Game Preview // K-State Concludes 2-Game Road Swing at Oklahoma Tuesday

GAME 15
KANSAS STATE (5-9, 1-5 Big 12) at OKLAHOMA (10-2, 4-1 Big 12)
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 >> 5:32 p.m. CT >> Lloyd Noble Center (11,528) >> Norman, Okla.

TELEVISION
FOX Sports Oklahoma / FOX Sports Kansas City

Chad McKee (play-by-play)
Bryndon Manzer (analyst)
Theron Smith (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
XM 384 // Internet 974
Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

LIVE STATS
www.SoonerSports.com
oklahoma.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS
The Lloyd Noble Center is open to approximately 2,500 fans.

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 479-274/23^rd season
At K-State: 166-119/9^th season
vs. Oklahoma: 11-5 (3-5 on the road)

Texas: Lon Kruger (Kansas State '74)
Overall: 665-425/35^th season
Record at Texas: 186-121/10^th season
vs. K-State: 9-11 (7-3 at home)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (5-9)
G: #5 Rudi Williams
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Selton Miguel
F: #11 Antonio Gordon
F: #21 Davion Bradford

Oklahoma (7-4)
G: #12 Austin Reaves
G: #11 De'Vion Harmon
G: #15 Alondes Williams
G: #24 Elijah Harkless
F: #52 Kur Kuath

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Oklahoma leads 109-102
Current Streak: K-State, 1
In Big 12 Play: Tied 17-17
In Norman: Oklahoma leads 64-28
At Lloyd Noble Center: Oklahoma leads 26-11
Last Meeting: W, 61-53 [1/29/20 in Manhattan, Kan.]
Weber vs. Kruger: 11-5 [3-5 on the road]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (5-9, 1-5 Big 12) concludes its 2-game road trip on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats travel to Norman, Okla., to take on Oklahoma (7-4, 3-3 Big 12) at 5:30 p.m., CT at the Lloyd Noble Center. K-State is looking for its first road win in the series since a 74-61 win on Jan. 16, 2019, its only win in the last 5 visits to Norman. Tuesday's game will air on the FOX Sports Oklahoma (along with FOX Sports Kansas City) with Chad McKee (play-by-play) and Bryndon Manzer (analyst) on the call. The game will also air on the entire FOX Sports Kansas City footprint.
K-State will once again meet lettermen and former head coach Lon Kruger, who is entering his 10th season at Oklahoma. Kruger is one of 10 Wildcats to have their jerseys raised to the rafters, as the Silver Lake, Kansas, native was a 2-time Big Eight Player of the Year (1973, 1974) and 2-time Academic All-American for K-State from 1971-74. Kruger led the Wildcats to 61-22 (.735) record during his playing career, which included 2 Big Eight titles and pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He later served as assistant (1978-82) for Hartman before succeeding him as head coach in 1986 where he became the first head coach in school history to lead the Wildcats to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, posting an 81-46 (.638) record.
K-State is coming off an 82-67 loss at No. 4/4 Texas on Saturday, as the Wildcats couldn't overcome a poor start in falling for the fourth consecutive time in January. The Longhorns connected on 57.1 percent in the first half, including 46.7 percent from 3-point range, while holding the Wildcats to a season-low 30 percent, including 33.3 percent from long range, to build a 20-point lead at the break. K-State finally go some offensive rhythm going in the second half, connecting on 57.1 percent from the field to outscore Texas, 43-38. Freshman big man Davion Bradford led four players in double figures with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with team-high 7 rebounds, while junior Rudi Williams added 12 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.
The game at No. 4/4 Texas was the first for K-State in a week since taking a pause to activities due to a limited number of players caused by both injuries and COVID-19 protocols, which forced a postponement of the Iowa State home game on Jan. 13. The Wildcats got some good news with the return of sophomore forward Antonio Gordon, who started in place of the injured DaJuan Gordon after missing 4 straight games, and got the season debut of freshman guard Luke Kasubke, who had missed the first 13 games due to a foot injury. In all, seven players have missed at least one game this season, including season-opening starters Kaosi Ezeagu, Montavious Murphy and Nijel Pack.
K-State will be playing in just its fourth road contest and up until Saturday's loss at No. 4/4 Texas had played well in those previous 2 matchups, knocking off Iowa State, 74-65, on Dec. 15 to snap a 9-game road Big 12 losing streak before the 82-71 loss at No. 18/19 Texas Tech on Jan. 5.
K-State has started 3 true freshmen (Bradford, Selton Miguel and Pack) in 7 of 14 games, including 4 of 6 Big 12 games, while at least 2 true freshmen have started each of the last 9 games. The Wildcats are one of 6 teams (Kentucky, Duke, James Madison, North Carolina and Washington State) to start at least 3 true freshmen in at least one game, while the 31 combined starts by true freshmen rank second only to Kentucky's 39.

