The Kansas State Men’s Basketball remains a perfect 3-0 all-time against Ivy League schools with Monday night’s 81-71 win over Columbia.

There are still plenty of questions surrounding the Wildcat’s, who were unanimously picked to finish tied for 8th place in the Big 12 preseason poll. But there were signs of promise Monday night starting with the Wildcats starting five all finishing in double figure scoring.

That group was led by Justin Edwards who finished with 19 points, a team-high 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals. Not far behind Edwards was true freshman Dean Wade who finished with 17 points in just his second college game.

Big plays proved to be the difference for Kansas State as they never surrendered their lead but did let it slip to within three with 5:45 to play in the game, but an 11-0 run kicked off by a DJ Johnson dunk took Kansas States lead back to double digits.

“You win at home when you make plays. We had some guys step up,” said Bruce Weber after the game. “The first thing I wrote on the board is, ‘Be a player, don’t watch the play, make plays.’ I hope they took it to heart, but they did a good job at making plays and passing. 17 assists on 30 baskets. We have to get better on some things but there are a lot of positives.”

The Wildcats will now face their first major test of the season as they will play three games within five days starting Friday at home against South Dakota. They then travel to Kansas City Monday to take on Missouri and then North Carolina or North Western Tuesday night in the CBE Hall-of-Fame Classic at the Sprint Center.