K-State Continues Homestand Friday Night vs. CSUN - Kansas State University Athletics

GAME 2
KANSAS STATE (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) vs. CSUN (0-1, 0-0 Big West)
Friday, November 6, 2026 | 8:01 p.m. CT | Bramlage Coliseum (11,010) | Manhattan, Kan.

TICKETS (Men's Basketball Ticket Hub)

Wildcat Weekend (with purchase of an Oklahoma State football ticket)
($9 advance/$12 at door [bench]; $10 advance/$15 at door [Cat Cushion])
Student Promotion: ICAT Jersey Pickup #2 (ICAT members only)
Junior Wildcat members receive free ticket at NW Ticket Booth

PROMOTION
Wildcat Weekend
Friday's game will be the second game of a doubleheader as the Wildcat women's volleyball team takes on Cincinnati next door at Morgan Family Arena at 5 p.m., CT. The football team will also host Oklahoma State Saturday at noon at Bill Snyder Family Stadium, while the women's basketball team faces UTRGV on Sunday afternoon.

TELEVISION
ESPN+ (online link)

Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
Stan Weber (lead analyst)
Riley Schalk (sideline reporter)
Alex Karbach (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: Sirius 265
Online: Varsity Network [free] / kstatesports.com/watch [free]

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
Matt Walters (analyst)

LIVE STATS
kstate.statbroadcast.com

COACHES
K-State: Casey Alexander [Belmont '95]
Record at K-State: 0-1/1st Year
Career Record: 303-181/16th Year

CSUN: Andy Newman [Azusa Pacific '98]
Record at CSUN: 61-41/4th year
Career Record: 265-138/14th Year

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 2-0
In Manhattan: K-State leads 2-0
In Northridge: n/a
Active Streak: K-State, 2
Last Meeting: K-State won 91-46 (11/30/1987 in Manhattan)
Casey Alexander vs. Andy Newman: 0-0

PROBABLE STARTERS (based off the last game)
K-STATE (0-1)
G – #1 Brandon Rechsteiner
G – #2 Jaden Schutt
F – #4 Dez Lindsay
F – #7 Isaiah Abraham
F – #6 Brock Vice

CSUN (0-1)
G – #2 Mikah Ballew
G – #4 Josiah Davis
G – #44 Brooklyn Hicks
F – #8 Jael Martin
F – #20 BJ Omot

K-STATE CONTINUES SEASON-OPENING HOMESTAND FRIDAY VS CSUN
The teams will meet for the first time since 1987

MANHATTAN – The Kansas State men's basketball team continues its season-opening homestand on Friday night (November 6) when the Wildcats welcome Big West member CSUN (0-1) to Bramlage Coliseum. The game tips off at 8:01 p.m., CT on ESPN+.

It will be a Wildcat Weekend in Manhattan with both volleyball and football at home. Friday's basketball game will be the second of a doubleheader, as the volleyball team hosts Cincinnati at 5 p.m., CT next door at Morgan Family Arena.

CSUN, which was picked fourth in the preseason Big West poll, is coming off a 79-67 loss at Wichita State on Wednesday night. The Matadors pulled to within one point with 6:23 remaining, but the Shockers used a 9-1 run to pull away late in the victory. Three Matadors scored in double figures led by Portland transfer Mikah Ballew, who had 17 points.

CSUN returns the Big West Player of the Year Josiah Davis, who ranked fourth nationally with 253 assists in 2025-26. He had 15 points and 6 assists in the loss to the Shockers.

This will be CSUN's first visit to Manhattan in nearly 40 years. The teams have not met since a 91-46 win by the Wildcats at Ahearn Field House on Nov. 30, 1987 when the Matadors played at the Division II level.

Fans can purchase discounted tickets for as low as $9 through the K-State Athletics Ticket Office.

