Preview // K-State Faces Baylor Tuesday Night

Tuesday, February 17

Manhattan, Kan.

8 p.m. CT

Kansas State University

Baylor

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Feb 16, 2026 | Men's Basketball

K-State Notes (.pdf)Baylor Notes (.pdf)Watch [ESPN2]Listen Live [K-State Sports Network]Live Stats Program (.pdf)

The Bears have won 7 of the last 10 meetings.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State (10-15, 1-11 Big 12) returns home on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats play host to Baylor (13-12, 3-9 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. Tip is set for 8:05 p.m., CT and will air on ESPN2 with Mark Neely and Miles Simon on the call.

K-State made a coaching change on Sunday night, parting ways with fourth-year head coach Jerome Tang, who posted a 71-57 record. Associate head coach Matthew Driscoll was named the interim head coach for the reminder of the season. Driscoll, who is in his first season at K-State, has extensive head coaching experience with 274 wins in 20 seasons as a head coach (LaRoche College and North Florida), including a school-record 248 in 16 years (2009-25) with Ospreys.

Driscoll was an original member of Scott Drew's staff at Baylor from 2003-09, where he helped transform the Bears from a program decimated by tragedy to a team that produced back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time en route to the school's first NCAA Tournament (2008) since 1988.

In addition to the ties between Driscoll and Drew, Baylor assistant coach Steve Henson is one of greatest players in K-State school history. The first player to lead the Wildcats to 4 consecutive NCAA Tournaments (1986-90), he broke 21 school records and etched his name among the top 10 in 41 categories. He still owns school career marks for assists (582), free throw percentage (90.0), minutes (4,474) and consecutive starts (118), while his 1,655 career points rank seventh on the all-time list.

K-State is off to its worst start ever in Big 12 play, tying the 1999-2000 and 2020-21 teams, as the Wildcats have lost 6 straight overall with just one win since the calendar turned to 2026.

Baylor is one of the top offensive teams in the country with 2 potential NBA lottery picks in Cameron Carr (19.2 ppg.) and Tounde Yessoufou (18.4 ppg.). The Bears have lost 3 straight - all against potential NCAA Tournament teams (Iowa State, BYU and Louisville) - since consecutive wins over West Virginia and Colorado. They are 2-5 on the road.

The series has been one of the most competitive with the Bears holding a 27-26 edge since the first meeting at the 1948 NCAA Tournament.

GAME 26
KANSAS STATE (10-15, 1-11 Big 12) vs BAYLOR (13-12, 3-9 Big 12)
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | 8:05 p.m. CT | Bramlage Coliseum (11,010) | Manhattan, Kan.

TICKETS
Single-game tickets are available for $17.

There are a variety of mini-plan and group ticket packages available. These can be purchased online at kstatesports.com/tickets, by calling (800) 221.CATS or by visiting the Bramlage Coliseum Ticket Office, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 5 pm.

TELEVISION
ESPN2 (online link)

Mark Neely (play-by-play)
Miles Simon (analyst)
Josh Careswell (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: Ch. 139/199
Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

LIVE STATS
kstate.statbroadcast.com

COACHES
K-State: Matthew Driscoll [Slippery Rock '92]
Record at K-State: 0-0/1st Year
Career Record: 274-341/21st Year
vs. Baylor: 0-0 (0-0 at home)

Baylor: Scott Drew [Butler '93]
Record at Baylor: 477-271/23rd Year
Career Record: 497-282/24th Year
vs. K-State: 20-19 (8-10 on the road)

LAST GAME STARTERS:
K-State (10-15, 1-11 Big 12)
G: #4 P.J. Haggerty
G: #10 David Castillo
G: #34 Nate Johnson
W: #15 Taj Manning
W: #21 Khamari McGriff

Baylor (13-12, 3-9 Big 12)
G: #43 Cameron Carr
G: #24 Tounde Yessoufou
G: #10 Isaac Williams
G: #5 Obi Agbim
C: #44 Caden Powell

