Kansas at Kansas State Monday Night

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (16-7, 5-5 Big 12)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes (12.1 ppg., 4.6 apg.)

G: #5 Barry Brown (12.2 ppg., 3.3 rpg.)

G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (12.2 ppg., 5.6 rpg.)

F: #32 Dean Wade (9.3 ppg., 4.7 rpg.)

F: #4 D.J. Johnson (11.9 ppg., 6.3 rpg.)

3/2 Kansas (20-3, 8-2 Big 12)

G: #0 Frank Mason III (20.4 ppg., 5.2 apg.)

G: #4 Devonte’ Graham (13.4 ppg., 3.0 rpg.)

G: #10 Svi Mykhailiuk (10.9 ppg., 3.4 rpg.)

G: #11 Josh Jackson (16.0 ppg., 7.0 rpg.)

C: #33 Landen Lucas (7.4 ppg., 8.5 rpg.)

INSIDE THE SERIES

Overall: Kansas leads 192-93 (series began in 1907)

In Big 12 era: Kansas leads 44-5 (16-4 on the road)

In Manhattan: Kansas leads 76-47 (last meeting – 2/20/2016)

Current Streak: Kansas, 4

Last Meeting: Kansas, 90-88, in Lawrence, Kan., on 1/3/2017

Weber vs. Kansas: 2-10 (2-2 at home)

Weber vs. Self: 3-11 (3-2 at home)

GAME 24 – QUICK HITTERS

Kansas State (16-7, 5-5 Big 12) continues its stretch of Top 10 foes on Monday night, as the Wildcats play host to No. 3/2 Kansas (20-3, 8-2 Big 12) in the Dillon’s Sunflower Showdown at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
The rivalry ranks as the 8th-longest continuously played in the country (met every season since 1921) with the 6th-most games played (285). The series dates back to a 54-39 Kansas win on Jan. 25, 1907.
The contest will be 11th Sunflower Showdown to appear on ESPN’s Big Monday, including the 8th at Bramlage Coliseum. K-State is 8-12 (.400) all-time on Big Monday, including 4-6 (.400) vs. Kansas. The Wildcats have won the last 2 meetings to air on Big Monday in 2014 and 2015.
K-State is currently in a stretch of 3 straight Top 10 opponents for just the second time in school history 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 22-72 (.234) against the AP Top 5, including 4-15 (.211) vs. the No. 3 team. The Wildcats have 13 home wins over the Top 5 opponents in their history with 4 of those coming against the Jayhawks in 1952 (No. 2), 1958 (No. 2), 2008 (No. 2) and 2011 (No.1).
Kansas leads the series, 192-93, including a 76-47 mark on the road. Since losing 19 in a row at home in the series from 1989 to 2007, K-State is 4-5 at Bramlage Coliseum with wins in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
K-State ended a 3-game losing streak in dramatic fashion on Saturday, as the Wildcats held on late to post a 56-54 win over No. 2/3 Baylor. The team was able to survive a furious Bear comeback, as senior D.J. Johnson blocked Johnathan Motley’s game-tying jumper with 1 second left.
The win over No. 2/3 Baylor was the first over a Top 5 team on the road since knocking off No. 3 Missouri, 78-68, on Feb. 21, 2012 and the highest since upsetting top-ranked Kansas, 68-64, on Jan. 17, 1994.
Sophomore Kamau Stokes paced three Wildcats in double figures with 15 points against Baylor, including 11 in first half. He has scored in double figures in 13 straight games, averaging 14.0 points per game in that span.
The ability to get stops has been key, as K-State is allowing just 61 points per game on 38.9 percent shooting in their 16 wins compared to nearly 75.4 points on 47.6 percent in the 7 losses. In Big 12 play, the Wildcats are allowing 68.6 points in 5 wins and 77.8 points in the 5 losses.

THE OPPONENT: 3/2 KANSAS (20-3, 8-2 BIG 12)

No. 3/2 Kansas enters Monday’s game with a 20-3 record and an 8-2 mark in Big 12 play after seeing its 51-game homecourt winning streak end in a 92-89 overtime setback to Iowa State… The team is 5-1 away from home this season.
The Jayhawks are averaging 84.0 points on 49.5 percent shooting, including 41.5 percent from 3-point range, on the season with 40.1 rebounds, 16.7 assists, 7.1 steals and 4.7 blocks per game… They are allowing opponents 71.9 points per game on 41.7 percent shooting, including 36.9 percent from beyond the arc… The team is shooting 63.9 percent from the free throw line.
Kansas has a balanced offensive attack with 4 players averaging in double figures led by Big 12 Player of the Year candidate Frank Mason III, who leads the team in scoring (20.4 ppg.), field goals made (154) and assists (5.2 apg.)… Mason is shooting 51.2 percent from the field, including 52.5 percent from 3-point range… Freshman phenom Josh Jackson is averaging 16.0 points on 49.6 percent shooting to go with 7.0 rebounds, while Devonte Graham (13.4 ppg.) and Svi Mykhailiuk (10.9 ppg.) also average double figures… Graham leads with 56 3-pointers this season and is one of 3 players (Mason and Mykhailiuk) with 50 or more treys… Senior Landen Lucas is tops in rebounding (8.5 rpg.), while Jackson has a team-leading 28 blocked shots.
Kansas is led by 14th-year head coach Bill Self, who has a 405-85 record in his tenure… He has a 612-91 record in his 24th season as a head coach, which includes stints at Oral Roberts (1993-97), Tulsa (1997-2000) and Illinois (2000-03).