NOTES ON OKLAHOMA

Oklahoma (7-4, 3-3 Big 12) has now played since an 82-46 win over TCU on Jan. 12 after seeing its rivalry game with Oklahoma State on Saturday get postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the OSU program. The win over the Horned Frogs snapped a 2-game skid by the Sooners, as four players scored in double figures led by sophomore De'Vion Harmon's game-high 22 points, while senior Austin Reaves added 11 points and 7 assists.
Oklahoma is averaging 77.8 points on 44.8 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent from 3-point range, with 37.5 rebounds, 15.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.6 blocks per game, while allowing 68.4 points on 41.8 percent shooting, including 37.7 percent from 3-point range. The team has connected on a Big 12-best 79.3 percent from the free throw line.
The Big 12's second-best scoring offense team has seven players averaging 6 or more points, including 15.8 points per game from Reaves, who is hitting on 44.8 percent from the field with team-bests in both rebounding (5.4 rpg.) and assists (5.2 apg.) in 31.0 minutes per game. Fellow senior Brady Manek is averaging 13.2 points on 45.1 percent shooting, including 41.2 percent from 3-point range, with 4.4 rebounds, while Harmon is averaging 11.6 points on 46.5 percent shooting with 2.8 rebounds in 28.6 minutes per game.
Oklahoma is led by 10th-year head coach Lon Kruger, who has a 186-121 (.606) record, which includes 6 NCAA Tournaments and the 2016 Final Four . He is 665-425 (.611) in his 35th season as a head coach, which includes an 81-46 (.638) mark and 4 NCAA Tournaments at K-State from 1986-90.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Oklahoma will meet for the 212th time in their histories with the Sooners holding a 109-102 advantage in a series that dates to 1920. The Sooners are 64-28 at home, including a 26-11 mark at the Lloyd Noble Center with 4 wins in the last 5 meetings.
K-State has won 8 of the last 12 meetings with Oklahoma, which includes a split of the series a season ago with the Sooners winning 66-61 at home in the first conference game on Jan. 4, 2020 before the Wildcats earned a 61-53 victory at home on Jan. 29.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 11-5 all-time against Oklahoma, including a 3-5 mark on the road, while he is 11-5 against head coach Lon Kruger. Kruger is 9-11 all-time against his alma mater, including 7-3 at home.

LAST TIME OUT: 4/4 TEXAS 82, K-STATE 67

No. 4/4 Texas rode an impressive first-half offensive performance, which included an 18-0 run, to an 82-67 win over Kansas State on Saturday night in front of a fan less Frank Erwin Center.
The Longhorns on 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the field in the first half, including 46.7 percent (7-of-15) from 3-point range, to jump out to a 20-point lead at the half. For the game, Texas hit on 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the field, including 38.7 percent (12-of-31) from beyond the arc.
The key moment came early in the game after K-State clawed back from a poor offensive start to tie the game at 12-all with just under 13 minutes before halftime. Keyed by a pair of free throws by junior Courtney Ramey, Texas blew open the tight contest with 18 consecutive points, which was highlighted by 4 straight 3-point field goals, including back-to-back treys from junior Kamaka Hepa. The Wildcats went 7 minutes and 30 seconds without a field goal in the stretch before a 3-pointer from sophomore DaJuan Gordon at the 5:29 mark ended the drought.
Texas continued its hot shooting to start the second half, scoring 12 of the first 16 points, to double up K-State and build as much as a 28-point lead (56-28) barely 3 minutes into the final half. The Longhorns would keep a 20-point lead for much of the half before the Wildcats finished off the game by scoring 10 of the last 12 points.
The Wildcats finally got some offensive rhythm going in the second half, connecting on 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from the field, but could not quite recover from the poor start, finishing at 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field, including 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point range. The 24 first-half points tied a season-low, while the team shot a season-low 30 percent (9-of-30) in the first half, including 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from 3-point range.
Freshman Davion Bradford led four players in double figures with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with a team-high 7 rebounds, while junior Rudi Williams turned in his best all-around effort with 12 points on 4-of-9 field goals, including a pair of 3-pointers, with a season-high 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Senior Mike McGuirl, who has now scored in double figures in 6 straight games, and sophomore DaJuan Gordon each had 11 points.

