Seniors Preview Final Home Game on Saturday
Mar 07, 2024 | Men's Basketball
Buy TicketsWatch Senior Press Conference: David N'Guessan/Will McNair Jr.Watch Senior Press Conference: Tylor Perry/Taymont Lindsey
The Wildcats will conclude the regular season with a home game against No. 6/6 Iowa State
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State seniors Taymont Lindsey, Will McNair Jr., David N'Guessan and Tylor Perry met with the media on Thursday afternoon (March 7) to preview the Wildcats' final regular-season home game against No. 6/6 Iowa State on Saturday. Links to the audio and a transcript of seniors' availability are above.
K-State (17-13, 7-10 Big 12) will host No. 6/6 Iowa State (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) on Saturday at 1 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with plenty at stake for both teams. The Wildcats can clinch a bye to the second round of next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a win, while the Cyclones can earn a share of the regular-season title with a win and a loss by No. 1/1 Houston. K-State will be either the No. 10 or No. 11 seed at the Championship, as the No. 11 seed will play the No. 14 seed (Oklahoma State or West Virginia) in the second game on Tuesday (March 12) at 2 p.m., CT, while the No. 10 seed will play the No. 7 seed on Wednesday (March 13) at 6 p.m., CT.
Tickets for Saturday's game are still available at kstatesports.com/tickets.
Iowa State has won 4 straight games after posting a 68-63 win over No. 20/23 BYU on Wednesday night to finish their home schedule with a perfect 18-0 mark for the first time since 2000-01. The Cyclones are among the best defensive teams in the country, ranking second in turnover margin (+6.9) and turnovers forced (17.87), fifth in steals/game (10.5) and sixth in scoring defense (62.0 ppg.). Four Cyclones (Keshon Gilbert, Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic and Curtis Jones) are averaging in double figures, while 2 others (Tre King and Robert Jones) are averaging better than 8.2 points per game.
K-State owns a 145-93 record in the all-time series, including 84-29 at home and 24-11 at Bramlage Coliseum. However, Iowa State has a 30-28 lead in the Big 12 era with the schools splitting the last 10 meetings. The Cyclones won the first meeting, 78-67, at home on Jan. 24 and can sweep the season series for the first time since 2020-21.
The Big 12 will announce the Championship bracket on Saturday night.
SENIOR GUARD TYLOR PERRY
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"Just being able to play under Jerome Tang. Think he changed my life forever and so many things I've learned here in this short time here. I'm definitely signed on that dotted line to be able to come play for him. And there's nothing I would change about it."
On meeting his expectations playing on a Big 12 team…
"Yeah, absolutely. This league is everything that everybody says it was. Just to be able to be in this position to, you know, be able to say I was able to play in the Big 12 and play with a group of guys like I've had, no matter what the score says or what our record looks at. The biggest thing during all this is you have to enjoy the journey. And you learn so many things throughout the years, and five years is a long time in college and you see so many different things, you meet so many new people. And we get caught up in the x's and o's and the scores and what everybody else says but you just got to enjoy the journey and enjoy the journey with your brothers. Just like I said I'm blessed to be able to play in the Big 12, in the best league in the world."
On the importance of beating Iowa State on Saturday…
"Biggest game of the year, I think the biggest game of my life right now. Not to put, you know, crazy pressure on anybody but at the end of the day, it essentially is the biggest game of my college career right now. And you get that, you beat them, get 10 wins, another quad 1 win and then go get two or three in the [Big 12] tournament next week. You know, it puts the voters and puts the committee in a tough position to leave us out. So like I said, it's the biggest game on the schedule right now and that's all we thinking about is going 1-0 in that game."
On his favorite game this season…
"Beating KU in a Kansas State uniform definitely is something you don't want to leave here and not be able to say you didn't do. I think a lot of times, you know, they try to brush us off down the road but I think they'd mark that on their schedule just as much as we do. As much they try not to admit it, whatever they choose to do over there down the road. But yeah, definitely being able to say you know, you left K State and you were able to get a win over KU. But hopefully that biggest win comes, my favorite win, comes in a couple of weeks in a national tournament. So that's what I'm looking forward to. I probably won't even think about that KU win 10 years from now if we get to that tournament."
