLV connected on 3-pointers on 3 consecutive possessions to open the second half to take a 42-30 lead at the first media timeout at the 15:58 mark. The 3-point spree ignited an 18-9 overall run by the Rebels that opened up a 49-39 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. The Wildcats closed to within 56-53 with just under 6 to play, but the Rebels again answered with an 8-0 run to put the game out of reach. K-State dropped to 1-3 to start a season for the first time since 2002-03.
K-State was doomed by the 3-ball in the loss to UNLV, as the Rebels hit on 12 of 27 attempts from beyond the arc, including 7 by junior David Jenkins, Jr. The 12 3-pointers were the most by an opponent since TCU had 15 on Feb. 15, 2020, while Jenkins' 7 treys tied for the fourth-most by one single opponent and are the most since Texas' Jase Febres connected on 7 triples on Jan. 2, 2019.
K-State struggled offensively in the UNLV loss, tying or setting new season lows for points (58), field goal percentage (36.1) and 3-point field goal percentage (36.1). Senior Mike McGuirl was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 17 points on 5-of-13 field goals, while sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshman Nijel Pack added 9 points each. Pack dished out a season-high 7 assists with zero turnovers to go with 5 rebounds. It was the most assists by a freshman since Marcus Foster had 10 at Baylor on Feb. 15, 2014, while Pack became the first Wildcat freshman to have at least 7 assists in game with zero turnovers.
Despite the 3 losses to start the season, the Wildcats have still won 99 of their last 108 non-conference homes games.

NOTES ON FORT HAYS STATE

Fort Hays State is off to an 0-3 start to the season after dropping an 84-80 decision at Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday. The Tigers have lost each of their first 3 games (all conference games) by a total of 8 games, including an 80-78 loss to Washburn to open the season on Nov. 19 and a 68-66 setback to Emporia State on Nov. 21.
As a Division II institution, Fort Hays State can only play 22 regular season games in 2020-21, which will all come in MIAA play. Tuesday's game will count as an exhibition and will not be included in their season stats.
FHSU is averaging 74.7 points on 45.2 percent shooting, including 38.3 percent from 3-point range, to go with 31.7 rebounds, 13.7 assists, 5.0 steals and 1.7 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 77.3 points on 49.7 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range, to go with 31.3 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.7 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The Rebels are averaging 7.7 made 3-point field goals per game.
Three Tigers (Jared Vitztum, Quinten Rock, Alvin Thompson) are averaging in double figures, including a double-double by Vitztum, who has averages of 21.7 points on 41.5 percent shooting and 11.3 rebounds per game. He is connecting on 81.3 percent (26-of-32) from the free throw line. He poured in a game-high 29 points on Saturday at Nebraska-Kearney on 9-of-15 field goals to go with 15 rebounds. Rock is averaging 11.7 points on 48 percent shooting with a team-best 7 triples on the season, while Thompson is averaging 11 points on 52.2 percent shooting, including 50 percent from 3-point range. Kaleb Hammeke leads the team with 13 assists (4.3 per game) to go with 8 points per game.
Fort Hays State finished the 2019-20 season with a 14-14 overall record, including a tie for ninth place in the MIAA with a 7-12 mark. It was the first non-winning record under head coach Mark Johnson since 2006-07. The Tigers return 6 lettermen, including starters Vitztum and Nyjee Wright, from that team in 2020-21. Vitztum averaged a team-best 14.6 points on 57.3 percent shooting with 7.9 rebounds as a junior in 2019-20.
Head coach Mark Johnson enters his 20th season as the head coach at Fort Hays State, which including 9 20-win seasons and 7 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances (2003, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2106). He has a 373-189 record at FHSU, which including a 228-142 mark in conference play. His 373 wins are the most in school history.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be just the sixth meeting between K-State and Fort Hays State in the regular season and the first since 2009. The Wildcats own a 3-2 edge in the series, including 3 straight wins (1946, 1947, 2009). Prior to 2009, the schools hadn't met in the regular season since 1946.
K-State posted an 83-76 win in the last meeting between the schools on Dec. 1, 2009, as Jamar Samuels scored 21 points off the bench while the backcourt duo of Jacob Pullen (20) and Denis Clemente (17) combined for 37 points. The schools combined for 94 points and both shot better than 50 percent in the second half in the up tempo contest.
The schools regularly meet in exhibition play, playing every 2-4 years since K-State started playing Division II schools exclusively in 2006. The team met in 2007 (95-59; Michael Beasley's first game in a Wildcat uniform), 2011 (90-60), 2015 (70-52) and 2017 (79-56).
This will be the first regular-season between head coaches Bruce Weber and Mark Johnson. Weber was the Wildcats' head coach for the exhibition wins over Johnson's Tigers in 2015 and 2017.

LAST TIME OUT: UNLV 68, K-STATE 58

UNLV used several key runs, including an 18-9 run to open the second half, to avenge its 2019 home loss to K-State with a 68-58 win on Saturday night before a limited capacity crowd of 910 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
Leading 31-30 at halftime, UNLV connected on 3-pointers on 3 straight possessions to open the second half to take a 42-30 lead at the first media timeout at the 15:58 mark. The 3-point spree ignited an 18-9 overall run that opened up a 49-39 advantage with just over 12 minutes to play.
Behind senior Mike McGuirl's 17 points, K-State was able to close the deficit to 56-53 with just under 6 to play, however, UNLV again answered with a 8-0 run that enabled the Runnin' Rebels to close out the game.
UNLV converted on an opponent-high of 52 percent of its field goals (26-of-50), including 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from 3-point range. K-State could never sustain any offensive momentum, shooting a season-low 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the field, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from long range.
McGuirl was the lone Wildcat in double figures with 17 points on 5-of-13 shooting, while sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshman Nijel Pack added 9 points each. Pack dished out a season-high 7 assists with zero turnovers to go with 5 rebounds. It was the most assists by a Wildcat true freshman since Marcus Foster had 10 against Baylor on Feb. 15, 2014.

NON-CONFERENCE HISTORY

K-State has a 112-11 (.911) record at home venues (includes home games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play dating back to the 2006-07 season, including a 103-9 (.920) 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 99 of their last 108 non-conference home games.
K-State has posted a 148-45 (.767) 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. MILWAUKEE (0-0)

K-State will conclude its 6-game homestand on Friday, Dec. 11, as the Wildcats welcome Milwaukee (0-0). The Panthers have yet to play this season due to COVID-19 related issues. This will be the Wildcats' last non-conference game before opening Big 12 play at Iowa State on Tuesday, Dec. 15.

Game Preview // K-State Plays Host to Fort Hays State Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Kaosi Ezeagu

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

Mike McGuirl

Nijel Pack

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Plays Host to Fort Hays State Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Kaosi Ezeagu

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

Mike McGuirl

Nijel Pack

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