INJURIES, YOUTH DEFINE SEASON SO FAR FOR K-STATE

Very few teams in the country have had to deal with the mixture of injuries, COVID-19 protocols and youth quite like K-State has in 2020-21.
Already one of the country's most inexperienced teams with just 4 returning lettermen and 11 total underclassmen, the Wildcats have seen 7 different players miss at least 1 game this season, while only 2 players (senior Mike McGuirl and sophomore DaJuan Gordon) are currently active who started the season opener with Drake on Nov. 25.
K-State is one of just 6 schools nationally (Duke, Kentucky, James Madison, North Carolina and Washington State) to start at least 3 true freshmen in one game this season, while the 31 combined starts by Wildcat true freshmen are second only to Kentucky's 39.

GAMES MISSED IN 2020-21 [44]

Luke Kasubke - 13 (made his season debut at Texas)
Kaosi Ezeagu - 10 (has not played since 12/5/20)
Montavious Murphy - 10 (expected to miss rest of season)
Carlton Linguard, Jr. - 4 (missed first 4 games but back now)
Antonio Gordon - 4 (returned to action at Texas)
Nijel Pack - 2 (has not played since 1/5/21)
Seryee Lewis - 1 (returned to action at Texas)

IRON 'CATS

Due to low numbers caused by injuries and COVID-19 protocols, K-State had just 8 available players - including 6 on scholarship - for its outing against Oklahoma State at home on Saturday, Jan. 9. To make the situation worse, sophomore Carlton Linguard, Jr., was on a minutes limit due to a back injury (playing just over 14 minutes), while freshman Davion Bradford ended up playing just over 12 minutes due to foul issues.
This caused the remaining 6 to play the bulk of the minutes, including walk-on Joe Petrakis logging a career-high 15 minutes of action. Senior Mike McGuirl and junior Rudi Williams each played all 40 minutes, setting career-highs, while two others - sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshmen Selton Miguel - each registered 39 minutes, also career-highs. All told, those 4 players were responsible for 158 of K-State's 200 total minutes.
McGuirl and Williams are the first Wildcats to play all 40 minutes of a regulation game since Barry Brown, Jr., played all 40 against Baylor on March 2, 2019. It marked the first time two teammates played all 40 minutes in a regulation game in more than 30 years since Steve Henson and LaKeith Humphrey accomplished the feat against Oklahoma State in a 69-62 win at home on Feb. 5, 1989.

YOUNG JOE HAS A BIG NIGHT

Sophomore walk-on Joe Petrakis took advantage of his opportunity with just 8 available players against Oklahoma State on Jan. 9, outscoring freshman All-American candidate Cade Cunningham (6 points to 5 points), while logging a career-high 15 minutes of action.
Petrakis, who redshirt his first season in 2019-20 after playing one season at Dodge City College, scored his first career points with 6:13 left in the first half and finished with a career-high 6 points on 2-of-5 field goals, including his first 3-pointer, to go with 2 rebounds.

YOUNG 'CATS PERFORM WELL AT TECH

Despite dropping an 82-71 loss at No. 18/19 Texas Tech on Jan. 5, K-State became the first team to eclipse 70 points in regulation against Texas Tech this season, including posting the highest field goal percentage by a Red Raider foe this season at 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, including 61.2 percent (19-of-31) from inside the 3-point line. Texas Tech had entered the game, allowing a Big 12-best 56.3 points on 37.4 percent shooting.
Four Wildcats scored in double figures against Texas Tech, including a team-leading 17 points each by freshmen Nijel Pack and Selton Miguel. Miguel tied his season-high on 6-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists, while Pack collected a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-7 from long range. Fellow freshmen Davion Bradford and senior Mike McGuirl each added 10 points.

