Preview // K-State Battles 13/13 Texas Tech Saturday Afternoon

Saturday, February 21

Lubbock, Texas

1:30 p.m. CT

Kansas State University

Texas Tech

Preview // K-State Battles 13/13 Texas Tech Saturday Afternoon

Feb 20, 2026 | Men's Basketball

K-State Notes (.pdf)Texas Tech Notes (.pdf)Watch [FOX]Listen Live [K-State Sports Network]Live Stats

The Wildcats have lost 10 straight at United Supermarkets Arena.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State (11-15, 2-11 Big 12) makes its third straight Saturday road trip to the Lone Star State, as the Wildcats battle No. 13/13 Texas Tech (19-7, 9-4 Big 12) at United Supermarkets Arena. Tip is set for 1:35 p.m., CT and will air nationally on FOX with Jason Benetti and LaPhonso Ellis on the call. Lubbock has been a house of horrors for the Wildcats, as they have lost 10 straight to the Red Raiders with the last win coming in 2014. K-State is 0-6 vs. Top 25 teams this season.

K-State made a coaching change on Sunday night, parting ways with fourth-year head coach Jerome Tang, who compiled 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 275 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.

In snapping K-State's 6-game losing streak in Tuesday's 90-74 win over Baylor, Driscoll became just the second interim head coach in school history to win his debut and the first in nearly 20 years when Jimmy Elgas led the Wildcats to a 66-63 win over Iowa State on Feb. 8, 2006. In addition, Driscoll defeated his close friend and former boss Scott Drew in their first matchup.

Driscoll and Texas Tech head coach Grant McCasland share the Drew coaching tree, as Driscoll served on Drew's original Baylor coaching staff from 2003-09 before taking the job at North Florida, while McCasland was on staff from 2011-16. They have never met as head coaches, while Driscoll is 0-1 vs. Texas Tech after losing 89-74 on Nov. 9, 2021 while at North Florida.

Despite losing All-American candidate JT Toppin to a season-ending injury on Tuesday, No. 13/13 Texas Tech is one of the nation's hottest team, having won 8 of its last 11 games, including a 78-75 win over top-ranked Arizona on Feb. 14. Sophomore Christian Anderson paces the Red Raiders at 19 points per game on 48 percent shooting with a Big 12-best 7.64 assists per game.

The series is tied at 26-all between the schools with Texas Tech having won the last 3.

GAME 27
KANSAS STATE (11-15, 2-11 Big 12) at 13/13 TEXAS TECH (19-7, 9-4 Big 12)
Saturday, February 21, 2026 | 1:35 p.m. CT | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) | Lubbock, Texas

TELEVISION
FOX (online link)

Jason Benetti (play-by-play)
LaPhonso Ellis (analyst)
Steve Scheer (producer)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: Ch. 382
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: 1-0/1st Year
Career Record: 275-341/21st Year
vs. Texas Tech: 0-1 (0-1 on the road)

Texas Tech: Grant McCasland [Baylor '99]
Record at Texas Tech: 70-27/3rd Year
Career Record (Division I/II only): 281-115/12th Year
vs. K-State: 2-0 (1-0 at home)

LAST GAME STARTERS:
K-State (11-15, 2-11 Big 12)
G: #4 P.J. Haggerty
G: #10 David Castillo
G: #34 Nate Johnson
W: #15 Taj Manning
W: #21 Khamari McGriff

Texas Tech (19-7, 9-4 Big 12)
G: #11 Jaylen Petty
G: #4 Christian Anderson
F: #15 JT Toppin
F: #12 Donovan Atwell
F: #3 LaJuan Watts

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Tied 26-26
Big 12 era: Texas Tech leads 23-19 (22-18 in regular season)
In Lubbock: Texas Tech leads 17-7
At United Supermarkets Arena: Texas Tech leads 16-4
Active Streak: Texas Tech, 3
Last Meeting: Texas Tech won 61-57 (1/14/2025)
Matthew Driscoll vs. Grant McCasland: 0-0

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

Snap a 6-game road losing streak.
Be the first over the Red Raiders since 2023.
End a 10-game losing streak at United Supermarkets Arena.
Make the Wildcats 229-290 all-time in Big 12 play.
Give the Wildcats a 1768-1271 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.

HAGGERTY ECLIPSES 2,000 CAREER POINTS

Junior P.J. Haggerty reached a person milestone at No. 3/3 Houston (2/14/26) last 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

Junior P.J. Haggerty and senior Nate Johnson became the first Wildcat duo to each record a 30-point game since 2008, as K-State led from start to finish in a 90-74 win in interim coach Matthew Driscoll's debut on Tuesday before 6,789 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
Haggerty (34 points) and Johnson (33 points) combined for 67 of the Wildcats' 90 points on 26-of-39 (66.7 percent) shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from 3-point range. They are the first duo to go for 30 or more points since Michael Beasley (44 points) and Bill Walker (31 points) accomplished the feat at Baylor on Feb. 23, 2008.
In addition to his career-high 33 points, Johnson dished out a game-high 9 assists to go with a game-best 6 steals and 5 rebounds in playing nearly 39 minutes. He went 11-of-16 from the field, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and made all 6 of his free throws. Haggerty knocked down 15 field goals for the second time this season, as he posted his fifth 30-point game of the season, which ties for the most since 2007-08.
The win snapped K-State's 6-game losing streak, as Driscoll defeated his close friend and former boss Scott Drew in their first matchup. Driscoll is just the second interim coach in school history to win his debut and the first in nearly 20 years when Jimmy Elgas led the Wildcats to a 66-63 win over Iowa State on Feb. 8, 2006 in place of Jim Wooldridge.
All 11 wins by K-State (11-15, 2-11 Big 12) this season have come when scoring 80 or more points.
The Wildcats shot 50 percent or better from the field for the 10th time this season, hitting on 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the field, including 47.1 percent (8-of-17) from 3-point range, while making 82.4 percent (14-of-17) from the line.
While the offense got a majority of the headlines, it was the defense that propelled the Wildcats to their first victory in nearly a month, as they held the Bears to 40 percent (26-of-70) shooting, including just 12.5 percent (3-of-24) from 3-point range, while forcing 19 turnovers.