Game Preview // K-State Hosts Texas A&M in SEC/Big 12 Challenge Saturday

GAME 18
KANSAS STATE (5-12, 1-8 Big 12) vs. TEXAS A&M (7-7, 2-6 SEC)
Eighth Annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge
Saturday, January 30, 2021 >> 11:01 a.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
ESPNU / WatchESPN

Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play)
Robbie Hummel (analyst)
Greg Pike (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
XM 380 // Internet 963
Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

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

TICKETS
Bramlage Coliseum will be open to approximately 15 percent capacity (1,879). There are no single-game tickets available.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
In accordance with City of Manhattan ordinance and Kansas State University policy, anyone entering Bramlage Coliseum must wear face coverings over their mouths and noses and continue wearing them inside the arena at all times.

COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee '78)
Overall: 479-277/23^rd season
At K-State: 166-122/9^th season
vs. Texas A&M: 1-2 (1-0 at home)

Texas A&M: Buzz Williams (Oklahoma City '94)
Overall: 276-176/14^th season
Record at Texas A&M: 23-21/2^nd season
vs. K-State: 0-0 (0-0 on the road)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (5-12)
G: #21 Nijel Pack
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #3 DaJuan Gordon
F: #1 Kaosi Ezeagu
F: #21 Davion Bradford

Texas A&M (7-7)
G: #0 Jay Jay Chandler
G: #11 Hassan Diarra
G: #20 Andre Gordon
F: #5 Emanuel Miller
F: #15 Jonathan Aku

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 18-9
Current Streak: Texas A&M, 2
In SEC/Big 12 Challenge: Texas A&M leads 1-0
In Manhattan: K-State leads 11-0
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 9-0
Last Meeting: L, 53-65 [1/26/19 in College Station, Texas]
Weber vs. Williams: 0-0 [0-0 in Manhattan, Kan.]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (5-12, 1-8 Big 12) concludes the month of January with a home game against former conference rival Texas A&M (7-7, 2-6 SEC) in the eighth annual SEC/Big 12 Challenge series at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., CT. This will mark the first home game in the Challenge series for the Wildcats since 2018. Saturday's game will air on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call.
K-State is 3-4 all-time in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge series, including a 3-0 mark in home games. The Wildcats defeated Ole Miss, 61-58, at home in the inaugural game on Dec. 5, 2013 before home wins against the Rebels again, 69-64, on Jan. 30, 2016 and Georgia, 56-51, on Jan. 27, 2018. On the other hand, the squad is 0-4 on the road in the Challenge series, which includes losses to Tennessee in 2014 and 2017, Texas A&M in 2019 and Alabama, in 2020. This will be the second meeting with the Aggies in the Challenge series after losing 65-53 at Reed Arena on Jan. 26, 2019.
K-State enters Saturday's final non-conference contest with a 4-4 record, which includes 3 consecutive victories after a 1-4 start. The Wildcats have had a winning non-conference record every season since 1971-72. Overall, the school has a 115-12 (.906) record in non-conference play at home venues (Bramlage Coliseum, T-Mobile Center in Kansas City and INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita), including a 106-10 (.914) mark at Bramlage Coliseum. Head coach Bruce Weber has an 82-30 (.732) record in non-conference play at K-State, including a 63-10 (.863) mark at home.
The Wildcats are entering Saturday's game with 7 consecutive losses after its 107-59 setback at No. 2/2 Baylor on Wednesday night. The team is looking to avoid going winless in the month of January for the first time since going 0-7 in 1996-97, while they are looking to snap its 0-6 mark in games played on Saturday in 2020-21.
Unfortunately, there is not much that can sugarcoat the loss at No. 2/2 Baylor, as the Bears handed the Wildcats their worst loss in school history, surpassing the 47-point setback at Oklahoma on Feb. 19, 1934, while piling up the most points allowed since Arizona had 125 on Dec. 30, 1997. The Bears knocked down an opponent-best 17 3-pointers on 57.7 percent shooting, including 60.7 percent from long range, while they converted 21 turnovers with 14 steals into 34 points.
K-State did get a boost from the return of freshman point guard Nijel Pack, who had missed the previous 4 games due to COVID-19 protocols. Pack led the way in 3 categories (points, rebounds and assists) against the Bears with 11 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, as he saw his first action since Jan. 5 at Texas Tech.
K-State has started 3 true freshmen (Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack) in 7 of 17 games, including 4 of 9 Big 12 games, while at least 2 true freshmen have started each of the last 1 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 37 combined starts by true freshmen rank second to Kentucky's 45.

