GAME #10

KANSAS STATE (8-1) vs TULSA (4-4)

Wichita Wildcat Classic

Saturday, December 9, 2017 >> 7:10 p.m. CT >> INTRUST Bank Arena (15,004) >> Wichita, Kan.

TELEVISION

COACHES

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

Overall: 421-224/20^th season

At K-State: 108-69/6^th season

1. Tulsa: 2-0

Tulsa: Frank Haith (Elon ’88)

Career Record: 249-173/13th Year

Record at Tulsa: 62-44/4th Year

1. Kansas State: 0-2

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (8-1)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #32 Dean Wade

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Tulsa (4-4)

G: #4 Sterling Taplin

G: #10 Curran Scott

G: #13 Jaleel Wheeler

G/F: #2 DaQuan Jeffries

F: #0 Junior Etou

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: Tulsa leads 5-1

In Wichita: First meeting

Last Meeting: L, 61-72, 12/12/1990

Weber vs. Haith: 0-1

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (8-1) makes the short trek south to Wichita, as the Wildcats play host to American Conference foe Tulsa (4-4) at 7 p.m., CT on Saturday in the Wichita Wildcat Classic at INTRUST Bank Arena. It will mark the fourth edition of the game, which began in 2011. K-State is 2-1 all-time in the event, defeating Gonzaga, 72-62, on Dec. 21, 2013 and Colorado State, 61-58, on Dec. 19, 2015 after losing a double-overtime thriller to West Virginia in the inaugural game on Dec. 8, 2011.
• K-State has a long history of playing games in Wichita with 21 such matchups dating back to the first game in the city on Dec. 17, 1932. The school is 9-12 all-time in games played in Wichita, which includes 15 meetings with the hometown Shockers and NCAA Tournament games in both 1964 and 1968.
• K-State and Tulsa will meet for the first time since 1990 in what will be the start of a three-game series between the schools. The Golden Hurricane own a commanding 5-1 advantage in the all-time series that dates all the way back to 1965, including a 2-1 mark in games played on the road. The Wildcats won their first and only matchup in the series, 75-69, at Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 14, 1989. Tulsa won the last meeting, 72-61, at home on Dec. 12, 1990.
• The Wildcats will put their 23-game non-conference home winning streak to the test against the Golden Hurricanes, as the contest will represent a home game since the school controls all the ticket sales and runs all the game operations for the Wichita Wildcat Classic. The 23-game win streak, which dates back to the start of the 2015-16 season, spans Bramlage Coliseum (21 straight such wins) as well as INTRUST Bank Arena (2015 Wichita Wildcat Classic vs. Colorado State) and Kansas City’s Sprint Center (2016 Wildcat Classic vs. Washington State).
• K-State has a 96-5 (.949) record at home venues in non-conference play since 2006-07, including 88-5 (.946) mark at Bramlage Coliseum, and has won 83 of their last 86 non-conference home games. This season, the team is 6-0 at home (American, UMKC, UC Irvine, Northern Arizona, Oral Roberts and USC Upstate) with an average margin of victory of 24.8 points per game.
• The Wildcats ran their non-conference winning streak at Bramlage Coliseum to 21 games on Tuesday night, as the team jumped out to leads of 14-0 and 27-4 en route to an 86-49 victory over USC Upstate. K-State was efficient on offense once again, connecting on 50.8 percent (30-of-59) from the field and recording assists on 21 of 30 made field goals, while the defense held the Spartans to a season-low 49 points (26 points under their 75.0 points per game scoring average).

• K-State among the national leaders in several defensive categories, including 13th in scoring defense (61.1 ppg.) and 19th in field goal percentage defense (37.5), while the squad is ninth in assist turnover ratio (1.56), 11th in turnover margin (+5.8) and 15th in fewest turnovers per game (10.7).

NOTES ON TULSA

• Tulsa enters Saturday’s contest with a 4-4 overall record and have been off from competition this past week after dropping a road game at Illinois State, 65-58, on Dec. 2. The second loss to the Redbirds (also lost at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off at Myrtle Beach on Nov. 19) snapped a two-game winning streak (Central Arkansas and UTSA). The Golden Hurricane also have wins over Oral Roberts and Western Michigan, while their other two losses have come to Lamar and Iowa State.
• The Golden Hurricane are averaging nearly 80 points per game (79.2) on 47.1 percent shooting, including 34.1 percent from 3-point range, with 37.6 rebounds, 13.0 assists, 4.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 77 points on 42.7 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from long range. The team is shooting 71 percent from the free throw line.
• Senior forward Junior Etou paces four players in double figures at 16.8 points per game on 57.4 percent shooting with a team-best 6.4 rebounds in 26.5 minutes per game. The transfer from Rutgers averages 6.1 free throw makes per game to go with 9 attempts per game. Junior guard Sterling Taplin is second in scoring at 13.4 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting to go with a team-best 3.8 assists per game. Fellow junior DaQuan Jeffries also averages double figures at 11.4 points per game on a 62.1 field goal percentage and 5.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. Sophomore Curran Scott averages 9.4 points on 40.4 percent shooting, while three others — Martins Igbanu (6.8 ppg.), Elijah Joiner (6.3 ppg.) and Corey Henderson, Jr. (6.0 ppg.) — all average better than 6 points per outing.
• Tulsa is led by fourth-year head coach Frank Haith, who has a 62-44 (.585) in his tenure. Overall, he has a 249-173 mark in his 13th season as head coach, which includes stints at Miami (2004-11), Missouri (2011-14) and now Tulsa. He is 0-2 all-time against K-State.

TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics