GAME 2

OMAHA (1-1, 0-0 Summit)

AT KANSAS STATE (1-0, 0-0 Big 12)

Tuesday, November 15, 2016  7 p.m.  Bramlage Coliseum (12,528)

 

 

 

COACHES

Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)

Overall: 393-209/19^th season

At K-State: 80-54/5^th season

1. Omaha: 1-0 (1-0 at home)

 

Omaha: Derrin Hansen (Nebraska Wesleyan ‘91)

Overall: 180-153/12th season

At Omaha: same

1. Kansas State: 0-1 (0-1 on the road)

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State

G: #3 Kamau Stokes (11.0 ppg., 5.0 apg.)

G: #5 Barry Brown (18.0 ppg., 6.0 rpg.)

G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (17.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg.)

F: #32 Dean Wade (4.0 ppg., 0.0 rpg.)

F: #4 D.J. Johnson (7.0 ppg., 12.0 rpg.)

 

Omaha

G: #24 Tra-Deon Hollins (7.0 ppg., 7.0 apg.)

G: #23 Marcus Tyus (21.0 ppg., 2.5 rpg.)

G: #21 Zach Jackson (9.0 ppg., 5.5 rpg.)

F: #15 Tre’Shawn Thurman (17.0 ppg., 9.0 rpg.)

F: #32 Daniel Meyer (3.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg.)

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

Overall: K-State leads 1-0

1. Summit League: K-State leads 30-2 (29-0 at home)

In Manhattan: K-State leads 1-0 (last meeting: 12/2/2014)

In Omaha: n/a

Current Streak: K-State, 1

Last Meeting: K-State won 84-66 in Manhattan (12/2/2014)

Weber vs. Hansen: Weber leads 1-0

 

GAME 2 – QUICK HITTERS

• Kansas State continues its homestand on Tuesday, as the Wildcats host their second straight Summit League opponent in Omaha (1-1) at 7 p.m. The game is the second of a four-game homestand to start the season, which includes Hampton on Sunday and Robert Morris on Nov. 22.
• K-State opened the season with an 82-55 win over fellow Summit League foe Western Illinois on Friday night, as sophomore Barry Brown paced four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 18 points.
• After shooting just 32.4 percent in the first half, K-State caught fire in the second half, knocking down 62.5 percent (15-of-24) of its field goals, including all 7 3-pointers, against WIU. Keyed by a big trey from rookie Xavier Sneed, the Wildcats ended the game on a 25-6 run in last 7:35.
• Brown was joined in double figures by senior Wesley Iwundu (17), Sneed (17) and sophomore Kamau Stokes (11). Brown is the only Wildcat to score in double figures in both exhibitions and the first game.
• Senior D.J. Johnson grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds against WIU, which is the most in a season opener since Ron Anderson had 12 in 2008.
• Iwundu started his 90th career game on Friday night, which propelled him to a tie for 10th all-time in school history with Tyrone Adams (1978-82). He has played in 65 consecutive games, including a streak of 53 starts.
• K-State is now 88-25 (.779) all-time in season openers dating back to its first season in 1903, including a 76-9 (.894) mark at home.
• The Wildcats are 30-2 all-time against teams from the Summit League, including 29-0 record at home. This will be just the second meeting with Omaha on the hardwood after posting an 84-66 win on Dec. 2, 2014.
• K-State is looking for a 2-0 start for the 13th time in last 14 seasons, including the fourth time in the last 5 seasons under Bruce Weber.
• K-State has an 80-5 (.941) record at home in non-conference play dating back to 2006-07, including a 78-4 (.951) mark during the regular season. The squad has won 69 of its last 72 non-conference home games.
• The Wildcats have won 9 straight non-conference home games dating back to last season with an average margin of victory of 17.7 points. The last home non-conference loss came to Georgia on Dec. 31, 2014.
• Weber is 57-12 (.824) at Bramlage Coliseum since taking over as head coach with only non-conference losses to Northern Colorado (2013), Texas Southern (2014) and Georgia (2014). The 12 losses (9 of which have come in Big 12 play) have come by a total of 61 points (5.1 ppg.).

