Preview // K-State Travels to West Virginia Tuesday Night

Tuesday, January 27

Morgantown, W.Va.

7:30 p.m. CT

Kansas State University

West Virginia

Preview // K-State Travels to West Virginia Tuesday Night

Jan 26, 2026 | Men's Basketball

K-State Notes (.pdf)WVU Notes (.pdf)Watch [FS1]Listen Live (K-State Sports Network)Live Stats

The Wildcats have won 5 of the last 7 matchups, including 3 in a row.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State (10-10, 1-6 Big 12) wraps up the month of January with a trip to Morgantown, W.Va. on Tuesday night to take on West Virginia (13-7, 4-3 Big 12) at Hope Coliseum. Tip is set for 7:37 p.m. and will air nationally on FS1 with Jake Eisenberg and Nick Bahe on the call.

K-State is off to a 1-6 start to Big 12 play for the second straight year under head coach Jerome Tang, but the good news is that the Wildcats recovered from that poor start from a year ago to win 8 of their final 13 league games to finish 9-11. In fact, the team ended a 6-game losing streak in Big 12 play a year ago with a 73-60 win over West Virginia at home that ignited a 6-game winning streak.

West Virginia is off to a 13-7 record under first-year head coach Ross Hodge, including 4-3 in Big 12 play after splitting a road trip at Arizona State and No. 1/1 Arizona. The Mountaineers have won 4 of their last 6 games with their lone losses coming on the road at No. 7/7 Houston and top-ranked Arizona, while they are a perfect 12-0 at home, including a win over Kansas.

West Virginia and K-State will meet for the 30th time on Tuesday night, including the 28th time in the Big 12 era with the Mountaineers owning a 16-13 series edge, including 9-4 mark at home. The Wildcats have won 5 of the last 7 meetings, including 3 in a row.

Tuesday's game will match two of the career points leaders in Division I in K-State's P.J. Haggerty and West Virginia's Honor Huff. Haggerty just became the fifth active player to eclipse 1,900 career points, while Huff is not far behind with 1,797 points in 123 games.

GAME 21
KANSAS STATE (10-10, 1-6 Big 12) at WEST VIRGINIA (13-7, 4-3 Big 12)
Tuesday, January 27, 2026 | 7:37 p.m. CT | Hope Coliseum (14,000) | Morgantown, W.Va.

TELEVISION
FS1 (online link)

Jake Eisenberg (play-by-play)
Nick Bahe (analyst)
Carol Langley (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: Ch. 389
Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

COACHES
K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College '07]
Record at K-State: 71-52/4th Year
Career Record: 73-52*/4th Year+
vs. West Virginia: 4-1 (1-1 on the road)

West Virginia: Ross Hodge (Texas A&M-Commerce '03)
Record at WVU: 13-7/1st Year
Career Record: *59-31/3rd Year
vs. K-State: 0-0 (0-0 at home)

*Division I coaching record only

LAST GAME STARTERS:
K-State (10-10)
G: #4 P.J. Haggerty
G: #10 David Castillo
G: #34 Nate Johnson
W: #15 Taj Manning
W: #22 Dorin Buca

West Virginia (13-7)
G: #1 Jasper Floyd
G: #3 Honor Huff
G: #52 Treysen Eaglestaff
F: #0 Brenen Lorient
C: #55 Harlan Obioha

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: West Virginia leads 16-13
Big 12 era: West Virginia leads 15-12 (13-12 in regular season)
In Morgantown: West Virginia leads 9-4
At Hope Coliseum: West Virginia leads 9-3 (9-3 in Big 12)
Active Streak: K-State, 3
Last Meeting: K-State won 73-60 (1/25/2025)
Jerome Tang vs. Ross Hodge: 0-0

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

Extend its winning streak to 4 games over West Virginia.
Close the all-time series to 16-14.
Give the Wildcats consecutive wins in Morgantown.
Make the Wildcats 228-285 all-time in Big 12 play.
Give the Wildcats a 1767-1266 all-time record.

