GAME 26
IOWA STATE (15-9, 7-5 Big 12)
AT KANSAS STATE (16-9, 5-7 Big 12)
Wednesday, February 15, 2017 >> 6:10 p.m. >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.
TICKETS
kstatesports.com
$25 (bench), $50 (chairbacks)
Wildcat 4-Pack: $75 (4 bench/GA)
12+ Groups: $15
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 408-218/19th season
At K-State: 95-63/5th season
vs. Iowa State: 3-7 (3-1 at home)
Iowa State: Steve Prohm (Alabama ‘97)
Overall: 142-50/6th season
At Iowa State: 38-21/2nd season
vs. Kansas State: 3-0 (1-0 on the road)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (16-9, 5-7 Big 12)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes (12.2 ppg., 4.3 apg.)
G: #5 Barry Brown (11.9 ppg., 3.3 rpg.)
G: #25 Wesley Iwundu (12.3 ppg., 5.9 rpg.)
F: #20 Xavier Sneed (8.6 ppg., 3.0 rpg.)
F: #32 Dean Wade (9.6 ppg., 4.9 rpg.)
Iowa State (15-9, 7-5 Big 12)
G: #11 Monte Morris (16.0 ppg., 5.8 apg.)
G: #15 Naz Mitrou-Long (15.5 ppg., 4.8 rpg.)
G: #21 Matt Thomas (11.9 ppg., 4.3 rpg.)
G: #30 Deonte Burton (14.0 ppg., 6.8 rpg.)
F: #33 Solomon Young (3.4 ppg., 2.4 rpg.)
INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: K-State leads 137-86 (series began in 1909)
In Big 12 era: Iowa State leads 23-20 (6-14 on the road)
In Manhattan: K-State leads 80-26 (last meeting – 1/16/2016)
Current Streak: Iowa State, 3
Last Meeting: Iowa State, 70-65, in Ames, Iowa, on 1/24/2017
Weber vs. Iowa State: 3-7 (3-1 at home)
Weber vs. Prohm: 0-3 (0-1 at home)
GAME 26 – QUICK HITTERS
· Kansas State (16-9, 5-7 Big 12) returns home to Bramlage Coliseum on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats play host to Iowa State (15-9, 7-5 Big 12) at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2 looking to snap a 2-game losing streak.
· Wednesday’s tilt is a part of a special 4-game ESPN Crossover event, in which, college and NBA announcers switch places, as Dave O’Brien, Kara Lawson, P.J. Carlesimo and reporter Holly Rowe broadcast the game.
· K-State continues a stretch of playing the league’s Top 5 teams to start February, which began at home against TCU on Feb. 1 and continued with 3 straight Top 15 opponents (No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Kansas and No. 13 West Virginia) for just the fourth time in school history. In games against No. 2 Baylor and No. 3 Kansas, the Wildcats played consecutive games vs. Top 3 foes for the first time since the 1964 Final Four.
· K-State still owns a 137-86 all-time edge against Iowa State, but the Cyclones have won 6 of the last 8 meetings, including a 70-65 win at home on Jan. 24. The Wildcats’ last win came at home, 70-69, on Feb. 28, 2015.
· After winning a close game at No. 2/3 Baylor and losing a tight contest to No. 3/2 Kansas, the Wildcats saw an early second-half technical spark a motivated West Virginia squad to an 85-66 win. The Mountaineers shot 50 percent, including 58.8 percent in the second half, with 50 of their 85 points coming in the paint to go with 25 points off of 19 Wildcat turnovers.
· K-State had to play without starter D.J. Johnson, who missed his first action in 51 games due to a sprained ankle that occurred against Kansas. Freshman Xavier Sneed performed admirably in his first career start, as he was one of five Wildcats to score in double figures with 10 points.
· Senior Wesley Iwundu led with 14 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals, while sophomore Kamau Stokes (12), freshman reserve Brian Patrick (11) and sophomore Barry Brown (10) joined Sneed in double digits.
