Game Preview // K-State Faces Iowa State in Regular-Season Finale Saturday

GAME 27
KANSAS STATE (7-19, 3-14 Big 12) vs. IOWA STATE (2-20, 0-17 Big 12)
Saturday, March 6, 2021 >> 4:01 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION
Big 12 Now / WatchESPN

Mark Neely (play-by-play)
Lance Blanks (analyst)
Steve Kurtenbach (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
XM 375 // Internet 375
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. 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: 481-284/23^rd season
At K-State: 168-129/9^th season
vs. Iowa State: 8-11 (5-3 at home)

Iowa State: Steve Prohm (Alabama '97)
Overall: 201-122/10^th season
Record at ISU: 97-93/6^th season
vs. K-State: 7-5 (3-2 on the road)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (7-19)
G: #21 Nijel Pack
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Selton Miguel
G: #3 DaJuan Gordon
F: #21 Davion Bradford

Iowa State (2-20)
G: #1 Tyler Harris
G: #3 Tre Jackson
G: #5 Jalen Coleman-Lands
F: #13 Javan Johnson
F: #33 Solomon Young

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 142-90
Current Streak: K-State, 2
In Big 12 Play: Iowa State leads 27-25
In Manhattan: K-State leads 82-28
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 22-10
Last Meeting: W, 74-65 [12/15/20 in Ames, Iowa]
Weber vs. Prohm: 5-7 [2-3 at home]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (7-19, 3-14 Big 12) concludes the regular season on Saturday, as the Wildcats take on Iowa State (2-20, 0-17 Big 12) at 4 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum. The game was originally scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 13 but was postponed due to COVID-19 protocols within the K-State program. Saturday's game will air on Big 12 Now with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Lance Blanks (analyst) on the call.
K-State is attempting to finish the regular season on a high note after snapping a 13-game losing streak with a 62-54 win at TCU on Feb. 20 and winning 2 of its last 3 games to end the month of February. The Wildcats are also attempting to earn a sweep of the season series from the Cyclones for the first time since 2017-18 after posting a 74-65 win at Hilton Coliseum in the Big 12 opener way back on Dec. 15.
K-State has already locked itself in as the No. 9 seed at next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and will play 8-seed TCU (12-12, 5-10 Big 12) in the first game on Wednesday, March 10 at 5:30 p.m., CT on ESPN. The winner will have to face top-seed Baylor (20-1, 12-1 Big 12) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., CT.
K-State has had a week off since seeing its modest 2-game winning streak end with a 65-43 loss at No. 10/13 West Virginia on Feb. 27. The Mountaineers used a strong second half to break open a tight contest with the Wildcats, as they scored 39 of their 65 points after halftime on 50 percent (13-of-25) shooting, including 66.7 percent (10-of-15) inside the arc. This was after K-State held WVU to 26 points in the first half on 33.3 percent (9-of-27) shooting with 9 turnovers.
K-State is hoping to have freshman point guard Nijel Pack back in lineup after he missed the West Virginia game with an eye infection. The Wildcats' leading scorer (12.1 ppg.) has started 21 of 26 games this season, missing 4 games from Jan. 9-23 due to COVID-19 protocols. The team is 0-5 without Pack in the lineup, averaging just 52.2 points on 36.7 percent shooting, including 23.9 percent from 3-point range, to go with 11.4 assists and 18.0 turnovers per game.
Defense has played a pivotal role in the Wildcats' recent success, as the team has held 3 of the last 4 opponents to less than 60 points, including 54 by TCU and 57 by No. 7/8 Oklahoma in the last 2 wins. During this 4-game span, K-State is holding foes to 58.8 points on 39.7 percent shooting, including 24.3 percent from 3-point range, while holding a +3.3 rebounding margin. The Wildcats have now held 101 opponents to 60 points or less during head coach Bruce Weber's tenure, boasting a 91-10 (.900) record in those contests, including 6 this season with a 5-1 mark.
Due to various issues this season, including injuries and COVID-related protocols, K-State has had to start 3 true freshmen (Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack) 14 games, including 11 of 16 Big 12 contests. The team has started at least 2 true freshmen in each of the last 20 games with Bradford starting 22 games, Pack 21 and Miguel 19. The Wildcats are one of 10 teams nationally to start at least 3 true freshmen in at least one game, while the 62 combined starts by true freshmen rank second nationally behind Kentucky's 68 and just ahead of Washington State's 61.