SENIOR CENTER WILL MCNAIR
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"My favorite part of the season has been beating Providence. Being a transfer from there, it was big to do for me."
On still having motivation to make the NCAA Tournament…
"Oh yeah for sure. That's definitely, that's always the end goal for us, I think it's very possible for us to do it as well. It happens every year, it's gonna happen this year, like coach [Jerome Tang] always mentions, it's gonna happen for sure, it's gonna happen for K-State."
On what he has learned most on his basketball journey…
"Resilient. I ain't gonna lie I didn't think I was going to make it when I went to New Mexico State my first time like ever being away from my family for that long I kept going."
On how a win against Iowa State could give momentum for the Big 12 Tournament…
"The win will be super important. I guess that would put us at the 10th seed and rather than play four games we'd play five games. The main goal is just try to play as least games as possible in the tournament and each tournament you play in. So I just feel like we get this win, go in with some motivation, anything is possible from here on like I say it's March Madness for a reason."
SENIOR WING DAVID N'GUESSAN
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"I don't know if it counts, but for me, I gotta go back to last year, in the [NCAA] tournament, Sweet 16. That is one of my favorite memories probably, playing that game and going to the next round."
On when he'll make the decision to use his last year of eligibility at K-State…
"It'll be after the season. As of right now my focus is on this season, you know, trying to make it to the tournament and try and make another run. After that finish, I'll start thinking about what's next."
On the previous close game with Iowa State earlier in the season…
"I mean, like you said, I think it was even like three or four minutes when it was still a tie game because I remember going to the line and missing free throws twice. I mean, I think we can learn from it, take it into this game, knowing that we can go into that environment, and you know, make it hard for them. We have them coming back like a month, two months later, almost, we have a much better team playing at home. I feel like that will help and give us extra motivation especially on senior night."
SENIOR GUARD TAYMONT LINDSEY
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"For me, I just say the team bonding that we have on the road, we have a lot of fun in the hotels, going out to eat, we just kind of get our minds off basketball just a little bit. And just, you know, we're a goofy team and have great times together."
On his plans after graduating from K-State…
"I've been doing a lot of thinking about that, been talking with my family. I feel like I want to get into coaching and just pouring young people's lives, not sure if I want to go with the high school level or stay at the collegiate level but yeah."
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
K-State (17-13, 7-10 Big 12) will host No. 6/6 Iowa State (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) on Saturday at 1 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with plenty at stake for both teams. The Wildcats can clinch a bye to the second round of next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a win, while the Cyclones can earn a share of the regular-season title with a win and a loss by No. 1/1 Houston. K-State will be either the No. 10 or No. 11 seed at the Championship, as the No. 11 seed will play the No. 14 seed (Oklahoma State or West Virginia) in the second game on Tuesday (March 12) at 2 p.m., CT, while the No. 10 seed will play the No. 7 seed on Wednesday (March 13) at 6 p.m., CT.
Tickets for Saturday's game are still available at kstatesports.com/tickets.
Iowa State has won 4 straight games after posting a 68-63 win over No. 20/23 BYU on Wednesday night to finish their home schedule with a perfect 18-0 mark for the first time since 2000-01. The Cyclones are among the best defensive teams in the country, ranking second in turnover margin (+6.9) and turnovers forced (17.87), fifth in steals/game (10.5) and sixth in scoring defense (62.0 ppg.). Four Cyclones (Keshon Gilbert, Tamin Lipsey, Milan Momcilovic and Curtis Jones) are averaging in double figures, while 2 others (Tre King and Robert Jones) are averaging better than 8.2 points per game.
K-State owns a 145-93 record in the all-time series, including 84-29 at home and 24-11 at Bramlage Coliseum. However, Iowa State has a 30-28 lead in the Big 12 era with the schools splitting the last 10 meetings. The Cyclones won the first meeting, 78-67, at home on Jan. 24 and can sweep the season series for the first time since 2020-21.
The Big 12 will announce the Championship bracket on Saturday night.