ALEXANDER ERA TIPS OFF

Tuesday's opener marked the official debut for head coach Casey Alexander, who was hired as the school's 27th head men's basketball coach on March 13. Alexander has 303 games in 15 seasons as a head coach at Stetson, Lipscomb and Belmont.
Alexander, who led Belmont to 166 wins and four conference titles in the last seven seasons (2019-26), guided the Bruins to a 26-6 record and their first-ever Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title in 2025-26.
Alexander has led teams to 10 consecutive 20-win season (238-91; . 723 winning percentage), which includes double-digit conference win totals each season despite navigating three different conferences (Atlantic Sun, Ohio Valley and MVC). He is one of four coaches to win 20 or more games in 10 consecutive seasons, joining Gonzaga's Mark Few, Houston's Kelvin Sampson and Kansas' Bill Self.
Belmont is one of 16 Division I programs with 165 or more victories since the start of the 2019-20 season, which includes the likes of Houston, Gonzaga, Duke and Kansas. The Bruins are one of only four teams outside the traditional multi-bid leagues (Akron, Drake, Liberty and VCU) in the fraternity.

BUMPY START

The Alexander era got off to a bumpy start on Tuesday night, as South Dakota State got late 3-pointers from redshirt freshman Davis Kern and senior Kalen Garry to earn a 68-66 win in the season opener for both teams at Bramlage Coliseum.
Kern and Garry converted on the back-to-back 3-pointers after Kern broke a 60-all tie with pair of free throws with 2:51 to play. Kern's fifth triple of the night gave the Jackrabbits (1-0) a 65-60 lead with 2:31 remaining. Garry's 3-pointer then made it 68-62 with 1:40 left.
Despite these clutch shots, the Wildcats had two chances to tie the game in the last 25 seconds. Freshman Jaylen Alexander intercepted a bad pass with 25 seconds remaining, but fifth year Dez Lindsay couldn't convert on a reverse layup with 9 seconds. After a timeout, junior Joe Sayler was fouled on the inbounds pass with 6 seconds but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw, allowing the Wildcats' one last chance. However, senior Brandon Rechsteiner's floater in the lane missed as the buzzer sounded.
Junior Pape N'Diaye led three Wildcats in double figures with 18 points on 5-of-8 field goals and 8-of-8 free throws to go with a team-high 8 rebounds in just 19 minutes, while Rechsteiner and junior Isaiah Abraham added 16 points each.
Kern led four Jackrabbits in double figures with a game-high 24 points to with a game-tying 8 rebounds, while Garry and sophomore Jon Mekonnen each had 14 points. Summit League Preseason Player of the Year Joe Sayler added 10 points.

SEASON OPENING LOSSES ARE RARE

Tuesday's loss to South Dakota State was the first in a season opener since an 82-69 loss to USC on Nov. 6, 2023 at the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic in Las Vegas, while it was the first in a home season opener since an 80-70 setback to Drake on Nov. 25, 2020.
K-State is now 95-28 all-time in season openers, including 83-11 at home and 31-4 at Bramlage Coliseum. The 3 other season-opening home losses came in 1993 to Southern Miss (74-60), 2013 to Northern Colorado (60-58) and 2020 to Drake (80-70).
The loss was the first by a Wildcat first-year head coach since Tom Asbury dropped his debut at Alabama on Nov. 16, 1994.
Alexander is now 11-5 in season openers in his career, including 1-1 at Stetson, 5-1 at Lipscomb, 5-2 at Belmont and 0-1 at K-State. He had won each of his last 4 season openers before the setback to SDSU.

REBOUND TO WIN GAME TWO

K-State has a 13-15 record in game two when losing its season opener. However, the Wildcats have fared better in that scenario since 1993 with a 5-2 mark.
K-State is 2-1 in game two when losing its opener at Bramlage Coliseum with the Wildcats defeating Texas A&M (63-54) in 1993 and Oral Roberts (71-63) in 2013 before losing to Colorado (58-76) in 2020. The 2013-14 team recovered from its opening night loss to Northern Colorado to win 20 games and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
The last time K-State lost a season opener in 2023 the team returned home to knock off Bellarmine, 83-75, on Nov. 10, 2023 following the setback to USC in Las Vegas.
K-State hasn't dropped its first two games at Bramlage Coliseum since 2020-21 when the Wildcats lost to Drake (80-70) and Colorado (76-58).