McGUIRL DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES

Mike McGuirl is making the most of his senior season, as he is among the team leaders in nearly every category, including first in scoring (12.4 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (10), field goals made (59) and attempted (154), 3-point field goals made (32) and attempted (89), assists (52) and minutes (34.4). He is second in steals (16) and third in rebounding (3.8 rpg.).
McGuirl ranks in the Top 20 in several categories in the Big 12, including 20th in scoring (12.4 ppg.), 10th in assists (3.7 apg.), fifth in 3-point field goals made (2.29) and fourth in minutes (34.4 mpg.).
McGuirl has led the team in scoring a team-best 5 times, while he has led in rebounding twice, in assists 7 times and in steals on 5 occasions.
McGuirl's 10 double-digit scoring games this season equal his entire total (10) that he had entering the 2020-21 season. He opened the year with his first career 20-point game vs. Drake on Nov. 25 with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. He equaled that total with 22 points vs. Fort Hays State on Dec. 8. He currently has scored in double figures in a career-best 6 consecutive games, including 11 at Texas (1/16/21).
In addition to his scoring, McGuirl has also set up his teammates, dishing out a team-best 52 assists (to 28 turnovers). He has 6 games at least 5 assists this season, including a career-best 8 vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20).

MR. DO-EVERYTHING

Sophomore DaJuan Gordon has proved to be K-State's Mr. Do Everything, as he is third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game, while leading the way in both rebounding (6.7 rpg.) and steals (1.3 spg.). He is also first in free throws made (34), attempted (44) and percentage (77.3).
Gordon is one of just 2 guards (OSU's Isaac Likekele) to rank in the Big 12's Top 10 in rebounding, as he places eighth with 6.7 rebounds per game, while he is seventh in the league in defensive rebounds (5.14).
Gordon's 3 double-doubles tie 3 others (David McCormack, Kevin Samuel and Jalen Wilson) for the third-most among Big 12 players and are only surpassed by WVU's Derek Culver (7) and Texas' Greg Brown (4).
Gordon's 3 career double-doubles have all come in the last 8 games, including 2 in Big 12 play. He posted his first career double-double in the win at Iowa State (12/15/20), scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He followed that with a 13-point, 12-rebound effort vs. Jacksonville (12/21/20) before his latest double-double vs. Oklahoma State (1/9/21) with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in a career-best 39 minutes.
Overall, Gordon has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 4 games (all in the last 8 games), including in consecutive games against Jacksonville (12/21/20) and Omaha (12/29/20). He is the first Wildcat to post double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games since Wesley Iwundu in March 2017.
Gordon has scored in double figures in 8 games this season, including a career-best 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting vs. TCU (1/2/21). Five of those 8 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 8 games.
Gordon is also the leader on the Wayne McClain Play Hard Chart with 101 points, which includes leading the team in deflections/blocks (32), steals (18), loose balls (18), offensive rebounds (23) and charges (3).

PACK OFF TO IMPRESSIVE START

Freshman Nijel Pack is off to an impressive start, averaging 10.7 points on 43.2 percent shooting, including 37.7 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 32.3 minutes per game.
Pack is second on the team in scoring, field goals made (51), 3-point field goals made (23) and assists (48), while he is third in double-digit scoring games (6), steals (15) and minutes played (387).
Pack became the first Wildcat true freshmen to start the first 12 games of the season since Kamau Stokes started the first 17 games in 2015-16.
Pack ranks first in the Big 12 with a 2.69 assist/turnover ratio, while he is 10th in minutes (32.25), tied for 12th in assists (3.58) and 15th in steals (1.25). He is second in minutes per game among freshmen.
Before missing the Oklahoma State game on Jan. 9, Pack had started to hit his scoring groove, scoring in double figures in 3 of 4 games, including a season-high 17-point effort at No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21).

