KANSAS STATE (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) at BAYLOR (15-7, 6-3 Big 12)

Saturday, February 9, 2019 >> 5:05 p.m. CT >> Ferrell Center (10,284) >> Waco, Texas

 

TELEVISION

ESPN2 / ESPN3

• Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play)
• Tim Welsh (analyst)
• Brian Boyle (producer)

 

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

• Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
• Stan Weber (analyst)

 

COACHES

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

Overall: 455-240/21^st season

At K-State: 142-85/7^th season

1. Baylor: 7-6 (3-3 on the road)

 

Baylor: Scott Drew (Butler ’93)

Overall: 331-213/17^th season

At Baylor: 311-202/16^th season

1. Kansas State: 11-14 (5-5 at home)

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (17-5, 7-2 Big 12)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #32 Dean Wade

F: #14 Makol Mawien

 

Baylor (15-7, 6-3 Big 12)

G: #10 Makai Mason

G: #3 King McClure

G: #12 Jared Butler

G/F: #11 Mark Vital

G/F: #4 Mario Kegler

 

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 21-18

Current Streak: K-State, 4

In Waco: Baylor leads 8-7

At Ferrell Center: Baylor leads 7-6

Last Meeting: W, 77-67, 3/3/18

Weber vs. Drew: 7-6 (3-3 on the road)

 

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (17-5, 7-2 Big 12) begins the second half of Big 12 play with a trip to Waco, Texas on Saturday night to take on fellow Big 12 challenger Baylor (15-7, 6-3 Big 12) at the Ferrell Center. The game will tip at 5:05 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (analyst) on the call. It is the first of back-to-back road games in a 4-game span for the Wildcats, which plays at Texas (13-10, 5-5 Big 12) on Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.
• K-State enters Saturday’s game in first place in the Big 12, just a half-game ahead of No. 17/16 Iowa State (18-5, 7-3 Big 12), one game ahead of Baylor and a game and a half ahead of No. 18/18 Texas Tech (18-5, 6-4 Big 12) and No. 13/14 Kansas (17-6, 6-4 Big 12). Seven of the 10 Big 12 schools have at least 4 league wins, as all teams have reached the midway point of the 18-game schedule.
• Paced by senior Barry Brown, Jr.’s game-tying 18 points, four Wildcats scored in double figures to help end an 8-game losing streak to archrival and No. 13/14 Kansas by a score of 74-67 on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum. K-State has now won 7 consecutive games in Big 12 play for the first time in nearly 10 years and the first time since also winning 7 in a row from Feb. 2 to Feb. 27, 2010 to tie for the most consecutive league games won in the Big 12 era. It not only marked the first win by senior class of Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade against the Jayhawks, it represented the 80th of their careers (80-47) since joining the program in 2015-16.
• A Brown 3-pointer gave K-State the lead for good nearly 4 minutes into the second half, but Kansas challenged several times down the stretch, including 64-61 with 1:42 remaining. The Wildcats responded each time, including a corner 3-pointer by junior Xavier Sneed with 75 seconds to play that ignited a 7-0 run to finish off the victory. Although, they allowed Kansas to scored 67 points on 46.2 percent shooting, the squad scored 22 points off an opponent-high 23 turnovers. It marked the ninth time this season that the Wildcats have scored 20 or more points off turnovers.
• Baylor saw its 6-game winning streak come to an end in its 84-72 loss at Texas on Wednesday night, as the hot-shooting Longhorns connected on 55.1 percent from the field. One of the more inspiring stories in college basketball, the Bears have found the right mix of players after injuries derailed its non-conference season to win 6 of its last 8 Big 12 games. They are led by Big 12 Newcomer of the Year candidate Makai Mason, who leads the way in both scoring (16.1 ppg.) and assists (3.0 apg.).
• The K-State/Baylor series has been one of the most competitive with the Bears holding a narrow 17-16 edge since the start of Big 12 play in 1997. Although the Wildcats have won 4 straight in the series, including consecutive games at the Ferrell Center, the two teams have split the last 10 meetings. Eight of the last 13 meetings in Waco have been decided by 3 points or less, while 3 of those meetings have gone to overtime.
• K-State, which has struggled from the 3-point line this season ranking ninth in the Big 12 in both makes per game (6.8) and percentage (32.8), has found its rhythm from long range in the last 2 games, knocking down a combined 26 treys on 53 attempts (49.1 percent). The 26 made 3-pointers are the most in a 2-game stretch since connecting on 32 in games against Fresno State (school-record 23) and Vanderbilt (9) on March 24 and 28, 1994.

 

Tom GIlbert
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics
Men’s Basketball Contact | Editor, Football Gameday Yearbook