GAME 32
[3] 9/10 BAYLOR (25-6, 12-6 Big 12)
VS. [6] KANSAS STATE (19-12, 8-10 Big 12)
Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 9, 2017 >> 8 p.m. >> Sprint Center (18,972) >> Kansas City, Mo.
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 411-221/19th season
At K-State: 98-66/5th season
vs. Baylor: 4-6 (0-0 at Big 12 Championship)
Baylor: Scott Drew (Butler ‘93)
Overall: 295-189/15th season
At Baylor: 275-178/14th season
vs. Kansas State: 11-11 (1-1 at Big 12 Championship)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (19-12, 8-10 Big 12)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes (11.8 ppg., 4.3 apg.)
G: #5 Barry Brown (11.5 ppg., 3.2 rpg.)
G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (12.6 ppg., 6.6 rpg.)
F: #32 Dean Wade (9.7 ppg., 4.7 rpg.)
F: #4 D.J. Johnson (11.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg.)
9/10 Baylor (25-6, 12-6 Big 12)
G: #3 Jake Lindsey (4.7 ppg., 2.9 apg.)
G: #22 King McClure (5.0 ppg., 1.3 rpg.)
F: #24 Ishmail Wainwright (5.5 ppg., 5.1 rpg.)
F: #5 Johnathan Motley (17.5 ppg., 10.0 rpg.)
F: #0 Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr. (9.3 ppg., 6.9 rpg.)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: Series Tied 18-18 (series began in 1948)
In Big 12 era: Baylor leads 16-14 (1-2 in Big 12 Championship)
In Kansas City: Series Tied 2-2 (last meeting – 3/8/2012)
Current Streak: K-State, 1
Last Meeting: K-State, 56-54, in Waco, Texas, on 2/4/2017
Weber vs. Baylor: 4-6 (0-0 at Big 12 Championship)
Weber vs. Drew: 4-6 (0-0 at Big 12 Championship)
GAME 32 – QUICK HITTERS
· Kansas State (19-12, 8-10 Big 12) begins postseason play on Thursday, as the No. 6 seed Wildcats play No. 3 seed Baylor (25-6, 12-6 Big 12) in the final quarterfinal game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at Kansas City’s Sprint Center at 8 p.m. CT on ESPNU.
· K-State is 32-28 all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to its inception in 1977, including 12-20 in the Big 12 era. This will mark the fourth time that the Wildcats have been the No. 6 seed, including the first time in the Big 12 era, with a 1-3 mark in those previous appearances.
· K-State is 2-1 all-time vs. Baylor at the Big 12 Championship, including a 74-73 overtime win in 2002, an 82-75 win in 2010 and an 82-74 loss in 2012. The Wildcats are 5-4 all-time vs. the No. 3 seed, including wins over Baylor in 2010 and Oklahoma State in 2013 in their last 2 meetings.
· The series is tied at 18-all after the teams split their regular season games with Baylor winning 77-68 in Manhattan on Jan. 14 and K-State winning 56-54 on a last-second block in Waco on Feb. 4.
· K-State has already secured its highest win total since a 20-win season in 2013-14, while the 8 Big 12 wins are the most since also posting 8 in 2014-15. The Wildcats have also their highest win totals on the road since the 2012-13 season with 7 wins away from home and 6 true road wins.
· K-State finished the regular season with wins in 3 of its last 5 games, including consecutive Big 12 wins for just the second time this season with a 75-74 victory at TCU and a 61-48 victory at home over Texas Tech, to clinch a bye to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2013-14.
· Seniors D.J. Johnson and Wesley Iwundu enjoyed memorable Senior Days, as Johnson scored a game-high 19 points on 8-of-11 field goals and Iwundu collected his 10th career double-double, including his second of the week, with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds against Texas Tech.
· The senior duo were honored for their outstanding seasons on Sunday, as Iwundu repeated his All-Big 12 Third Team honors and Johnson was named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention by the league coaches. Iwundu leads the Wildcats in 9 categories, including scoring (12.6 ppg.) and rebounding (6.6 rpg.), while Johnson led the Big 12 in field goal percentage (60.9).
· Defense has been a key element in the Wildcats’ success, as the team is 13-0 when holding an opponent to 65 points or less, including 5-0 in Big 12 play. K-State is holding foes to 61 points in its 19 wins on 39.6 percent shooting, including 65.8 points in its 8 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 team has allowed 80 or more points in 4 of last 7 games.