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Baylor leads 27-26
Big 12 era: Baylor leads 26-21 (23-18 in regular season)
In Manhattan: K-State leads 14-11
At Bramlage Coliseum: Tied 11-11 (BU leads 11-10 in Big 12 era)
Active Streak: Baylor, 2
Last Meeting: Baylor won 70-56 (3/12/2025)
Matthew Driscoll vs. Scott Drew: 0-0

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

Snap a 6-game losing streak.
End a 3-game losing streak at home.
Represent the 450th at Bramlage Coliseum.
Make the Wildcats 228-290 all-time in Big 12 play.
Give the Wildcats a 1767-1271 all-time record.

DRISCOLL NAMED INTERIM HEAD COACH

Veteran head coach Matthew Driscoll was named interim head coach on Sunday night after the university parted ways with fourth-year head coach Jerome Tang. This is the first time K-State has relieved a sitting head coach with games still left in the regular season.
The winningest coach in both North Florida and Atlantic Sun Conference history during a 16-year stint (2009-25) with the Ospreys, Driscoll joined the staff on May 23. He won 248 games at North Florida, including 144 in ASUN play, while guiding the school to 3 regular-season championships and the league's tournament championship and a NCAA Tournament bid in 2015.
This is the fifth instance in school history where an interim head coach has been used to replace a sitting head coach. However, the previous four such scenarios involved health situations.
Assistant coach Darryl Winston served as interim head coach for the last 15 games of the 1984-85 season after Jack Hartman suffered a heart attack. Winston posted a 5-10 record and Hartman returned for the 1985-86 season.
Assistant coach Jimmy Elgas served as interim head coach for 2 games during the 2005-06 season after Jim Wooldridge underwent neck surgery, posting a 1-1 record. Wooldridge returned to coach the last 7 games.
Most recently, Bruce Weber missed 2 games during the 2021-22 season due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols with assistant coach Shane Southwell serving as interim head coach vs. Texas on Jan. 4, 2022 while assistant coach Jermaine Henderson served as interim coach at West Virginia on Jan. 8, 2022.

BAYLOR NORTH

The K-State coaching staff has a number of ties to the Baylor program, including current interim head coach Matthew Driscoll and assistant coach Bill Peterson. Driscoll was part of Scott Drew's first staff from 2003-09, while Peterson helped the Bears to the 2021 NCAA title while on staff from 2017-22.
Driscoll and Peterson aren't the only K-State staffers with Baylor ties, as director of player development Austin Carpenter was a graduate assistant for Tang with the Bears from 2020-22, while current graduate assistants Henry Dugat and Mark Vital Jr. are among the best players in Baylor history.
Dugat is one of five players known as "The Foundation" that was inducted into the Baylor Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021. He was part of Drew's first two recruiting classes that led to Bears' historic turnaround. He still ranks in the top 20 all-time in program history with 1,229 career points.
Vital was a 3-time All-Big 12 selection and a member of Baylor's 2021 National Championship team, playing in 126 games with 105 starts.

HAGGERTY ECLIPSES 2,000 CAREER POINTS

Junior P.J. Haggerty reached a person milestone at No. 3/3 Houston (2/14/26) on Saturday, as he became the fifth current Division I player to eclipse 2,000 career points, joining Gonzaga's Graham Ike, Indiana's Tucker DeVries, Oklahoma's Nijel Pack and SMU's Jaron Pierre Jr. The No. 3 scorer nationally at 23.3 points per game, who also ranks second in points (583), field goals made (214) and attempted (441), posted his 19th game of 20 or more points vs. the Cougars, which is the most by a Wildcat in a single season since Michael Beasley had 26 in 2007-08.