NOTES ON TEXAS A&M

Texas A&M (7-7, 2-6 SEC) enters Saturday's game on a 3-game losing streak since dropping a 78-66 decision at home to LSU on Tuesday night. The Aggies connected on just 35.8 percent (24-of-67) from the field with half of their field goals coming from 3-point range (12). Seniors Jay Jay Chandler (21) and Savion Flagg (17) combined for 38 points.
Texas A&M is averaging 63.1 points on 41.7 percent shooting, including 29.6 percent from 3-point range, to go with 33.1 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 6.9 steals and 1.9 blocks per game, while allowing 65.4 points on 44.6 percent shooting, including 33.8 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 71.1 percent from the free throw line.
The Aggies are balanced offensively with 5 players averaging better than 7.6 points per game led by sophomore Emanuel Miller, who is paces the team in both scoring (15.0 ppg.) and rebounding (7.9 rpg.). Miller is hitting on 57.6 percent from the field, while he is an impressive 77.6 percent from the free throw line. Reserve Quenton Jackson is averaging 9.7 points on 46.3 percent shooting and is one of 4 players with 16 3-pointers.
Texas A&M is led by the second-year head coach Buzz Williams, who has posted a 23-21 (.522) record in his tenure. He is in his 14th season as a head coach with a 276-176 (.611) overall record.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Texas A&M will meet for the 28th time on Saturday with the Wildcats holding an 18-9 advantage, mostly from its time as conference foes from 1997-2012. K-State was 13-7 against Texas A&M during its Big 12 days, while it is 5-2 as non-conference opponents.
K-State owns an 11-0 record all-time at home in the series, including a 9-0 mark at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats won the last home game in the series with a 71-64 win in the Wildcat Classic at the now T-Mobile Center (formerly the Sprint Center) on Dec. 20. 2014.
Texas A&M has won the last 2 meetings, including a 65-53 win at home in the last matchup in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Jan. 26, 2019.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 1-2 against Texas A&M with all 3 meetings coming during his time at K-State. This will be the first matchup with head coach Buzz Williams, who will also be facing K-State for the first time.

LAST TIME OUT: 2/2 BAYLOR 107, K-STATE 59

No. 2/2 Baylor once again demonstrated why they are one of the most complete teams in the country, as the Bears led from start to finish in posting a 107-59 win over Kansas State on Wednesday night in front of a limited capacity crowd of 2,350 fans at Ferrell Center.
Baylor connected on 57.7 percent (41-of-71) from the field, including 60.7 percent (17-of-28) from 3-point range, while it held K-State to just 34.6 percent (18-of-52) shooting, including 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from long range. The Bears forced the Wildcats into 21 turnovers, including 14 steals, scoring 34 points off those miscues.
The Bears were lethal from long range, connecting on 17 3-pointers, which tied for the third-most in school history, as the backcourt trio of senior MaCio Teague and juniors Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell combined for a dozen triples. The 17 treys were the most by an opponent in K-State history.
Mitchell, Teague and Butler continued to pad their All-American resumes', combining for 62 of the Bears' 107 points. Mitchell led the way with a career-high 31 points on 12-of-16 field goals, including 7-of-9 from 3-point range, while Teague posted 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Butler added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting to go with a game-high 7 rebounds. Each player dished out a game-tying 5 assists, while Butler and Teague each had 3 steals.
The 107 points are the most allowed by a Bruce Weber-coached team and the most by a Wildcat team since giving up a school-record 125 to Arizona on December 30, 1997. The 48-point loss is the largest in school history, surpassing the 47-point setback at Oklahoma on February 19, 1934.
Freshman Nijel Pack was the lone Wildcat to score in double figures, as he made his return to the court after missing the past 4 games due to COVID-19 protocols. He finished with 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and a 4-of-4 effort from the free throw line to go with a game-tying 5 assists and 5 rebounds in 32 minutes. Freshman Seryee Lewis had a season-high 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while three others – freshmen Luke Kasubke and Selton Miguel and sophomore Antonio Gordon – each added 8 points.
K-State played with a full roster for the first time since November.