NOTES ON IOWA STATE (2-20, 0-17 Big 12)

Iowa State (2-20, 0-17 Big 12) played its third game in 6 days on Thursday, as the Cyclones dropped an 81-54 decision at No. 18/17 Texas Tech. Senior Jalen Coleman-Lands and junior Tyler Harris each scored 15 points.
Iowa State is averaging 65.7 points on 42.1 percent shooting, including 32.7 percent from 3-point range, to go with 31.0 rebounds, 11.6 assists, 6.5 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while allowing 77.3 points on 46.4 percent shooting, including 33.1 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 78.3 percent from the free throw line. The Cyclones are averaging 64.9 points on 41.4 percent shooting, including 33.7 percent from 3-point range, in Big 12 play, while allowing 77.8 points on 47.1 percent shooting.
The Cyclones are a balanced scoring team with 5 players averaging 7 or more points, including 3 in double figures. Junior Rasir Bolton is averaging a team-best 15.4 points on 45.5 percent shooting to go with 3.9 assists and 1.3 steals in 33.5 minutes per game. Coleman-Lands (14.1 ppg.) and senior Solomon Young (10.5 ppg.) are also averaging in double figures.
Iowa State is led by fifth-year head coach Steve Prohm, who has posted a 97-93 (.511) record, which includes 3 trips to the NCAA Tournament and 2 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships. He is 201-122 (.622) in his 10th season as a head coach, which includes a stint at Murray State (2011-15).

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Iowa State will meet for the 233rd time in their histories with the Wildcats holding a 142-90 advantage in a series that dates to 1909, including an 82-28 lead in games played in Manhattan.
K-State owns a 22-10 record in the series at Bramlage Coliseum, including a split of the last 6 meetings. The Wildcats ended a 10-game losing streak with a 79-63 win over the Cyclones in the last meeting on March 7, 2020.
K-State won the first meeting in 2020-21, using balanced scoring with four players in double figures and clutch free throw shooting to earn a 74-65 win over Iowa State in the Big 12 opener on Dec. 15, 2020.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 8-11 all-time against Iowa State, including a 5-3 mark at home, while he is 5-7 against head coach Steve Prohm. Prohm is 7-5 against K-State, including a 3-2 mark at Bramlage Coliseum.

LAST TIME OUT: 10/13 WEST VIRGINIA 65, K-STATE 43

A strong start to the second half helped No. 10/13 West Virginia break open a tight contest with K-State, as the Mountaineers earned a 65-43 victory in front of a crowd of 2,800 fans at the WVU Coliseum on Feb. 27.
WVU opened the second half with a 7-0 run, keyed by a jumper from junior Sean McNeil, expanding a narrow 26-22 halftime lead into double digits and forcing a timeout from K-State coach Bruce Weber with 17:42 to play. McNeil finished with a game-high 16 points, including 4 3-pointers.
Down its starting point guard Nijel Pack, who missed the game due to an eye infection, the Wildcats could never get anything going offensively, as the Mountaineers finally broke it wide open with a 17-0 run midway through the second half to build as much as a 25-point lead.
The improving K-State defense held the Big 12's second-leading offense (77.6 ppg.) to 65 points on 41.5 percent (22-of-53) shooting, including 30 percent (6-of-20) from 3-point range. However, the defensive effort could not overcome the offensive struggles, as the Wildcats managed season-lows in several categories, including field goals made (15), field goal percentage (29.4) and 3-point field goals made (3).
The 43 points were the second-fewest scored this season, while it was the Wildcats' lowest field goal percentage since connecting on 28.9 percent against Texas Tech on February 10, 2018.
Freshman Davion Bradford was one of two players to score in double figures with 11 points on 4-of-8 field goals and 3-of-5 free throws to go with 6 rebounds in 26 minutes, while senior Mike McGuirl added 10 points 3-of-11 shooting with a pair of 3-pointers and a team-high 4 assists.
After being held to 26 points on 33.3 percent (9-of-27) shooting in the first half, WVU found its offensive rhythm after halftime, scoring 39 points on 50 percent (13-of-25) shooting, including 66.7 percent (10-of-15) inside the arc. The Mountaineers scored 23 points off 18 turnovers by the Wildcats.
McNeil was joined in double figures by junior Derek Culver, who scored 11 points on 4-of-8 field goals to go with 6 rebounds. Three others (Jalen Bridges, Emmitt Matthews, Jr. and Taz Sherman) had 8 points each.

