Game Preview // K-State Plays TCU in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship

GAME 28
(9) KANSAS STATE (8-19, 4-14 Big 12) vs. (10) TCU (12-13, 5-11 Big 12)
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 >> 5:33 p.m. CT >> T-Mobile Center (18,972*) >> Kansas City, Mo.
25^th Annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship

TELEVISION
ESPN / WatchESPN

Bob Wischusen (play-by-play)
Fran Fraschilla (analyst)
Holly Rowe (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
XM 199 // Internet 953 [TCU broadcast]
Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

LIVE STATS
www.Big12Sports.com
big12.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS
*T-Mobile Center will be open to 20 percent capacity (3,794) for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. Anyone entering the arena 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: 482-284/23^rd season
At K-State: 169-129/9^th season
vs. TCU: 15-7 (3-1 at Big 12 Championship)

TCU: Jaime Dixon (TCU '87)
Overall: 424-193/18^th season
Record at TCU: 96-70/5^th season
vs. K-State: 6-8 (1-3 at Big 12 Championship)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (8-19)
G: #21 Nijel Pack
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Selton Miguel
G: #3 DaJuan Gordon
F: #21 Davion Bradford

TCU (12-13, 5-11 Big 12)
G: #1 Mike Miles
G: #22 R.J. Nembhard
G: #4 P.J. Fuller
F: #5 Chuck O'Bannon
C: #21 Kevin Samuel

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 18-9
Current Streak: K-State, 1
In Big 12 Play: K-State leads 15-7
At T-Mobile Center: K-State leads 3-1
Last Meeting: W, 62-54 [2/20/21 in Fort Worth, Texas]
Weber vs. Dixon: 8-6 [3-1 at neutral sites]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (8-19, 4-14 Big 12) will open play as the No. 9 seed in the 25th annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., CT against No. 8 seed TCU (12-13, 5-11 Big 12) at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo. The teams will meet for the fourth consecutive season in the Big 12 Championship with K-State winning each of the last three matchups, including a 53-49 victory in the first round last season. Wednesday's game will air on ESPN with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Holly Rowe (reporter). The winner will face top-seed Baylor (21-1, 13-1 Big 12) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., CT.
K-State enters as the tournament's No. 9 seed for the third time in program history and the first time since 2006. The Wildcats are 36-41 (.468) all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating to its inception in 1977, including a 16-23 (.410) mark in the Big 12 era. The school is 0-2 as a No. 9 seed (2004, 2006) in the Big Eight/12 Championship, while it is 2-2 vs. the No. 8 seed (1977, 2004, 2006, 2019). The team is 3-1 all-time against the Horned Frogs at the Championship, including a 53-49 win in the first round last season. The two teams also met in 2015 (a 67-65 TCU win), 2018 (a 66-64 K-State overtime win) and 2019 (a 70-61 K-State win).
The teams split their regular-season series with the Horned Frogs winning 67-60 in Manhattan on Jan. 2, while the Wildcats snapped an overall 13-game losing streak with a 62-54 win in Fort Worth on Feb. 20 to start their recent momentum.
K-State finished the regular season on a high note by winning 3 of its last 4 games, including a 61-56 win over Iowa State on Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats continued their recent return to their defensive roots by holding the Cyclones to just 35.8 percent (19-of-53) shooting, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range, and forcing 15 turnovers. The defensive effort made up for a poor shooting night, as the team hit on just 38 percent from the field, including 26.1 percent in the second half.
Defense has played a pivotal role in the Wildcats' recent success, as the team has held 4 of the last 5 opponents to under 60 points, including 54 by TCU, 57 by No. 7/8 Oklahoma and 56 by Iowa State in the last 3 wins. During this 5-game span, K-State is holding opponents to 58.2 points on 38.9 percent shooting, including 23.7 percent from 3-point range. The Wildcats have now held 102 opponents to 60 points or less during head coach Bruce Weber's tenure, boasting a 92-10 (.902) record in those contests, including a 6-1 mark in 7 such games this season.
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) in 15 games, including 12 times in Big 12 play. The team has started at least 2 true freshmen in the last 21 games with Bradford starting 23 games, Pack 22 and Miguel 20. The Wildcats are one of 10 teams nationally to start at least 3 true freshmen in at least one game, while the 65 combined starts by true freshmen rank second nationally behind Kentucky's 70 and just ahead of Washington State's 61.