POP OF ENERGY

One of the bright spots from Tuesday's loss to South Dakota State was the play of junior reserve Pape N'Diaye, who came off the bench to lead the Wildcats in both scoring (18) and rebounding (8) while playing just under 19 minutes.
N'Diaye 18 points were a career-high, eclipsing his previous high of 11 points vs. Fresno State (12/28/24) while playing at UNLV as a freshman. He made 5-of-8 from the field and went an impressive 8-of-8 from the line to go with 8 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. It was just his fourth career double-digit scoring game in college.
N'Diaye is the first Wildcat reserve to lead the team in scoring since David Castillo scored 19 points against Creighton (12/13/25), while he is the first reserve to pace the squad in both scoring and rebounding since Markquis Nowell had 19 points and 6 rebounds off the bench against No. 14/15 Illinois on Nov. 23, 2021 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.

HEAD OF THE SNAKE

Senior Brandon Rechsteiner didn't have a great shooting night (6-of-17 and 4-of-11 from 3) in the opener vs. South Dakota State, but he still ended up with a solid line of 16 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists (with zero turnovers) in nearly 35 minutes of action.
Rechsteiner now has 35 double-digit scoring games in his career, including 25 in his last 35 games, while his 16-point effort was more than he had in all but 9 games last season.
Rechsteiner also established career-best for rebounds (7) and field goals attempted (17), while he was just shy of his career-high for minutes played.
Rechsteiner now has 139 3-pointers in his career with makes of 3 or more in 22 games.
Rechsteiner was an honorable mention All-Mountain West pick a year ago at Colorado State, where he led the Rams in scoring (12.0 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (24) and 3-point field goals (86) while he was second in assists (86) and steals (27).

ABRAHAM FINDS SUCCESS

Junior Isaiah Abraham equaled Brandon Rechsteiner with 16 points, just one shy of his career-high, as he connected on 6-of-7 field goals, including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, against South Dakota State in 32 minutes of action.
It marked just his sixth double-digit scoring game, as his 16-point effort was just eclipsed by his career-best 17 points vs. Coppin State (12/22/25) while playing at Georgetown.
Abraham started in 31 of 33 games for the Hoyas last season, averaging 4.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 19.9 minutes per game. He previously played at UConn in 2024-25.

ALEXANDER OFF THE BENCH

Freshman Jaylen Alexander made his first appearance on Tuesday against South Dakota State, notching 4 points, 4 steals and 2 assists in 15 minutes of action.
Alexander's final steal came at a pivotal time as the Wildcats attempted to rally, intercepting an errant pass with 25 seconds with the team down 68-66.
Alexander's 4 steals tied freshman record, as he became the first Wildcat rookie with 4 steals since Barry Brown Jr. did it nearly 10 years ago at Texas Tech (3/5/2016).