 

A SUCCESSFUL OPENER

• K-State officially opened the 2016-17 season on Friday with an 82-55 win over Western Illinois.
• With the win, K-State is now 88-25 (.776) all-time in season openers dating back to 1903, including 76-9 at home.
• Head coach Bruce Weber is 17-2 (.888) all-time in season openers in his career, including 4-1 at K-State.
• The Wildcats led for more 36 minutes, including as high as 28 points… The team connected on 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the field, including 71.4 percent (10-of-14) from 3-point range, while they held the Leathernecks to 36.5 percent shooting (19-of-52), including the first 5:57 without a field goal… It marked the 50th opponent held under 60 points during the Weber tenure.
• K-State scored 47 points in the second half on 62.5 percent (27-of-61) shooting, including hitting all 7 3-pointers, and knocked down 90.9 percent (10-of-11) of its free throws… The squad shot just 32.4 percent (12-of-37) in the first half.
• K-State ended the game on a 25-6 run (over the last 7:35) after Western Illinois closed the gap to 57-49 with 7:51 to play.
• Freshman Xavier Sneed helped ignite a 12-0 run by the Wildcats with a 3-pointer from the corner at the 7:18mark.
• Sophomore Barry Brown was one of four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals in 32 minutes… Senior Wesley Iwundu (17), Sneed (17) and sophomore Kamau Stokes (11) also scored in double figures, as the Wildcats moved to 30-8 under Weber when at least 4 Wildcats score double digits.
• Brown is the only Wildcat to score in double figures in both exhibitions and the first game, posting 17 vs. Pittsburg State (10/28) and 15 vs. Washburn (11/4)… He is shooting a combined 58.6 percent (17-of-29) in those three games.
• Iwundu nearly posted his third double-double in an opener, finishing with 9 rebounds… He tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Northern Colorado in 2014 and 23 points and 10 rebounds vs. UMES in 2015… He did not play in his sophomore opener.
• Senior D.J. Johnson corralled a career-best 12 rebounds to go with 7 points vs. Western Illinois, which were the most rebounds by a Wildcat in a season opener since Ron Anderson also had 12 boards against Florida A&M on Nov. 14, 2008.
• In addition to his 11 points, Stokes dished out a career-tying 5 assists to just 1 turnover… It was his first game since going down a season-ending injury against Ole Miss on Jan. 30, which forced him to miss the last 12 games.
• Five Wildcats made their debuts (Sneed, Isaiah Maurice, Brian Patrick, Pierson McAtee and Kade Kinnamon).

 

THE OPPONENT: OMAHA

• Omaha enters Tuesday’s game with a 1-1 record after splitting a West Coast trip to start the season with a 74-60 win over UC Santa Barbara and an 82-72 loss at USC… The Mavericks led the Trojans for 28 minutes before falling in the second half.
• Omaha is averaging 73 points on 38.3 percent shooting, including 28.8 percent from 3-point range, with 40.5 rebounds, 12 assists, 5.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game… The team is allowing 71 points per game on 38.8 percent shooting.
• The Mavericks are led by seniors Marcus Tyus and Tre’Shawn Thurman, who are averaging 21 and 17 points, respectively… Tyus, who is shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from 3-point range, nearly single-handedly beat USC, going for 33 points on 11-of-18 field goals, including 6 treys, while Thurman added 20 points and 14 rebounds against the Trojans.
• Omaha returns eight lettermen, including three starters, from a team that posted an 18-14 record, including a third-place finish in the Summit League with a 10-6 mark, and advanced to the CBI First Round… The Mavericks crushed Saint Mary’s (104-58) a season ago, while they had close calls at Colorado (82-87), Minnesota (90-93) and Wyoming (75-76).
• Head coach Derrin Hansen has a 180-153 overall record in his 12th season at the helm.

 

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES

• Tuesday’s contest will mark the second meeting between K-State and Omaha on the hardwood and the first since 2014.
• The Wildcats connected on 53.3 percent of its field goals, including 60 percent in the second half, in an 84-66 win over Omaha on Dec. 2, 2014… Nino Williams led three players in double figures with a team-high 19 points… Two Wildcats – Wesley Iwundu and Mason Schoen – return from playing in that 2014 contest… Iwundu posted 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal in a start in 18 minutes, while Schoen registered no statistics in one minuteof action.
• K-State is 30-2 against Summit League schools with a 29-0 mark at home… The losses came at Oral Roberts in 1978 and 1985.

Tom Gilbert – Associate Director for Athletics Communications – Kansas State University