Preview // K-State Opens Exhibition Play at Missouri Friday Night

EXHIBITION
KANSAS STATE vs. MISSOURI
Friday, October 24, 2025 >> 9 p.m., CT >> Mizzou Arena (15,061) >> Columbia, Mo.

TELEVISION
SEC Network (online link)

Kevin Fitzgerald (play-by-play)
Tim Welsh (analyst)
Walter Fields (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: none
Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

LIVE STATS
kstate.statbroadcast.com

COACHES
K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College '07]
Record at K-State: 61-42/4th Year
Career Record: 63-42*/3rd Year+
Exhibition Record: 5-1 [0-0 vs. Missouri]

Missouri: Dennis Gates [California '01]
Record at Missouri: 55-46/4th Year
Career Record: 105-86/7th Year

EXHIBITION HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 75-21
Home: K-State leads 58-9
at Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 52-9
Road: K-State leads 10-7
Neutral: K-State leads 7-5

K-STATE PLAYS MISSOURI IN EXHIBITION OPENER
K-State will play the first of 2 exhibition games on Friday night, as the Wildcats take on old conference foe Missouri at 9 p.m., CT at Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. This is the first time the schools have met in an exhibition game after playing 237 times between 1907 and 2018, mostly as conference opponents in the Missouri Valley, Big Six, Big Seven, Big Eight and Big 12 Conferences. The schools will meet again for an exhibition game at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan., prior to the 2026-27 regular season.

K-State and Missouri have met twice as non-conference foes since the end of the conference series in 2012, both Wildcat victories. K-State won 66-42 at the Hall of Fame Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Nov. 23, 2015, then again at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands, 82-67, on Nov. 19, 2018. Overall, the Wildcats have won 5 straight in the regular season series, including a 78-68 victory in the last matchup at Mizzou Arena on Feb. 21, 2012.

This is just the second time K-State is playing another Division I school in an exhibition game and the first since the Wildcats defeated Missouri State, 78-62, on Oct. 21, 2017, which helped benefit Hurricane Harvey, Irma and Maria relief efforts.

K-State will wrap up its exhibition season on Friday, Oct. 31 when the Wildcats play host to Division II foe Newman at Bramlage Coliseum at 7 p.m., CT.

EXHIBITION INS AND OUTS

K-State has been playing exhibitions since the 1963-64 season when the Wildcats defeated the Peruvian National Team at Ahearn Field House. The school played exhibitions off and on, including its first international tour in 1981, before the NCAA regulated the practice by allowing schools the ability to schedule 2 exhibitions per season prior to the 1987-88 season.
K-State has primarily played the Kansas members of the MIAA since switching to Division II teams in exhibition play in 2004, which includes the 5 with Fort Hays State, 6 meetings with Emporia State, 8 with Washburn, 6 with Pittsburg State and 1 with Newman.
K-State is 75-21 all-time in exhibition play dating to 1964, including a 58-9 record at home. The Wildcats have a 52-9 record in exhibition play at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State played just one public exhibition prior to the 2024-25 season, as the Wildcats posted a 70-56 win over Fort Hays State on Oct. 29, 2024. The team held the Tigers to just 25.7 percent in the first half in jumping out to a 20-point lead, as then junior Brendan Hausen led four players in double figures with a game-high 15 points.
K-State has won 30 consecutive exhibition games at Bramlage Coliseum since a 70-68 win over Global Sports on Nov. 15, 2003. During the summer of 2023, the Wildcats saw their 11-game exhibition streak end with an 83-81 loss to Team Mexico during its 10-day trip to Israel and Abu Dhabi.

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

Be the first exhibition win over Missouri.
Extend its winning streak in exhibition play to 3 games.
Extend exhibition record to 76-21.