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES

This will be the 286th meeting between the two schools with Kansas leading the series, 192-93, including a 76-47 mark on the road… The two schools have met at least once every season since 1921, while the series dates to 1907… It ranks as the 8th-longest continuously played rivalry in the country, while it ties for the 6th-most games played.
Kansas holds a 44-5 mark in the Big 12 era and have won 18 of the last 21 meetings, including 11 of the last 13.
Since Kansas won 19 straight at Bramlage Coliseum from 1989 to 2007, the series is nearly even with the Jayhawks posting a slight 5-4 edge in Manhattan… The Wildcats won home games in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015.

LAST MEETING: 3/2 KANSAS 90, K-STATE 88

Junior Svi Mykhailiuk’s lay-up at the buzzer proved to be the difference in the first meeting of the Sunflower Showdown on Jan. 3, as No. 3/2 Kansas posted a 90-88 win over K-State in the 285th meeting between the schools at Allen Fieldhouse.
K-State had a chance to go ahead late as sophomore Dean Wade’s 3-point attempt fell just short and the ball skated out of bounds… It was on the ensuing inbounds play that Mykhailiuk drove the length of the court and hit the game-winning shot to lift Kansas to its 47th consecutive victory at home and the 11th straight at home in the series.
The 88 points were the second-most ever scored by K-State against Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse and the most since a 91-72 victory on February 7, 1962… The Wildcats shot lights out for the entire 40 minutes, shooting 53.6 percent (15-of-28) in the first half and 48.5 percent (16-of-33) in the second half to finish at 50.8 percent (31-of-61) for the game.
Wade paced five Wildcats in double figures with 20 points in the game, followed up by 17 points by senior Wesley Iwundu and 10 points by fellow senior D.J. Johnson… Sophomores Kamau Stokes and Barry Brown each added 10 points apiece.

HOME SWEET HOME

K-State has a 150-29 (.838) record at Bramlage Coliseum over the past 10 seasons, including 65-24 (.730) mark in Big 12 play.
K-State has a 351-110 record (.761) at Bramlage Coliseum, which are the 2nd-most wins behind the 378 at Ahearn Field House.
The Wildcats have posted double-digit wins at Bramlage Coliseum for 16 consecutive seasons and 24 times in the 29-year history of the arena… The team is 11-2 in home venues this season, including 10-2 at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State is 34-55 (.382) all-time against Top 25 foes at Bramlage Coliseum, including 19-15 (.559) since 2008.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 66-14 (.835) at Bramlage Coliseum, including 30-11 (.732) vs. Big 12 opponents.

CATS EFFICIENT ON OFFENSE

K-State is averaging 74.4 points on 47.8 percent shooting (602-of-1259) and 37.7 percent from 3-point range (172-of-456), through the first 23 games with assists on 63 percent of its made field goals (376/602) and a +3.1 turnover margin.
The Wildcats may rank just 8th in the Big 12 in scoring offense, but they place in Top 5 in most offensive categories, including 3rd in field goal percentage and turnover margin, 4th in assists and 5th in 3-pointers and 3-point field goal percentage.
K-State’s 9 games of 80 or more points equals the entire total of such games from 2015-16 and are the most since the Wildcats scored 80 or more points 11 times in 2010-11… The 9 games are double the totals from 2013-14 (4) and 2014-15 (4).
The current 74.4 points per game scoring average is the highest since the 2009-10 team averaged 79.7 points per game, while the 47.8 field goal percentage is the highest since the 1988-89 team connected on 48.4 percent and the 37.7 3-point field goal percentage is the highest since the 1989-90 team connected on 39.0 percent from long range.
K-State has shot 50 percent or better 10 times this season, including on 5 occasions in Big 12 play… The Wildcats have shot 50 percent or better against Omaha (11/15), Hampton (11/20), Green Bay (11/30), Saint Louis (12/3), Prairie View A&M (12/6), Kansas (1/3), Oklahoma (1/7), Texas Tech (1/10), Oklahoma State (1/18) and West Virginia (1/21).
K-State has connected on at least 50 percent of its field goals in at least one half of 19 games this season, including hitting the mark in both halves against Hampton (11/20), Green Bay (11/30), Prairie View A&M (12/6), Oklahoma (1/7) and OSU (1/18).
K-State has totaled at least 15 assists in 15 of 23 games this season, including 20 or more 6 times… The Wildcats dished out 20 or more assists in 3 consecutive games (vs. Green Bay, Saint Louis and Prairie View A&M) for first time since 2010-11.