AT PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
· K-State is 32-38 all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to its inception in 1977, including a 12-20 mark in the 20-year history of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship… The Wildcats have won 2 championships (1977, 1980), while they have advanced to the finals on 5 other occasions (1978, 1981, 1993, 2010 and 2013), including twice in the Big 12 era.
· Last season, the Wildcats went 1-1 in the championship, knocking off No. 9 seed Oklahoma State, 75-71, in the first round before losing to No. 1 seed Kansas, 85-63, in the quarterfinals.
· This will mark the 4th time that K-State has been the No. 6 seed at the championship (1983, 1984, 1994), including the first time in the Big 12 era, with a 1-3 mark in those previous 3 appearances.
· K-State is 5-4 all-time (2-1 in the Big 12 era) vs. No. 3 seed at the league championship with the 9 appearances coming in 1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1994, 1999, 2010 and 2013… The team has won the last 2 meetings with the No. 3 seed.
· The Wildcats are 4-10 in the quarterfinals, including losses to Iowa State (2014) and Kansas (2016) in their last 2 appearances.
· K-State is 31-33 when the championship is held in Kansas City, including 12-20 in the Big 12 era.
AT THE SPRINT CENTER
· K-State is 14-12 all-time in the Sprint Center, including a 5-8 mark at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship (2008, 2010-16).
· The Wildcats have played at least one game in the building for 11 consecutive seasons since its opening in 2007… The team is 7-1 in the Wildcat Classic, including a 70-56 win over Washington State earlier this year on Dec. 10, 2016.
· Twice K-State has advanced to the Big 12 Championship game in the Sprint Center, losing to Kansas in 2010 and 2013.
· The Wildcats are 4-7 against ranked teams in the Sprint Center, including 1-1 against ranked Baylor teams (2010 and 2012)
THE OPPONENT: 9/10 BAYLOR (25-6, 12-6 Big 12)
· No. 9/10 Baylor enters Thursday’s quarterfinal game with a 25-6 overall record and a tie for 2nd in the Big 12 with a 12-6 mark… The team won 3 of their last 5 games, including wins over West Virginia and Texas to end the regular season.
· The Bears are averaging 73.0 points on 47.2 percent shooting, including 35.7 percent from 3-point range, on the season with 38.1 rebounds, 15.6 assists, 5.1 steals and 4.9 blocks per game… They are allowing opponents 62.5 points per game on 39.5 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from beyond the arc… The team is shooting 71.3 percent from the free throw line.
· Baylor leads the Big 12 in scoring defense, field goal percentage defense, 3-point field goal percentage defense, rebounding defense (29.3), rebounding margin (+8.8) and blocked shots while is 2nd in rebounding.
· The Bears are led by unanimous All-Big 12 First Team selection Johnathan Motley, who paces the team in both scoring (17.5 ppg.) and rebounding (10.0 rpg.) while shooting 51.7 percent from the field… Motley is joined in double digits by Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Manu Lecomte, who averages 12.4 points on 43 percent shooting with a team-high 65 3-pointers and a team-best 4.0 assists per game…. Two others – juniors Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr. (9.3 ppg.), and Al Freeman (9.6 ppg.) – average better than 9 points per game… A member of the All-Defensive Team, along with Ishmail Wainright, Lual-Acuil averages 6.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game… Wainright averages 5.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per outing.
· Baylor is led by veteran head coach Scott Drew, who has a 275-178 record in his 14th season at the school and is 295-189 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 37th meeting between the two schools with the series tied at 18-all.
· Baylor owns a 16-14 lead in the Big 12 era, including a 15-12 mark in regular-season meetings.
· K-State is 2-1 all-time against Baylor at the Big 12 Championship, including a 74-73 overtime win as a No. 7 seed in 2002, an 82-75 win as a No. 2 seed in 2010 and an 82-74 loss as a No. 5 seed in 2012… The Wildcats are 1-0 against the No. 3 Bears.
· The series tied 2-all in games played in Kansas City, as Baylor won the first meeting, 60-52, in the 1948 Final Four.
· The Bears have won 6 of the last 8 games in the series, including a season sweep in 2016 and a split in 2017.