LAST TIME OUT

K-State went toe-to-toe with No. 3/3 Houston on Saturday afternoon before the Cougars used their patented defense to pull away for a 78-64 victory to extend their winning streak to 18 games at the Fertitta Center.
Junior P.J. Haggerty, who eclipsed 2,000 career points in the first half, led three Wildcats in double figures with a game-tying 23 points, while senior Nate Johnson collected his third career double-double and second of the season with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Taj Manning matched his career-high with 10 points.
K-State (10-15, 1-11 Big 12) led for nearly 11 minutes in the first half, including 15-6 after back-to-back 3-pointers from senior C.J. Jones and Haggerty at the 11:35 mark. However, the Big 12-leading Cougars (23-2, 11-1 Big 12) turned up the defensive intensity, holding the Wildcats to just 4 points the rest of the half on 1-on-15 field goals with 7 turnovers.
Offensively, Houston took control of the game over the last 11 minutes of the first half, shaking off a 1-of-12 start from the field to score 27 points and lead 33-19 at the break. A dunk by Chris Cenac Jr. gave the Cougars the lead for good with 7:26 before halftime as part of an 8-0 run.
The 19 first-half points tied for the fewest under Jerome Tang and lowest since also scoring 19 against Oklahoma on Jan. 30, 2024, while the Wildcats were held to just 20.8 percent (5-of-24) shooting, including just one made 2-point field goal, which is a new low under Tang.
Houston continued its momentum in the early moments of the second half, extending its lead to 24 points (47-23) after back-to-back 3-pointers from Cenac and senior Emanuel Sharp at the 16:41 mark. K-State continued to battle, using a 9-0 run to pull to within 47-32 at the first media timeout with under 15 minutes remaining before a 3-pointer from sophomore David Castillo closed the deficit to 59-49 with 7:06 to play.
However, that would be closest it would get, as a 3-pointer from senior Milos Uzan sparked a 10-4 run that put the Cougars ahead 69-53 at the final media timeout with 3:48 remaining. The Wildcats scored 10 of the last 15 points for the final 78-64 margin.
Neither team shot the ball very well, as Houston made 40.7 percent (24-of-59) of its field goals compared to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) for K-State. The team combined for 32 turnovers and 45 personal fouls with Wildcats scoring 26 points off 15 Cougar turnovers.
K-State is now winless in 3 meetings with Houston in Big 12 play.

FAST-PACED OFFENSE

Despite season-low performances in 4 of the last 5 games, the offense is still having a strong season with the Wildcats averaging 80.2 points on 45.7 percent shooting, including 36.4 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 22nd in assists (17.8), 25th in fastbreak points (15.1) and 40th in 3-point field goals/game (10.0).
The Wildcats have scored 80 or more points in 14 of the first 15 games for the first time in school history, while they have two 100-point games for the just the fifth time. The 2005 points are the second-most points through the first 25 games, just behind the 2021 points in 2009-10.

POINTS IN THE FIRST 25 GAMES
2021, 2009-10 (92, 82, 80, 74, 83, 70, 83, 86, 71, 95, 87, 90, 85, 91, 68, 88, 87, 71, 69, 76, 79, 76, 79, 68, 91)
2005, 2025-26 (94, 98, 99, 84, 98, 85, 69, 66, 67, 108, 83, 106, 94, 73, 76, 84, 73, 83, 81, 62, 54, 61, 82, 62, 64)
2003, 2007-08 (94, 76, 77, 77, 73, 82, 77, 59, 82, 87, 90, 101, 77, 85, 84, 75, 72, 82, 84, 74, 74, 82, 75, 100, 64)
1927, 1997-98 (93, 89, 89, 71, 101, 90, 67, 76, 70, 87, 111, 64, 62, 77, 62, 76, 78, 72, 66, 69, 81, 58, 62, 61, 95)
1920, 2008-09 (96, 88, 82, 69, 83, 72, 63, 70, 74, 107, 73, 82, 83, 99, 53, 71, 51, 65, 77, 88, 85, 65, 65, 85, 74)

'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 fourth 30-point game of the season in the loss at TCU (2/7/26), which is the most in a single season since Michael Beasley had a school-record 13 in 2007-08. His 19 games of 20 or more points rank fifth on the single season list and are the most since 2007-08. He is the first Wildcat to score in double digits in the first 25 games since Jacob Pullen in 2009-10, while his 583 points are the second-most through the first 25 games since Beasley's 634 points in 2007-08. He is the 36th Wildcat to eclipse 500 points in a single season.

