GAME 23
KANSAS STATE (15-7, 4-5 Big 12)
AT 2/3 BAYLOR (20-2, 7-2 Big 12)
Saturday, February 4, 2017 >> 2 p.m. >> Ferrell Center (10,284) >> Waco, Texas
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 407-216/19th season
At K-State: 94-61/5th season
vs. Baylor: 3-6 (1-3 on the road)
Baylor: Scott Drew (Butler ‘93)
Overall: 290-185/15th season
At Baylor: 270-174/14th season
vs. Kansas State: 10-10 (5-3 at home)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (15-7, 4-5 Big 12)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes (12.0 ppg., 4.6 apg.)
G: #5 Barry Brown (12.6 ppg., 3.2 rpg.)
G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (12.3 ppg., 5.5 rpg.)
F: #32 Dean Wade (9.2 ppg., 4.6 rpg.)
F: #4 D.J. Johnson (12.0 ppg., 6.4 rpg.)
2/3 Baylor (20-2, 7-2 Big 12)
G: #20 Manu Lecomte (12.5 ppg., 4.4 apg.)
G: #24 Ishmail Wainright (5.7 ppg., 5.0 apg.)
G: #25 Al Freeman (9.8 ppg., 2.5 rpg.)
F: #5 Johnathan Motley (16.2 ppg., 9.6 rpg.)
F: #0 Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr. (10.2 ppg., 7.3 rpg.)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: Baylor leads 18-17 (series began in 1948)
In Big 12 era: Baylor leads 16-13 (8-4 at home)
In Waco: Baylor leads 8-5 (last meeting – 1/20/2016)
Current Streak: Baylor, 4
Last Meeting: Baylor, 77-68, in Manhattan, Kan., on 1/14/2017
Weber vs. Baylor: 3-6 (1-3 on the road)
Weber vs. Drew: 3-5 (1-3 on the road)
GAME 23 – QUICK HITTERS
· Kansas State (15-7, 4-5 Big 12) faces a daunting a stretch of three straight Top 10 opponents on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats begin the second half of Big 12 play with a matchup against No. 2/3 Baylor (20-2, 7-2 Big 12) at 2 p.m. CT, at the Ferrell Center.
· After Saturday’s game, K-State will make a quick turnaround to host No. 3/2 Kansas (20-2, 8-1 Big 12) on Monday night before traveling to No. 7/12 West Virginia (18-4, 6-3 Big 12) on Saturday.
· It marks just the second time in school history that the Wildcats have played three straight Top 10 foes and the first time since doing it against No. 4 Kansas, No. 9 Baylor and No. 3 Missouri from Feb. 13-21, 2012. The team will play consecutive Top 3 opponents for the first time since the 1964 Final Four when it played No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Michigan.
· K-State is 21-72 (.226) against the AP Top 5, including 5-15 (.250) vs. the No. 2 team. The Wildcats have lost 5 straight to the No. 2 team with the last win coming against No. 2 Kansas at home on Jan. 30, 2008. The team has 4 road wins over the Top 5, including No. 5 Wichita State in 1964, No. 5 Missouri in 1982, No. 1 Kansas in 1994 and No. 3 Missouri in 2012.
· Baylor leads the all-times series with K-State, 18-17, with wins in 6 of the last 7 meetings since 2014. The Wildcats have played the Bears close in 2 of the last 3 matchups in Waco with 2 of those losses coming in double overtime, including a 79-72 setback in the last visit on Jan. 20, 2016.
· K-State saw its losing streak hit a season-high 3 games on Wednesday, as TCU rallied from a 5-point deficit with 2:19 to play to force overtime and post an 86-80 victory. It was the first win by the Horned Frogs at Bramlage Coliseum since 1999. TCU connected on 50 percent from the field, including a combined 51.5 percent (17-of-33) in the second half and overtime. The Frogs scored 22 points off turnovers and 17 second-chance points.
· The Wildcats are allowing 61.5 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting in their 15 wins compared to nearly 75.4 points on 47.6 percent in the 7 losses. This comparison is particularily stark in Big 12 play, where the team is scoring 75.7 points on 47.5 percent shooting while allowing 75.3 points on 47.5 percent shooting, including 77.8 points in the 5 Big 12 losses.
· Sophomore Kamau Stokes paced four Wildcats in double figures with his 3rd career 20-point game with a game-high 21 points (15 of which came in the second half) against TCU. He has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games, averaging 13.9 points per game in that span.
THE OPPONENT: 2/3 BAYLOR (20-2, 7-2 Big 12)
· No. 2/3 Baylor enters Saturday’s game with a 20-2 overall record and a 7-2 mark in Big 12 play after dropping just its 2nd game of the season at No. 3/2 Kansas, 73-68, on Wednesday… The Bears are 13-0 at home this season, including 4-0 in Big 12 play.
· The Bears are averaging 75 points on 47.8 percent shooting, including 36 percent from 3-point range, on the season with 38.3 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 5.8 steals and 5.2 blocks per game… They are allowing opponents 61.7 points per game on 38.4 percent shooting, including 31.2 percent from beyond the arc… The team is shooting 73.1 percent from the free throw line.
· Baylor leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, FG percentage defense, rebounding, offensive boards and rebounding margin (+8.1).
· The Bears are led by junior forward Johnathan Motley, who paces the team in both scoring (16.2 ppg.) and rebounding (9.6 rpg.) and shoots 51.6 percent from the field… Motley is one of 3 players averaging in double figures, along with juniors Manu Lecomte (12.5 ppg.) and Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr. (10.2 ppg.)… Lual-Acuil, Jr. ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in field goal percentage (58.1) and 1st in blocked shots (2.8 bpg.)… Lecomte has a team-high 46 3-pointers and dishes out a team-high 4.4 assists per game.
· Baylor is led by veteran head coach Scott Drew, who has a 270-174 record in his 14th season at the school and is 290-185 overall in 15 seasons… He has led the Bears to 6 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a pair of Elite Eights (2010, 2012).
BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES
· This will be the 36th meeting between the two schools with Baylor holding an 18-17 edge.
· Baylor owns a 16-13 lead in the Big 12 era, including a 15-11 mark in regular-season meetings.
· Baylor has an 8-5 record at home in the series with 3 consecutive wins… The last K-State win in Waco came on March 2, 2013.
· The Bears have won 6 of the last 7 games in the series, including a season sweep in 2016 with a 79-72 win in double overtime at home on Jan. 20 and an 82-72 victory in Manhattan on Feb. 10… The current 4-game skid is the longest in series history.
· The last K-State win in the series came at Bramlage Coliseum, 63-61, on Jan. 17, 2015.