SCOUTING CSUN

CSUN opened the 2026-27 season with a 79-67 loss at Wichita State on Wednesday. Three Matadors scored in double figures led by Portland transfer Mikah Ballew, who had 17 points, while reigning Big West Player of the Year Josiah Davis added 15 points and a game-high 6 assists to go with 11 points from fifth-year Keziah Ekissi.
CSUN is entering year four under head coach Andy Newman after posting a second consecutive 20-win season in 2025-26 at 20-14 overall record, including a tie for third place in the Big West with a 12-8 mark.
Newman's 61 wins over the past three years are the most in the team's 69-year history.
The Matadors return just 2 lettermen (Josiah Davis and Greg Gazarian) from last year's 20-win team, while they welcome 11 newcomers, including eight Division I transfers.
CSUN was picked fourth in the preseason Big West Conference poll with 86 points. UC Irvine was picked to repeat as regular season champion followed by UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.
The Matadors averaged 81.4 points per game in 2025-26, which was the highest scoring average since 2000-01.
Davis was picked to the Preseason All-Big West team after ranking fourth nationally in total assists (253). He averaged 15.9 points on 45.9 percent shooting to go with 7.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 33.3 minutes per game.
Among the eight Division I transfers are Mikah Ballew (Portland), Keziah Ekissi (Oregon State), Brooklyn Hicks (UNLV/Montana), Jael Martin (Loyola Marymount), Lamine Niang (UTM), BJ Omot (North Dakota/Cal), Caleb Smith (Rider) and Emmanuel Stephen (Arizona/UNLV).
Newman has won nearly 65 percent of his games in his head coaching career, which includes stints at Cal State Fullerton (2012-13), Division II schools Texas-Permian Basin (2013-18) and Cal State San Bernardino (2018-23) before arriving at CSUN in 2023-24.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State is 2-0 all-time vs. CSUN with home wins in 1983 and 1987.
The series dates to Dec. 23, 1983 when the Wildcats knocked off the Matadors, 64-50, at Ahearn Field House. The teams met less than 4 years later when the Wildcats posted a 91-46 win at home on Nov. 30, 1987.
K-State is 15-5 all-time vs. Big West Conference teams, including 11-2 at home.

LAST MEETING:
K-STATE 91, CSUN 46 (Nov. 30, 1987 at Ahearn Field House)

Fred McCoy and Mitch Richmond combined for 38 points, as the Wildcats connected on nearly 60 percent from the field in a 91-46 win over CSUN in the last matchup between the teams on Nov. 30, 1987 at Ahearn Field House.
McCoy led all scorers with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while Richmond added 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Teammate Charles Bledsoe had a near double-double with 8 points and game-high 9 rebounds.
K-State had a 37-point halftime lead (45-8) over CSUN, as the Wildcats held the Matadors to just 8 points in the first half on 15.8 percent (3-of-19) shooting from the field while knocking down 54.5 percent (18-of-33) of their field goals.
The second half was more competitive at 46-38, but the Wildcats still made 66.7 percent (16-of-24) of its shots.
Two Matadors scored in double figures led by 14 points from Chuck McGavran.

WHAT'S BACK FOR K-STATE

K-State returns just one lettermen – rising sophomore Andrej Kostic – from last season, in which the team posted a 12-20 overall record, including a 3-15 mark in Big 12 play, under head coaches Jerome Tang and Matthew Driscoll.
Tang became the first Wildcat head coach to be dismissed during the season.
The 12 wins represented the third-fewest in the last 25 seasons, only surpassed by 9 in 2020-21 and 11 in 2019-20, while the 3 Big 12 wins tied for the second-fewest since the league's inception and the lowest since winning 2 games in 1999-2000.
It was just the fourth 20-loss season in school history.
In addition to Kostic, the Wildcats welcome 13 newcomers, including 10 Division I transfers and three true freshmen.
Among those prominent Division I transfers are captains Brandon Rechsteiner (Colorado State), Jaden Schutt (Virginia Tech) and Brock Vice (Murray State) as well as Isaiah Abraham (Georgetown), Dez Lindsay (Oregon), Pape N'Diaye (Xavier), JT Rock (New Mexico) and Montana Wheeler (Bradley).
The three freshmen include guards Jaylen Alexander, Devin Hutcherson and Nash Stark.

BACK TOGETHER

Fifth year Jaden Schutt and senior Brandon Rechsteiner will play together for the second time in their respective career after teaming up at Virginia Tech in 2024-25.
The backcourt tandem played in all 32 games for the Hokies, as Schutt averaged 7.7 points per game with a team-high 57 made 3-pointers in 26 starts, while Rechsteiner averaged 7.0 points per game with a team-best 91 assists in 15 starts.
Schutt and Rechsteiner started 13 games together at Virginia Tech, including the first 11.
Rechsteiner signed with Virginia Tech out of high school, playing in 58 games with 35 starts from 2023-25, before transferring to Colorado State in 2025-26.
Schutt transferred to the Hokies in 2024-25 after starting his career at Duke in 2022-23. He played in 64 games with 31 starts from 2024-26.

