KANSAS STATE (17-12, 6-10 Big 12)

AT TCU (17-12, 6-10 Big 12)

Wednesday, March 1, 2017  8:05 p.m. Schollmaier Arena (6,700) Fort Worth, Texas

 

COACHES

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

Overall: 409-221/19^th season

At K-State: 96-66/5^th season

1. TCU: 7-3 (3-1 on the road)

 

TCU: Jamie Dixon (TCU ‘87)

Overall: 345-135/14th season

At TCU: 17-12/1st season

1. Kansas State: 2-0 (0-0 at home)

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (17-12, 6-10 Big 12)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes (11.9 ppg., 4.1 apg.)

G: #5 Barry Brown (12.0 ppg., 3.2 rpg.)

G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (12.6 ppg., 6.4 rpg.)

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

F: #4 D.J. Johnson (11.1 ppg., 5.9 rpg.)

 

TCU (17-12, 6-10 Big 12)

G: #0 Jaylen Fisher (10.1 ppg., 4.2 apg.)

G: #11 Brandon Parrish (5.2 ppg., 2.9 rpg.)

G: #25 Alex Robinson (11.2 ppg., 2.8 rpg.)

F: #34 Kenrich Williams (9.9 ppg., 9.2 rpg.)

F: #10 Vlad Brodziansky (13.5 ppg., 5.7 rpg.)

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

Overall: K-State leads 10-5 (series dates to 1947)

In Big 12 era: K-State leads 7-3 (3-1 on the road)

In Fort Worth: K-State leads 4-1 (W, 63-49, 2/16/2016)

Current Streak: TCU, 1

Last Meeting: TCU won 86-80 in OT in Manhattan, Kan. (2/1/2017)

Weber vs. TCU: 7-3 (3-1 on the road)

Weber vs. Dixon: 0-2 (0-0 on the road)

 

GAME 30 – QUICK HITTERS

• Kansas State (17-12, 6-10 Big 12) begins the final week of Big 12 play with a road trip to TCU (17-12, 6-10 Big 12), as the Wildcats take on the Horned Frogs at Schollmaier Arena on Wednesday at 8 p.m., CT on ESPNU.
• With 2 games left, K-State continues to jockey for Big 12 Championship seeding and postseason opportunities, as the Wildcats are one of 8 Big 12 schools with at least 17 wins. The team has equaled its win total from 2015-16, while surpassing the win total in Big 12 play from a season ago.
• With a home game remaining against Texas Tech on Saturday, K-State controls its own destiny in regards to seeding for the Big 12 Championship where it can be the No. 6, 7, or 8 seed depending on this week’s results.
• K-State leads the all-time series with TCU, 10-5, including 7-3 in the Big 12 era. The Wildcats lost the first meeting, 86-80, in overtime at home on Feb. 1 and will attempt to avoid the season sweep. The team has won 3 of the last 4 meetings in Fort Worth, including 63-49 in 2016.
• K-State will try to continue its recent success on the road, as the team has 6 victories away from home, including 5 true road wins and 3 Big 12 road wins, which are the most in all 3 categories since the 2012-13 season.
• K-State will look to get back on track after a disappointing outing in an 81-51 loss at Oklahoma, in which, the Wildcats set or tied season-lows in 11 statistical categories. The team shot just 25 percent (14-of-56) from the field, which is the 6th-lowest field goal percentage in school history and the lowest since connecting on 23.4 percent against Nebraska in 2006.
• Senior Wesley Iwundu has played well as he concludes his career, as he has led the Wildcats in scoring in 3 of the last 5 games, while he has been the rebounding leader in 7 straight games. He paces the team in both scoring and rebounding in both overall and Big 12-only games.
• Iwundu, who has seen action in 93 consecutive games with 81 starts in a row, will set the record for career starts with 119th at TCU, surpassing the 118 posted by Ed Nealy (1978-82) and Steve Henson (1987-90).
• Defense has been a key element in the Wildcats’ success, as the team is 12-0 when holding an opponent to 65 points or less, including 4-0 in Big 12 play. K-State is holding foes to 61 points in its 17 wins on 39.2 percent shooting, including 67.3 points in its 6 Big 12 victories.
• In contrast, K-State is allowing 77.9 points on 47.8 percent shooting in its 12 losses, including 79.6 points on 48.3 percent shooting in the 10 Big 12 setbacks.

 

THE OPPONENT: TCU (17-12, 6-10 BIG 12)

• TCU enters Wednesday’s game with a 17-12 overall record and a 6-10 mark in Big 12 play after losing its fifth in a row to West Virginia, 61-60, on Saturday at home… The 5-game skid has come against the Big 12’s best teams, losing on the road to Baylor, Iowa State and Kansas, along with home setbacks to Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
• The Horned Frogs are 13-5 at home, including 4-4 in Big 12 play, with their last 2 losses coming by 4 total points.
• TCU is averaging 73.8 points on 46.1 percent shooting, including 34.6 percent from 3-point range, with 35.9 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 6.6 steals and 4.9 blocks per game… They are allowing foes 69.4 points per game on 44.2 percent shooting, including 35.6 percent from beyond the arc… The team is shooting 68.7 percent from the free throw line.
• TCU has six players averaging 7 or more points, including 3 in double figures, led by junior Vlad Brodziansky (13.5 ppg.)… He ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in both field goal percentage (58.0) and blocked shots (2.4 bpg.)… Transfer Alex Robinson (11.2 ppg.) and freshman Jaylen Fisher (10.1 ppg.) also average double figures… Junior Kenrich Williams almost average a double figures at 9.9 points on 44.7 percent shooting and a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game… Robinson is tops on the team in both assists (5.4 apg.) and steals (1.5 spg.), while Fisher adds a team-best 45 3-poitners and 4.2 assists per game.
• TCU is led by first-year head coach Jaime Dixon, who led Pittsburgh to 11 NCAA Tournaments from 2003-16.

 

BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES

• This will be the 16th meeting between the two schools with K-State holding a 10-5 advantage.
• K-State leads the series, 7-3, in the Big 12 era, including a 7-2 mark in regular-season meetings.
• K-State is 4-1 all-time in Fort Worth, including 3-1 in the Big 12 era.
• The teams have split the last 6 meetings, as TCU won the first meeting, 86-80, in overtime on Feb. 1.