LAST TIME OUT

No. 19/19 Kansas broke open a tight contest with a decisive 8-0 run to snap a 3-game losing streak at Bramlage Coliseum and earn an 86-62 win in the 304th Dillons Sunflower Showdown on Saturday night.
Kansas (15-5, 5-2 Big 12) saw five players score in double figures led by sophomore Flory Bidunga's 21-point, 10-rebound double-double while senior Melvin Council Jr. added his own double-double with 17 points and a game-high 12 assists.
K-State played its second consecutive game with just 10 available players due to injuries, as starters Abdi Bashir Jr. and Khamari McGriff each missed their second straight game. A third regular starter – Elias Rapieque – missed his fourth game in a row.
The potent Wildcat offense, which entered averaging 85.3 points on 47.3 percent shooting, was held to its lowest output of the season with just 62 points on 34.4 percent (21-of-61) shooting with season-lows for both field goals made (21) and points in the paint (18).
Junior P.J. Haggerty scored a game-high 23 points, doing most of his damage at the free throw line, where he was 10-of-12, to go with 5 rebounds and 4 assists in nearly 39 minutes. He has now scored in double figures in all 20 games this season with 15 20-point scoring efforts.
Freshman Andrej Kostic posted his first career double-digit scoring game with 12 points.
The Wildcats trailed just 59-55 after a 3-pointer by Haggerty just before the third media timeout with 7:26 to play. However, a Bidunga free throw sparked a run of eight straight points that pushed the lead to 67-55, prompting a timeout by head coach Jerome Tang with 5:37 to play.
A Haggerty free throw broke the run out of the timeout, but the Jayhawks continued their push with 7 of the next 9 points to go ahead 74-58 at the final media timeout with 3:41 to play. From there, the lead ballooned to as many as 24 points in the eventual 86-62 loss.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with Kansas leading by as many as 7 points before K-State closed to with 37-35 at the halftime break. The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead just before halftime but senior C.J. Jones' 3-pointer just rimmed out at the buzzer.
Kansas now leads the eighth-most played rivalry in men's college basketball, 207-97, including 82-51 in Manhattan and 30-8 at Bramlage Coliseum. The schools have met every season since 1907.

FAST-PACED OFFENSE

Despite its season-low performance vs. Kansas, the offense is still having a strong season with the Wildcats averaging 84.1 points on 46.7 percent shooting, including 37.4 percent from 3-point range. They are still on pace to post the highest field goal percentage since connecting on 48.4 percent in 1988-89. They rank among the top 35 in several categories, including 12th in assists (18.7), 22nd in fastbreak points (15.9) and 32nd in 3-point percentage (37.4) and 3-point field goals/game (10.4).
The Wildcats have scored 80 or more points in 13 of the first 20 games for the first time in school history, while they have two 100-point games for the just the fifth time. The 1682 points scored are the most through the first 20 games, surpassing the 1628 scored by the 2009-10 team.

POINTS IN THE FIRST 20 GAMES
1682, 2025-26 (94, 98, 99, 84, 98, 85, 69, 66, 67, 108, 83, 106, 94, 73, 76, 84, 73, 83, 81, 62 points)
1628, 2009-10 (92, 82, 80, 74, 83, 70, 83, 86, 71, 95, 87, 90, 85, 91, 68, 88, 87, 71, 69, 76 points)
1608, 2007-08 (94, 76, 77, 77, 73, 82, 77, 59, 82, 87, 90, 101, 77, 85, 84, 75, 72, 82, 84, 74 points)
1570, 1997-98 (93, 89, 89, 71, 101, 90, 67, 76, 70, 87, 111, 64, 62, 77, 62, 76, 78, 72, 66, 69 points)
1546, 2008-09 (96, 88, 82, 69, 83, 72, 63, 70, 74, 107, 73, 82, 83, 99, 53, 71, 51, 65, 77, 88 points)

'CATS SCORE 100+ POINTS TWICE

K-State has twice scored 100 or more points, including a season-high 108 vs. Mississippi Valley State (12/8/25) and 106 vs. South Dakota (12/20/25). The 2 100-point outings tie 4 other teams (1966-67, 1979-80, 1993-94 and 1997-98) for the most in a single season, while also matching the most at home.

MOST POINTS AT BRAMLAGE COLISEUM

K-State's 99-96 win over Cal on Nov. 13 made history, as the 195 combined points were the most-ever in Bramlage Coliseum, surpassing the 194 scored between K-State (106) and Marshall (88) on Dec. 2, 1995.
K-State posted the highest field goal percentage of the Jerome Tang era for the second straight game, as the Wildcats hit on 64.4 percent (38-of-59) from the field. It was the highest field goal percentage since shooting 66.0 percent vs. Wake Forest on March 14, 2017.

MOST POINTS AT T-MOBILE CENTER

The 98 points scored against Mississippi State (11/20/25) in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Classic, which are the most by the Wildcats in 50 games at the T-Mobile Center topping the 87 scored in the first-ever game in the building against Florida A&M on Dec. 17, 2007.

HAGGERTY JOINS ELITE COMPANY

Junior P.J. Haggerty recorded his third 30-point game of the season in the win over Utah (1/20/26), as his 34 points tied for the 10th-most by a Wildcat in a Big 12 games and the most since Markquis Nowell went for 36 at Texas on Jan. 3, 2023. He is the first Wildcat to score in double figures in the first 20 games since Jacob Pullen in 2009-10, while his 467 points are the second-most by a player through the first 20 games and the most since Beasley's 497 points.