TRIO NAMED CAPTAINS

Senior guard Brandon Rechsteiner, fifth-year guard Jaden Schutt and senior forward Brock Vice were selected as team captains for the 2026-27 season in a team-wide vote, it was announced on Sept. 24.
The trio are all in their first years at K-State after transferring this past spring.
Rechsteiner is entering his fourth season of college basketball after playing at both Colorado State (2025-26) and Virginia Tech (2023-25). He has played in 92 games with 51 starts while scoring nearly 700 points on 41.2 percent shooting. He is coming off a career year at CSU, where he earned honorable mention All-Mountain West honors after leading the Rams in scoring (12.0 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (24) and 3-pointers (86).
Schutt arrived at K-State after two seasons at Virginia Tech (2024-26) and one season at Duke (2022-24). He has played in 78 career games with 31 starts while scoring more than 500 points on 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. He led the Hokies in 3-pointers in each of his two seasons, including 65 on 38.5 percent shooting in 2025-26.
Vice arrived at K-State after stints at Creighton (2023-24), North Texas (2024-25) and Murray State (2025-26). He is coming off his best season while playing Murray State, where he saw action in 30 of 33 games for a Racer squad that won 20 games in 2025-26.

RECAPPING EXHIBITION PLAY

K-State lost both exhibition games, falling to Missouri at home, 71-67, on Oct. 23 before dropping an 88-84 decision to Nebraska in Grand Island, Neb., on Oct. 26.
The Wildcats averaged 75.5 points in exhibition play, connecting on 43.7 percent shooting, including 35.2 percent from 3-point range, and 80 percent from the free throw line.
Senior Brandon Rechsteiner averaged 16 points on 44.4 percent (12-of-27) from the field, including 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from 3-point range, while fifth-year Jaden Schutt averaged 14 points on 46.7 percent (7-of-15) shooting, including 50 percent (7-of-14) from 3.

Exhibition 1 – Missouri 71, K-State 67 (view stats, highlights, etc. here)

In the exhibition against Missouri, K-State nearly fought back from a 14-point second half, closing the deficit to one possession several times in the final minute, before falling 71-67 at Bramlage Coliseum.
McDonald's All-American Jason Crowe Jr. led the Tigers with a game-high 21 points to go with 5 assists, while three Wildcats scored in double figures led by fifth year Jaden Schutt and sophomore Montana Wheeler, who had 12 points each. Senior Brandon Rechsteiner added 11 points to go with team-highs in both rebounds (8) and assists (5).
The Tigers scored the first 13 points of the second half to quickly erase a 5-point halftime deficit to the Wildcats. The lead ballooned to 14 points at 61-47 with 6:38 remaining after an 11-1 run that was capped by a 3-pointer freshman Toni Bryant. However, the new-look Wildcats wouldn't go away, slowly chipping away behind the play of Rechsteiner, Wheeler and junior Isaiah Abraham, who accounted for the team's last 20 points.
Rechsteiner answered the Bryant 3-pointer right before a K-State timeout with 6:04 to play. He added another 3-pointer following jumpers from Wheeler and Abraham that cut the lead to 63-57, forcing a Missouri timeout with 2:44 remaining. Following a pair of Crowe free throws, Rechsteiner had a layup to go with two free throws from Wheeler that made it 65-61. The teams traded free throws before a steal and layup by Abraham closed to one possession at 67-65 with 27 seconds.
Fifth year Dez Lindsay forced a bad pass by sophomore Bryson Tiller on the next possession, but Tiller recovered to block Abraham's layup with 17 seconds. Tiller grabbed the defensive board and fed it to senior Kennard Davis Jr., who converted on a layup on the other end to put the Tigers up 69-65 with 13 seconds. Abraham's dunk with 5 seconds pulled the Wildcats to within 69-67 but two free throws from Crowe with 2.3 seconds provided the final points.