MIGUEL HITS THE GAME-WINNER

Freshman Selton Miguel connected on a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds left to lift K-State to a 60-58 win over Omaha on Dec. 29. It was the rookie's first game-winner of his career, as he capped his 11-point effort with his third trey of the contest in 35 minutes.
Miguel, a starter in each of the last 9 games, is having a solid start to his freshman campaign, averaging 8.3 points on 33.6 percent shooting, including 8.8 points on 30.9 percent shooting in Big 12 play. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring and steals (11), while his third in 3-pointers (15).
Miguel's 5 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 10 outings, including a team-tying 17 points at No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21). He also scored a season-tying 17 points vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20) on 7-of-14 field goals, while he had 14 vs. No. 2/2 Baylor (12/19/20).

IMPRESSIVE YOUNG BIG MAN

With sophomore Kaosi Ezeagu out for an extended time, freshman Davion Bradford has had an opportunity to display his skills, earning starts in each of the last 10 games. He is averaging 7.3 points on a team-best 65.1 percent shooting (41-of-63) with 3.9 rebounds in 18.4 minutes per game.
Bradford has scored in double figures in 5 games thus far, including scoring a season-high 18 points vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20). He also played a major role in the win at Iowa State (12/15/20) with 14 points on 5-of-7 field goals and a 4-of-4 effort from the line. He has posted double digits in 3 of the last 4 games, including team-high 14 points at No. 4/4 Texas (1/16/21).
Bradford has already shown the ability to finish at the rim, totaling a team-high 20 dunks, which in comparison surpasses Makol Mawien's entire total of 17 in 32 games played in 2019-20 season.

AGORDON STRONG OFF BENCH

Despite missing 4 games, sophomore Antonio Gordon has shown the ability to provide some scoring off the bench, as he collected a career-high 23 points on 9-of-9 field goals with a team-tying 6 rebounds vs. No. 2/2 Baylor (12/19/20) in just 21 minutes of action.
Gordon's 23 points tied for the eighth-most by reserve in a conference game in school history and were the most since Marcus Foster had 23 against TCU on Jan. 7, 2015. He also became the eighth Wildcats to go 9-of-9 or better from the field and the first since Dean Wade also went 9-of-9 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 2, 2019 and the first at home since 2002.

MURPHY EXPECTED TO MISS SEASON

Sophomore Montavious Murphy has elected to have what is expected to be season-ending surgery to fix his ailing knee, which has caused him to miss 10 games this season. Murphy, who was the opening day starter vs. Drake (11/25/20), saw action in 4 games, including the first 3.
Murphy, who became just the fourth true freshman to start an opener under Bruce Weber in 2019-20, has now missed 22 games in his career due to injury, including the last 6 games of his freshman season.
Murphy had a solid freshman season in 2019-20, averaging 5.2 points on 40.7 percent shooting with 3.7 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game.

UP NEXT: 14/15 WEST VIRGINIA (9-4, 2-3 Big 12)

K-State is expected to return home from its 2-game road swing on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats play host to No. 14/15 West Virginia (9-4, 2-3 Big 12) at 3 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. This will be the first meeting between the schools this season after they split their 2 matchups in 2019-20. The Wildcats knocked off the Mountaineers, 84-68, at home on Jan. 18, 2020 before dropping a 66-57 decision in Morgantown on Feb. 1.

Game Preview // K-State Concludes 2-Game Road Swing at Oklahoma Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Davion Bradford

Barry Brown, Jr.

Kaosi Ezeagu

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

Luke Kasubke

Seryee Lewis

Carlton Linguard, Jr.

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Selton Miguel

Montavious Murphy

Nijel Pack

Joe Petrakis

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Rudi Williams

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Concludes 2-Game Road Swing at Oklahoma Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Davion Bradford

Barry Brown, Jr.

Kaosi Ezeagu

Antonio Gordon

DaJuan Gordon

Luke Kasubke

Seryee Lewis

Carlton Linguard, Jr.

Makol Mawien

Mike McGuirl

Selton Miguel

Montavious Murphy

Nijel Pack

Joe Petrakis

Kamau Stokes

Dean Wade

Rudi Williams

Related Videos