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 (only 4 schools have fewer) and 11 underclassmen (only 6 schools have more), the Wildcats have seen 7 different players combined to miss 49 games this season, while senior Mike McGuirl is the only player to start all 17 games with 7 different starting lineups.

GAMES MISSED IN 2020-21 [48]

Luke Kasubke - 13 (saw first action at Texas)
Montavious Murphy - 13 (expected to miss rest of season)
Kaosi Ezeagu - 10 (returned to action at Oklahoma)
Antonio Gordon - 4 (returned to action at Texas)
Carlton Linguard, Jr. - 4 (returned to action vs. Fort Hays State)
Nijel Pack - 4 (returned to action at Baylor)
Seryee Lewis - 1 (returned to action at Texas)

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 37 combined starts by Wildcat true freshmen are second only to Kentucky's 45.

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 (11.5 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (11), field goals made (66) and attempted (181), 3-point field goals made (36) and attempted (104), assists (59) and minutes (33.3). He is second in steals (16) and fourth in rebounding (3.5 rpg.).
McGuirl ranks in the Top 15 in several categories in the Big 12, including 13th in assists (3.5 apg.), 10th in assist-turnover ratio (1.48), fourth in 3-point field goals made (2.1) and eighth in minutes (34.0 mpg.).
McGuirl has led the team in scoring a team-best 6 times, while he has led in rebounding twice, in assists 8 times and in steals on 5 occasions.
McGuirl's 11 double-digit scoring games surpassed his entire career 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 mark with 22 points vs. Fort Hays State (12/8/20). He had scored in double figures in 6 of the last 8 games, where he is averaging 11.5 points per game.
In addition to his scoring, McGuirl has also set up his teammates, dishing out a team-best 59 assists (to 40 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 9.8 points per game, while leading the way in both rebounding (6.1 rpg.) and steals (1.2 spg.). He is also second in free throws made (34), attempted (46) and percentage (73.9).
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 ninth with 6.1 rebounds per game, while he is also eighth in the league in defensive rebounds (4.81).
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 11 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 11 games), including in consecutive games vs. 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 9 games this season, including a career-best 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting vs. TCU (1/2/21). Six of those 9 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 11 games.
Gordon is also the leader on the Wayne McClain Play Hard Chart with 119 points, which includes leading the team in deflections/blocks (33), steals (21), loose balls (23), offensive rebounds (27) and charges (4).

PACK OFF TO IMPRESSIVE START

Freshman Nijel Pack is off to an impressive start, averaging 10.7 points on 42.2 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 32.3 minutes per game.
Despite missing the 4 games, Pack is second in scoring, 3-point field goals made (24) and assists (46), third in double-digit scoring games, field goals made (24) and steals (15) and fourth in minutes played (419).
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 2.82 assist/turnover ratio, while he is 11th in minutes (32.3) and assists (3.7). 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 11 of the last 12 games, is having a solid freshman campaign, averaging 8.5 points on 35.6 percent shooting, including 9.1 points on 35.1 percent shooting in Big 12 play. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring and steals (13), while his third in 3-pointers (16).
Miguel's 7 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 13 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 12 games. He is averaging 6.8 points on a team-best 61.0 percent shooting (47-of-77) with 3.9 rebounds in 18.6 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 7 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 23 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 due to COVID-19 protocols, 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 13 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 23 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: AT 15/18 KANSAS (11-5, 5-4 Big 12)

K-State opens the month of February on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats make short trek east to take on archrival and No. 15/18 Kansas (11-5, 5-4 Big 12) in the Dillons Sunflower Showdown at 7 p.m., CT on the Big 12 Now. This will be the first of two meetings in a 2-week stretch, K-State welcome Kansas to Bramlage Coliseum on Feb. 16. The Jayhawks have won 14 in a row against the Wildcats at home, including 81-60 win on Jan. 21, 2020.

Game Preview // K-State Hosts Texas A&M in SEC/Big 12 Challenge Saturday

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 Hosts Texas A&M in SEC/Big 12 Challenge Saturday

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

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