NOTES ON TCU (12-13, 5-11 Big 12)

TCU (12-13, 5-11 Big 12) enters Wednesday's game having lost 6 of its last 7 outings, including a 76-64 setback to No. 15/16 Texas at home to end the regular season on Sunday. The Horned Frogs connected on 47.1 percent from the field with junior R.J. Nembhard leading the way with 13 points.
On the season, TCU is averaging 67.5 points on 44.0 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent from 3-point range, to go with 34.6 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, while allowing 71.2 points on 44.8 percent shooting, including 33.5 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 67.6 percent from the free throw line.
Two Horned Frogs (R.J. Nembhard and Mike Miles) are averaging in double figures, as Nembhard is fifth in scoring in Big 12 at 15.9 points on 40.1 percent shooting, including 34.9 percent from 3-point range, while adding averages of 4.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 34.8 minutes per game. Miles is averaging 13.8 points per game on 42 percent shooting, including 37 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 32.8 minutes per game. Nembhard was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team, while Miles was an All-Freshman Team selection.
TCU is led by fifth-year head coach Jamie Dixon, who has posted a 96-70 (.578) record, which includes an NCAA Tournament trip in 2018 and bids to the NIT in both 2017 and 2019. He is 424-193 (.687) in his 18th season as a head coach, which includes a stint at Pittsburgh (2003-16).

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and TCU will meet for the 28th time in their histories with the Wildcats holding an 18-9 advantage in a series that dates to 1947. This will be the fifth meeting at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with K-State holding a 3-1 edge, including 3 straight wins, while this will be the second in the 8/9 matchup with TCU earning a 67-65 win in 2015.
The team split their 2 regular-season meetings in 2021 with TCU posting a 67-60 win in Manhattan on Jan. 2, while K-State ended an overall 13-game losing streak with a 62-54 victory in Fort Worth on Feb. 20.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 15-7 against TCU, including a 3-1 mark at the Big 12 Championship, while he is 8-6 against head coach Jamie Dixon.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 61, IOWA STATE 56

K-State used its stingy defense of late to continue its momentum to end the regular season, as the Wildcats concluded their home schedule with a 61-56 win over Iowa State in front of a limited capacity crowd of 899 fans at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.
K-State held ISU to just 35.8 percent (19-of-53) shooting, including 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range, while forcing 16 turnovers. The Cyclones shot just 30.8 percent (8-of-26) in the second half, including 13.3 percent (2-of-15) from long range, with 13 points coming from the free throw line.
The Wildcats finished the regular season with 3 wins in their last 4 games, including a 62-57 win over No. 7/8 Oklahoma on February 23. In that span, the team has held all 4 teams to 65 points or less, including 60 or less in the 3 victories (TCU, Oklahoma and Iowa State).
K-State is now 92-10 under head coach Bruce Weber when holding an opponent to 60 points or less, including a 6-1 mark in 2020-21. The team has held 4 of their last 5 opponents under 60 points.
The defensive effort made up for a poor shooting night, as the Wildcats hit on just 38 percent (19-of-50) from the field, including 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from 3-point range. The team started off strong in the first half, scoring 33 points on 48.1 percent (13-of-27), including 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from long range. However, the team struggled in the second half, making just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) of its shots, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from 3.
K-State did score 15 points off the 16 turnovers by Iowa State and were efficient from the free throw line, knocking down 66.7 percent (16-of-24) of its attempts, including 81.3 percent (13-of-16) in the second half.
Senior Mike McGuirl was one of 3 Wildcats in double figures with a team-high 17 points on 3-of-9 field goals and 9-of-10 free throws in 38 minutes, while sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshman Nijel Pack added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Selton Miguel had a solid night with 9 points, a team-tying 5 rebounds and season-best 7 assists in 36 minutes.
With the win, K-State swept the regular-season series with Iowa State for the first time since 2017-18.

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 71 games this season, while senior Mike McGuirl is the only player to start all 27 games with 9 different starting lineups.

GAMES MISSED IN 2020-21 [71]

Montavious Murphy – 23 (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 - 6 (expected to miss rest of season)
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 65 combined starts by Wildcat true freshmen rank second nationally to Kentucky's 70 and just ahead of Washington State's 61.