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 9 different players combined to miss 65 games this season, while senior Mike McGuirl is the only player to start all 26 games with 9 different starting lineups.

GAMES MISSED IN 2020-21 [68]

Montavious Murphy – 22 (expected to miss rest of season)
Luke Kasubke - 13 (saw first action at Texas)
Kaosi Ezeagu - 10 (returned to action at Oklahoma)
Carlton Linguard, Jr. - 6 (missed the last 2 games)
Antonio Gordon - 5 (missed the game vs. Oklahoma)
Nijel Pack - 5 (missed the game at West Virginia)
DaJuan Gordon - 4 (returned to action vs. Kansas)
Rudi Williams – 2 (missed the last 2 games)
Seryee Lewis - 1 (returned to action at Texas)

K-State is one of just 10 schools (Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, James Madison, Marist, Montana North Carolina, Sacred Heart and Washington State) to start at least 3 true freshmen in one game, while the 62 combined starts by Wildcat true freshmen rank second nationally to Kentucky's 68 and just ahead of Washington State's 61.

A SPECIAL FRESHMAN

Freshman Nijel Pack is off to an impressive start to his K-State career, as he ranks among team leaders in several categories, including scoring (12.1 ppg./1st), double-digit scoring games (13/2nd), field goals (93/2nd), 3-point field goals made (47/2nd), assists (82/2nd), steals (25/1st) and minutes per game (33.5/2nd). He is attempting to become the first true freshman to lead the Wildcats in scoring since Marcus Foster averaged 15.5 points during the 2013-14 season.
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 then season-high 17 points at No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21). He returned to the court against No. 2/2 Baylor on Jan. 27 and has continued his stellar play, rattling off double-digit scoring games in 7 of the last 9 games played.
It was during this stretch that Pack came up with a special performance in K-State's 68-61 loss to Texas A&M in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge Jan. 30, as the rookie scored a season-high 26 points on 9-of-16 field goals, including 8-of-14 from 3-point range, to go with 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in just his second game back from missing 4 games due to COVID-19 protocols.
Dating back to the Big 12 opener with TCU on Jan. 2, Pack has scored in double figures 9 of the last 11 games played. In this span, he is averaging 14.1 points on 40.3 percent (54-of-134) shooting, including 37.7 percent (29-of-77) from 3-point range, with 3.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals.
The 26-point effort was the most by a Wildcat true freshman since Marcus Foster scored 34 points vs. Texas on Feb. 8, 2014. The 8 3-pointers tie for the second-most in a game in school history and are the most-ever by a Wildcat freshman. His 8 treys are only surpassed by Askia Jones' school-record 14 against Fresno State on March 24, 1994, while Steve Henson (vs. Iowa State on Feb. 17, 1990) and Cortez Groves (vs. Texas A&M on March 23, 2000) also had 8 treys in a game.
Pack ranks seventh in the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game (2.24), as he has knocked down at least 3 triples in 9 games with a season-high 8 vs. Texas A&M (1/30/21). His 47 makes are the second-most by a true freshman in school history, while connecting on 37.3 percent from long range.
Pack has dished out 5 or more assists in 11 games, including a season-best 9 in the win over No. 7/8 Oklahoma on Tuesday. He ranks third in the Big 12 with a 2.05 assist/turnover ratio and is eighth in assists (9th/3.90).

McGUIRL DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES

Mike McGuirl is making the most of his senior season, as he is among the leaders in a number of categories, including first in total points (305), double-digit scoring games (18), field goals made (102) and attempted (285), 3-point field goals made (56) and attempted (170), assists (90), steals (25) and minutes (34.3). He is second in scoring (11.7 ppg.).
McGuirl had a Senior Night to remember in the 62-57 win over No. 7/8 Oklahoma (2/23/21), as he hit a career-best 5 3-pointers, including 3 in a row, to help flip a 6-point deficit into a 3-point lead with 2:14 to play. He had 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting with 7 rebounds in 39 minutes.
McGuirl has led the team in scoring a team-best 10 times, while he has led in rebounding 3 times, in assists 12 times and in steals on 9 occasions. For the first time in his career, he led the team in scoring (16), rebounding (9) and assists (5) in the win over TCU (2/20/21).
McGuirl's 18 double-digit scoring games have already 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 then equaled it vs. Fort Hays State (12/8/20). He has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 18 games, where he is averaging 11.4 points per game.
In addition to his scoring, McGuirl has also set up his teammates, dishing out a team-best 90 assists (to 70 turnovers). He has 9 games at least 5 assists this season, including a career-best 8 vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20). He needs 4 assists to become the 28th Wildcat to eclipse 200 in his career.