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 BAYLOR

Led by multiple National Coach of the Year head coach Scott Drew, Baylor enters Tuesday's game with a 13-12 overall record, including a 3-9 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears lost 7 of their first 8 league games before consecutive wins at West Virginia and at home to Colorado. They have since lost 3 in a row - all to expected NCAA Tournament teams Iowa State, BYU and Louisville.
Baylor is averaging 83.4 points on 47.9 percent shooting, including 35.4 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 76.1 points on 44.3 percent shooting, including 34 percent from 3-point range. The Bears are out-rebounding their foes, 37.8 to 32.7, and turn the ball 11.6 times per game. They are shooting 73 percent from the free throw line.
Four players are averaging in double figures led by expected NBA Lottery picks Cameron Carr (19.2 ppg.) and Tounde Yessoufou (18.4 ppg.). Carr is shooting 50.9 percent from the field with 56 made 3-pointers on 40 percent shooting with 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 blocks in 33.1 minutes per game. Yessoufou is shooting 47.9 percent from the field with 43 made 3-pointers with 5.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. Obi Agbim (11.1 ppg.) and Dan Skillings Jr. (10.2 ppg.) also are averaging in double figures. Agbim leads in assists (77). Caden Powell leads the way with 6.6 rebounds per game.
Drew is nearing 500 career victories in his 24th season, which includes 477 at Baylor in 23 seasons. He has led the Bears to 13 NCAA Tournaments, including each of the last 5 seasons. He won the 2021 NCAA Tournament. He is 20-19 all-time vs. K-State, including 8-10 in Manhattan.

SERIES HISTORY

This will be 54th meeting between K-State and Baylor in a series that dates back to the 1948 NCAA Tournament. The Bears lead 27-26, including 26-21 in the Big 12 era. The Wildcats own a 14-11 edge at home.
Baylor has won 7 of the last 10 meetings, including both matchups in 2025, including 70-62 in Waco on Jan. 22 and 70-56 in Kansas City.

LAST 5 MEETINGS [3-2]

Date	Rank	Result	Score	Location
1/7/2023	—/19	W	97-95 (OT)	Waco
2/21/2023	14/9	W	75-65	Manhattan
1/16/2024	—/9	W	68-64 (OT)	Manhattan
1/22/2025	—/—	L	62-70	Waco
3/12/2025	—/—	L	56-70	Kansas City*

*Big 12 Tournament

LAST MEETING:
BAYLOR 70, K-STATE 56 (March 12, 2025)

Baylor looked like a team playing on a bye, as the 7-seeded Bears used a hot-shooting first-half to jump out to a 17-point halftime lead en route to a 70-56 win over 10-seed K-State at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in the last meeting between the schools at the T-Mobile Center.
Fresh legs proved to be the difference for the Bears, who connected on 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field in the first half in jumping out to a 41-24 lead at the half. Senior Jayden Nunn (12 points), graduate Norchad Omier (10 points) and freshman V.J. Edgecombe (9 points) combined for 31 of the 41 points. In comparison, K-State shot just 31 percent (9-of-29) in the first half, making just 1 of its first 12 attempts from 3-point range.

UP NEXT:
K-State makes its third straight Saturday visit to the Lone Star State, as the Wildcats travel to No. 13/13 Texas Tech (19-6, 9-3 Big 12) at United Supermarkets Arena. Tip is set for 1:30 p.m., CT on FOX. The Wildcats lead the all-time series, 26-24, but the Red Raiders have won 10 straight in the series at home, including 60-59 in 2024.