NOTES ON MISSOURI

Led by fourth-year head coach Dennis Gates, Missouri won 22 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2025-26, making a 14-game win improvement from the previous season. The Tigers finished in a tie for sixth place in the SEC with a 10-8 mark.
Missouri returns 6 players from last season, including 3 with starting experience in senior Mark Mitchell, junior Anthony Robinson II and junior Trent Pierce. Mitchell started all 33 games and led the Tigers in scoring at 13.9 points on 50.5 percent shooting with averages of 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 steals in 27.8 minutes per game. Robinson was the team's assist leader at 3.5 per game to go with 9.0 points per game while starting in 31 games, while Pierce averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 rebounds with 19 starts.
The Tigers welcome a number of newcomers including UCLA's Sebastian Mack (5.4 ppg., 5.2 rpg.), Arizona State's Shawn Phillips Jr. (5.4 ppg., 5.2 rpg.), West Virginia's Jayden Stone (injured in 2024-25) and Loyola Marymount's Jevon Porter (12.5 ppg., 7.2 rpg.).
Missouri is one of the tallest teams in the country with eight players 6-foot-9 or taller, including a pair of 7-footers in Trent Burns (7-5) and Shawn Phillips Jr. (7-0).
Missouri was one of highest scoring teams in the country at 83.6 points on 48.2 percent shooting, including 36.7 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 73.6 points on 44.6 percent shooting. The Tigers averaged 8.7 made 3-pointers per game with 6 players with 20 or more made triples. They connected on 73 percent from the free throw line.
Gates has a 105-86 record in his seventh season as a head coach, including a 55-46 mark in his fourth season at Missouri. He has two 20-win seasons, including a 25-10 mark in year one in 2022-23, and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

CONNECTIONS GALORE

Missouri's Mark Mitchell and K-State junior Taj Manning played on the same high school teammate at Bishop Miege High School in suburban Kansas City, where they helped the Stags to a 22-1 record and their sixth Class 4A State Championship.
K-State's Exavier Wilson and Missouri's Aaron Rowe were high school teammates at Father Tolton High School in Columbia, Mo.

RECAPPING LAST SEASON

During a roller coaster of a season that included a 6-game losing streak followed by a 6-game winning streak, K-State could not overcome an up-and-down non-conference season, as the Wildcats finished with a 16-17 overall record, including a tie for ninth place with TCU in the new-look 16-team Big 12 with a 9-11 mark. Among the 16 wins were 10 over teams that advanced to the postseason (3 NCAA Tournament, 1 NIT and 6 College Basketball Crown), including ranked wins over No. 3/3 Iowa State, No. 16/17 Cincinnati, No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 23/23 West Virginia.
K-State won 6 of its first 8 games before losing its last 3 non-conference games (at St. John's, Drake and Wichita State) to enter Big 12 play with a 6-5 record. After a 70-67 win over No. 16/17 Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener, the Wildcats lost their next 6 league games (at TCU, at Oklahoma State, No. 12/11 Houston, Texas Tech, at No. 9/10 Kansas and at Baylor). After an impressive win over No. 23/23 West Virginia, the team rattled off 5 more victories, including an 80-61 win at No. 3/3 Iowa State and back-to-back home wins over No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 13/13 Arizona. However, the Wildcats couldn't keep the momentum going with 4 straight losses (at BYU and Utah, Arizona State and at UCF). The team won 3 of their last 4 before falling to Baylor at the Big 12 Championship.
Seniors Coleman Hawkins and David N'Guessan were both lauded for their outstanding seasons, as Hawkins was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team while N'Guessan was selected to the Honorable Mention team. Hawkins was the only Division I player in the country to average at least 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. The Wildcats' leading scorer (13.3 ppg.) and rebounder (7.2 rpg.), N'Guessan led the Big 12 with a 64.4 field goal percentage while ranking in the league's top 20 in both scoring and rebounding.

Preview // K-State Opens Exhibition Play at Missouri Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brendan Hausen

Coleman Hawkins

Taj Manning

David N'Guessan

Exavier Wilson

Kansas State University Athletics

Preview // K-State Opens Exhibition Play at Missouri Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Brendan Hausen

Coleman Hawkins

Taj Manning

David N'Guessan

Exavier Wilson

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