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 (322), double-digit scoring games (19), field goals made (105) and attempted (294), 3-point field goals made (58) and attempted (177), assists (91) and minutes (34.3). He is second in scoring (11.9 ppg.) and steals (25).
On Monday, McGuirl was rewarded for his solid senior season when he was selected to the All-Big 12 Honorable Mention team. It marked his first career postseason award after twice earning Academic All-Big 12 honors.
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 11 times, while he has led in rebounding 4 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 19 double-digit scoring games have nearly doubled 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 15 of the last 19 games, including each of the last 4 outings.
In addition to his scoring, McGuirl has also set up his teammates, dishing out a team-best 91 assists (to 72 turnovers). He has 9 games at least 5 assists this season, including a career-best 8 vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20). He needs 3 assists to become the 28th Wildcat to eclipse 200 in his career.

A SPECIAL FRESHMAN

Freshman Nijel Pack is off to an impressive start, as he ranks among the leaders in several categories, including scoring (12.0 ppg./1st), double-digit scoring games (14/2nd), field goals (97/2nd), 3-point field goals (49/2nd), assists (84/2nd), steals (26/1st) and minutes per game (33.6/2nd). 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.
Dating back to the Big 12 opener with TCU on Jan. 2, Pack has scored in double figures 10 of the last 12 games played. In this span, he is averaging 13.8 points on 39.7 percent (58-of-146) shooting, including 36.9 percent (31-of-84) from 3-point range, with 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.2 steals.
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 8 of the last 10 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.
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 (2.23), 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 49 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 (2/23/21). He ranks third in the Big 12 with a 2.00 assist/turnover ratio and is eighth in assists (9th/3.82).

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 9.0 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 has scored in double figures in 12 games this season, including a career-best 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting vs. TCU (1/2/21). Nine of those 12 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 17 games.
Gordon is 1 of 4 guards to rank in the Big 12's Top 15 in rebounding, as he is 13th 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 17 games played, including 3 in Big 12 play.
Gordon 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).

MIGUEL ANOTHER ROOKIE HAVING A SOLID YEAR

A starter in 20 of the last 22 games, freshman Selton Miguel is having a solid freshman campaign, averaging 7.2 points on 33.3 percent shooting, including 7.2 points on 32.6 percent shooting in Big 12 play. He is third on the team in 3-pointers (20) and steals (22) and fifth in scoring.
Miguel has 7 double-digit scoring games, including a team-tying 17 points vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20) and No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21). He played perhaps his best all-around game in the win over Iowa State (3/6/21) with 9 points, a season-tying 7 assists and 5 rebounds in 35 minutes.
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 7.3 on a team-best 61.5 percent shooting (80-of-130) with 4.3 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 scored in double figures 8 times in Big 12 play, including on 4 occasions in the last 6 outings.
Bradford has already shown the ability to finish at the rim, totaling a team-high 33 dunks through 27 games, which is nearly double the team-high of 17 posted by Makol Mawien in 32 games played in 2019-20 season.

TOUGH SCHEDULE

As if COVID-19, injuries and inexperience weren't enough of a challenge for K-State, the team has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country.
K-State played 12 games against Top 25 foes, which tie for the second-most in a single-season and only trail the 14 in 2015-16. The slate included a school-record 5 consecutive Top 25 opponents (No. 23/22 Kansas, No. 13/11 Texas Tech, No. 13/13 Texas, No. 23/22 Oklahoma State and No. 23/24 Kansas) from Feb. 2-17.
The Wildcats snapped a pair of losing streaks in the win over No. 7/8 Oklahoma on Feb. 23, halting a 15-game skid against ranked foes and a 7-game drought against ranked teams at home. K-State is 120-273 all-time vs. ranked opponents.
Head coach Bruce Weber has a school-record 27 wins vs. Top 25 opponents, including a school-best 10 vs. Top 10 foes.

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 23 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 36 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: 2/2 BAYLOR (20-1, 12-1 Big 12)

The winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup between K-State and TCU will face top-seed and No. 2/2 Baylor (20-1, 12-1 Big 12) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 1:30 p.m., CT on ESPN or ESPN2. The Wildcats lost both games with the Bears in the regular season, falling 100-69 at home on Dec. 19, 2020 and then 107-59 in Waco, Texas on Jan. 27, 2021.

Game Preview // K-State Plays TCU in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship

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

Rudi Williams

Kansas State University Athletics

Game Preview // K-State Plays TCU in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship

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

Rudi Williams

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