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 8.9 points per game, while averaging 5.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. He returned to the court against No. 23/24 Kansas on Feb. 17 after missing 4 games due to injury, scoring a team-high 12 points on 6-of-13 field goals.
Gordon is 1 of 6 guards to rank in the Big 12's Top 20 in rebounding, as he is 16th with 5.6 per game, while he is 13th in defensive rebounds (4.2).
Gordon's 4 double-doubles are the most by Big 12 guard and rank fifth among all Big 12 players. Gordon's 4 career double-doubles have all come in the last 16 games played, including 3 in Big 12 play. He posted his first career double-double at Iowa State (12/15/20), scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He followed that with a 14-point, 11-rebound effort vs. Oklahoma State (1/9/21) before his latest in the win over No. 7/8 Oklahoma (2/23/21) with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 5 games, including in back-to-back contests 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 11 games this season, including a career-best 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting vs. TCU (1/2/21). Eight of those 11 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 16 games.

AGORDON LEARNING HIS ROLE

Despite an up-and-down season, sophomore Antonio Gordon is starting to settle into his role. He is averaging 5.8 points on 43.8 percent shooting with a team-best 5.8 rebounds, including 6.8 points on 48 percent shooting with a team-best 6.4 rebounds in Big 12 play.
Gordon came off the bench with a big game against No. 2/2 Baylor (12/19/20) by collecting a career-high 23 points on 9-of-9 field goals. The 23 points tie for the eighth-most by reserve in a conference game.
Gordon has started 6 of the last 7 games, averaging 7.1 points on 42.9 percent shooting with 8.4 rebounds in 31.4 minutes per game. He collected his first double-double at No. 23/22 Oklahoma State on Feb. 13, posting a team-high 15 points to go with a career-best 14 rebounds.

MIGUEL ANOTHER ROOKIE HAVING A SOLID YEAR

starter in 19 of the last 21 games, freshman Selton Miguel is having a solid freshman campaign, averaging 7.1 points on 32.8 percent shooting, including 7.1 points on 31.7 percent shooting in Big 12 play. He is third on the team in 3-pointers (19) and steals (22) and fifth in scoring.
Miguel's 7 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 22 outings, including a team-tying 17 points vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20) and No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21). He broke out of a recent slump in the win at TCU (2/20/21), scoring 9 points with 7 of the team's last 11 points.
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, as he capped his 11-point effort with his third trey of the game.

IMPRESSIVE YOUNG BIG MAN

When starting big man Kaosi Ezeagu went down early in the season, it gave freshman Davion Bradford an opportunity to display his skills and earn valuable experience. He is averaging 7.4 on a team-best 61.4 percent shooting (78-of-127) with 4.4 rebounds in 20.5 minutes per game.
Bradford has scored in double figures in 9 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 scored in double figures 8 times in Big 12 play, including on 4 occasions in the last 5 outings.
Bradford has already shown the ability to finish at the rim, totaling a team-high 32 dunks through 26 games, which is nearly double the team-high of 17 posted by Makol Mawien in 32 games played in 2019-20 season.

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.

PETRAKIS EARNS SCHOLARSHIP

Sophomore walk-on Joe Petrakis earned a scholarship for the rest of the 2020-21 season prior to the game with No. 14/15 West Virginia on Jan. 23.
After redshirting in 2019-20, Petrakis took advantage of his opportunity with the loss numbers 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.

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 22 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 35 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: TCU (12-12, 5-10 Big 12)

K-State has locked up the No. 9 seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship and will play in the first game against No. 8 seed TCU (12-12, 5-10 Big 12) on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., CT on ESPN. The teams split their 2 regular-season meetings with the Horned Frogs winning 67-60 in Manhattan on Jan. 2 and the Wildcats winning 62-54 in Fort Worth on Feb. 20.

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Faces Iowa State in Regular-Season Finale Saturday

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

Rudi Williams

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