SENIOR GUARD TYLOR PERRY
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"Just being able to play under Jerome Tang. Think he changed my life forever and so many things I've learned here in this short time here. I'm definitely signed on that dotted line to be able to come play for him. And there's nothing I would change about it."
On meeting his expectations playing on a Big 12 team…
"Yeah, absolutely. This league is everything that everybody says it was. Just to be able to be in this position to, you know, be able to say I was able to play in the Big 12 and play with a group of guys like I've had, no matter what the score says or what our record looks at. The biggest thing during all this is you have to enjoy the journey. And you learn so many things throughout the years, and five years is a long time in college and you see so many different things, you meet so many new people. And we get caught up in the x's and o's and the scores and what everybody else says but you just got to enjoy the journey and enjoy the journey with your brothers. Just like I said I'm blessed to be able to play in the Big 12, in the best league in the world."
On the importance of beating Iowa State on Saturday…
"Biggest game of the year, I think the biggest game of my life right now. Not to put, you know, crazy pressure on anybody but at the end of the day, it essentially is the biggest game of my college career right now. And you get that, you beat them, get 10 wins, another quad 1 win and then go get two or three in the [Big 12] tournament next week. You know, it puts the voters and puts the committee in a tough position to leave us out. So like I said, it's the biggest game on the schedule right now and that's all we thinking about is going 1-0 in that game."
On his favorite game this season…
"Beating KU in a Kansas State uniform definitely is something you don't want to leave here and not be able to say you didn't do. I think a lot of times, you know, they try to brush us off down the road but I think they'd mark that on their schedule just as much as we do. As much they try not to admit it, whatever they choose to do over there down the road. But yeah, definitely being able to say you know, you left K State and you were able to get a win over KU. But hopefully that biggest win comes, my favorite win, comes in a couple of weeks in a national tournament. So that's what I'm looking forward to. I probably won't even think about that KU win 10 years from now if we get to that tournament."
SENIOR CENTER WILL MCNAIR
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"My favorite part of the season has been beating Providence. Being a transfer from there, it was big to do for me."
On still having motivation to make the NCAA Tournament…
"Oh yeah for sure. That's definitely, that's always the end goal for us, I think it's very possible for us to do it as well. It happens every year, it's gonna happen this year, like coach [Jerome Tang] always mentions, it's gonna happen for sure, it's gonna happen for K-State."
On what he has learned most on his basketball journey…
"Resilient. I ain't gonna lie I didn't think I was going to make it when I went to New Mexico State my first time like ever being away from my family for that long I kept going."
On how a win against Iowa State could give momentum for the Big 12 Tournament…
"The win will be super important. I guess that would put us at the 10th seed and rather than play four games we'd play five games. The main goal is just try to play as least games as possible in the tournament and each tournament you play in. So I just feel like we get this win, go in with some motivation, anything is possible from here on like I say it's March Madness for a reason."
SENIOR WING DAVID N'GUESSAN
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"I don't know if it counts, but for me, I gotta go back to last year, in the [NCAA] tournament, Sweet 16. That is one of my favorite memories probably, playing that game and going to the next round."
On when he'll make the decision to use his last year of eligibility at K-State…
"It'll be after the season. As of right now my focus is on this season, you know, trying to make it to the tournament and try and make another run. After that finish, I'll start thinking about what's next."
On the previous close game with Iowa State earlier in the season…
"I mean, like you said, I think it was even like three or four minutes when it was still a tie game because I remember going to the line and missing free throws twice. I mean, I think we can learn from it, take it into this game, knowing that we can go into that environment, and you know, make it hard for them. We have them coming back like a month, two months later, almost, we have a much better team playing at home. I feel like that will help and give us extra motivation especially on senior night."
SENIOR GUARD TAYMONT LINDSEY
On his favorite memory at K-State…
"For me, I just say the team bonding that we have on the road, we have a lot of fun in the hotels, going out to eat, we just kind of get our minds off basketball just a little bit. And just, you know, we're a goofy team and have great times together."
On his plans after graduating from K-State…
"I've been doing a lot of thinking about that, been talking with my family. I feel like I want to get into coaching and just pouring young people's lives, not sure if I want to go with the high school level or stay at the collegiate level but yeah."
How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on K-State men's basketball, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
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