Exhibition 2 – Nebraska 88, K-State 84 (view stats, highlights, etc. here)

Junior Braden Frager and senior Pryce Sandfort combined for 51 points, as Nebraska out-dueled Kansas State, 88-84, in a high-flying, high-scoring exhibition on Oct. 26 before 5,338 fans at the BigIron Events Center in Grand Island, Neb.
In a back-and-forth affair that lived up to the billing as the "Battle at the BigIron," the teams combined for 29 made 3-point field goal on 80 attempts, including 16 by the Wildcats. Nine different players connected from long range, including a combined nine by senior Brandon Rechsteiner and fifth-year Jaden Schutt.
The 16 made 3-pointers were the most-ever by a Wildcat team in an exhibition game.
Frager and Sandfort accounted for nine of the Huskers' 13 triples, as Frager led all scorers with 28 points, while Sandfort added 23 points. Rechsteiner paced three Wildcats in double figures with 21 points to go with 7 assists, while Schutt and freshman Jaylen Alexander accounted for 16 and 11 points, respectively.
Fitting for a game in which the teams combined to make 29 3-pointers, it was a stretch of 3-point makes that gave the Huskers the edge they needed in an up-and-down affair.
After Rechsteiner connected on his fifth triple of the game that pulled the Wildcats to within 58-57 at the 11:36 mark, three different Huskers – freshman Jacob Lanier, junior Taj DeGourville and Frager – knocked down long range shots that extended the lead to 67-59 with just over 9 minutes remaining. They extended the lead to as many as 13 points at 75-62 after a 7-0 run capped by a fifth Frager 3-pointer with 4:15 left.
However, the never-say-die Wildcats kept chipping away at the deficit, using an 18-7 run to close to within 82-80 after back-to-back layups by Alexander with 25 seconds. DeGourville knocked down a pair of free throws to extend the Husker lead to 84-80 with 18 seconds but Alexander made it a one possession game at 84-82 with a layup with 11 seconds to go before a K-State timeout.
Two more free throws by Frager followed by a Rechsteiner layup once again made it a one possession game at 86-84 with 3 seconds. However, Lanier put the game out of reach with two more free throws at 88-84 with 2 seconds remaining.

NEXT UP
K-State continues its homestand on Tuesday (November 10) when the Wildcats play host to Creighton (1-0) at 8 p.m., CT at Bramlage Coliseum in the return of a home-and-home series. Last season, K-State won its road game in Omaha with an 83-76 win over the Bluejays on Dec. 13.

Single-game tickets start at $20 and are available in the K-State Athletics Ticket Office.

A variety of ticket packages (link here) are available for the 2026-27 home schedule which includes 19 games at Bramlage Coliseum.

Schedule

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Isaiah Abraham

Jaylen Alexander

David Castillo

Devin Hutcherson

Andrej Kostic

Dez Lindsay

Pape N'Diaye

Brandon Rechsteiner

JT Rock

Jaden Schutt

Nash Stark

Brock Vice

Montana Wheeler

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus CSUN on Nov 6, 2026 at 8 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Creighton on Nov 10, 2026 at 8 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Montana on Nov 16, 2026 at 7 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Campbell on Nov 20, 2026 at 7 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Gonzaga on Nov 24, 2026 at 11:30 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Alabama or Baylor on Nov 26, 2026 at 5 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. CT

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus TBD on Nov 27, 2026 at TBD

Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Seton Hall on Dec 4, 2026 at 6 p.m.

Results

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus South Dakota State on November 3, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 68

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Nebraska on October 26, 2026 , Loss , 84, to, 88

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Missouri on October 23, 2026 , Loss , 67, to, 71

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus BYU on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 91, to, 105

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Kansas on March 7, 2026 , Loss , 85, to, 104

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus West Virginia on March 3, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 63

Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus TCU on February 28, 2026 , Loss , 68, to, 77

Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Colorado on February 25, 2026 , Loss , 70, to, 79