HAGGERTY HAS RARE 30-10 GAME

Junior P.J. Haggerty had 31 points and a career-tying 10 rebounds vs. Tulsa (11/17/25) to become the first Wildcat since Michael Beasley in 2008 to post a rare 30-point, 10-rebound double-double. He scored 27 of his 31 points in the second half, which are the fifth-most in any half.

TRIO OF 'CATS POST 20-POINT GAMES

K-State had three players record 20-point games in the win over Cal, as junior P.J. Haggerty led the way with 23 points to go with 21 from senior Khamari McGriff and 20 from senior Nate Johnson.
The trio is the first to each have 20-point games since Dean Wade (34 points), Kamau Stokes (23 points) and Barry Brown Jr. (21 points) did it against Iowa State on Dec. 29, 2017.

McGRIFF, CASTILLO GO PERFECT

Two Wildcats - senior Khamari McGriff and sophomore David Castillo - each went perfect from the field, becoming the 24th and 25th players in school history to go perfect from the field on 5 or more field goals in the 98-71 win over Bellarmine on Nov. 8. They are the first teammates to accomplish the feat in the same game.
Castillo scored a career-high 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting, including 5-of-5 from 3-point range, while McGriff totaled 16 points on 8-of-8 field goals. Castillo is just the eighth Wildcat to go 5-of-5 from beyond the arc, joining his high school coach Clent Stewart who was in attendance.

NOTES ON WEST VIRGINIA

Led by first-year head coach Ross Hodge, West Virginia is off to a 13-7 start, including a 4-3 mark in Big 12 play. The Mountaineers have won 4 of their last 6 games, including a split of a road trip to Arizona State and No. 1/1 Arizona last week. The team is a perfect 12-0 at home this season, including an 86-75 win over Kansas.
West Virginia is averaging 72.3 points on 45.1 percent shooting, including 36.2 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 64.3 points on 41.3 percent shooting, including 34.4 percent from 3-point range. The Mountaineers are out-rebounding their foes, 35.3 to 32.4, and turn the ball over just 11 times per game. They are shooting 68.7 percent from the free throw line.
Under Hodge, the Mountaineers have developed into one of the top defensive teams in the Big 12, ranking second (11th nationally) in scoring defense (64.3 ppg.) and fifth in field goal percentage defense (41.3).
Four players are averaging in double figures led by senior Honor Huff's 16.3 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting with 72 made 3-pointers. Fellow senior transfer Treysen Eaglestaff is averaging 10.6 points on 42.4 percent shooting with 38 made 3-pointers, while senior Brenen Lorient and graduate Chance Moore are averaging 10.5 and 10.2 points per game. Senior Jasper Floyd has a team-high 60 assists, while senior Harlan Obioha is one of 3 Mountaineers averaging 5 or more rebounds.
Hodge has won 205 games in 8 seasons as a head coach, which includes 5 seasons building powerhouses at Paris Junior College (2006-09) and Midland College (2009-11) in the junior college ranks. He won 46 games in 2 seasons at North Texas (2023-25), including 27 victories last season.

SERIES HISTORY

West Virginia leads the series, 16-13, including 15-12 in the Big 12 era. The Mountaineers own a 9-3 edge at home in the series.
K-State has won 5 of the last 7 meetings, including its current 3-game winning streak. The Wildcats won the last matchup in Morgantown, 81-67, on Jan. 9, 2024 as well as the last meeting overall (73-60) in 2025.

LAST 5 MEETINGS [4-1]

Date	Rank	Result	Score	Location
12/31/2022	—/24	W	82-76 (OT)	Manhattan
3/4/2023	11/—	L	81-89	Morgantown
1/9/2024	—/—	W	81-67	Morgantown
2/26/2024	—/—	W	94-90 (OT)	Manhattan
1/25/2025	—/—	W	73-60	Manhattan

LAST MEETING
K-STATE 73, WEST VIRGINIA 60 (Jan. 25, 2025)

K-State jumped out to 19-2 lead over No. 23/23 West Virginia and never looked back to emphatically end a 6-game losing streak with a 73-60 win in the last meeting between the schools on Jan. 25, 2025 at home.
Buoyed by the impressive start, K-State connected on 53.3 percent (16-of-30) of its field goals in the first half, including 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from 3-point range, as the Wildcats surged ahead by as many as 26 points before halftime. Despite scoring 11 of the first 13 points out of halftime, WVU never closed the deficit below double figures in the second half.

UP NEXT:
K-State returns home on Sunday afternoon, as the Wildcats play host to No. 8/9 Iowa State (18-2, 5-2 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 1:05 p.m., CT on FOX. K-State leads the all-time series, 147-95, however, Iowa State holds a 32-30 edge in the Big 12 era with 10 wins in Manhattan, including a 73-57 victory in 2025.