· Patrick, playing significant minutes for the first time, set season-highs for points (11), field goals (4), 3-pointers (3) and minutes (18).
· Stokes, who leads with the team with 20 double-digit scoring games, has scored in double figures in 15 consecutive games, averaging 14.0 points to go with a 4.6 assists per game average 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 76.3 points on 47.9 percent in the 9 losses. In Big 12 play, the Wildcats are allowing 68.6 points in 5 wins and 78.3 points in the 7 losses.
THE OPPONENT: IOWA STATE (15-9, 7-5 BIG 12)
· Iowa State enters Wednesday’s game with a 15-9 record and a 7-5 mark in Big 12 play after sweeping the season series from Oklahoma with an 80-64 victory at home on Saturday… The Cyclones are 3-5 on the road this season, including 3-3 in Big 12 play.
· The Cyclones are averaging 80.2 points on 45.7 percent shooting, including 38.1 percent from 3-point range, on the season with 36.9 rebounds, 15.7 assists, 8.5 steals and 3.5 blocks per game… They are allowing opponents 70.3 points per game on 41.9 percent shooting, including 34.3 percent from beyond the arc… The team is shooting 66.7 percent from the free throw line.
· Iowa State ranks 1st in the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) with a league-low 10.1 turnovers per contest.
· The Cyclones are one of the most experienced teams in the Big 12 with 4 senior starters led by All-American candidate Monte Morris, who leads the team in both scoring (16.0 ppg.) and assists (5.8 apg.)… He leads the Big 12 in both assists and assist-to-turnover ratio (5.8)… Fellow senior Naz Mitrou-Long also averages 15.5 points per game to go with a team-best 64 3-point field goals, while Deonte Burton (14.0 ppg.) and Matt Thomas (11.9 ppg.) also average double figures… Thomas also has 63 triples this season… Burton leads the Cyclones in rebounding (6.8 rpg.) and blocked shots (1.5 bpg.).
· Iowa State is led by second-year coach Steve Prohm, who has a 142-50 record in his 6th season as a head coach and a 38-21 mark with the Cyclones… He led Murray State to 3 postseason appearances and 2 regular-season conference titles from 2011-15.
BREAKING DOWN THE SERIES
· This will be the 224th meeting between the two schools with K-State leading the series, 137-86.
· The 223 meetings are the 3rd-most against one opponent behind Kansas (286) and Missouri (236).
· The 137 wins are the most against one opponent ahead of the 126 vs. Nebraska and 120 vs. Missouri.
· Iowa State leads the series, 23-20, in the Big 12 era, including 6 wins in the last 8 meetings.
· K-State has an 80-26 record at home in the series with 3 wins in the last 4 meetings at Bramlage Coliseum.
· The Cyclones are looking to sweep the season series for the second consecutive season after winning 70-65 at Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 24, 2017… The last Wildcat win in the series came at home, 70-69, on Feb. 28, 2015.
LAST MEETING: IOWA STATE 70, K-STATE 65
· Kansas State could not complete the comeback from a 20-point deficit, as Iowa State held on late for a 70-65 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,384 fans at Hilton Coliseum… It marked the sixth straight setback to the Cyclones in Ames.
· Down 46-26 just 44 seconds into the second half after Matt Thomas connected on his seventh 3, the Wildcats slowly chipped away at the deficit… The team used a 20-3 run over a more than an eight-minute span to take a 58-57 edge on a layup by Barry Brown with 5 minutes to play… Kamau Stokes set up the play with a steal of Nick Weiler-Babb just 5 seconds earlier.
· The Cyclones got key buckets from Thomas and Monte Morris on subsequent plays to regain the lead at 61-58 with 4:07 left… The Wildcats were able to close to within two points twice down the stretch, including 67-65 on another Brown layup with 24 seconds left, however, key free throws from Naz Mitrou-Long and Deonte Burton sealed the game, 70-65.
· Wesley Iwundu led five Wildcats in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-9 field goals, while Stokes registered double digits with 12 points… Xavier Sneed tallied 11 points, while Brown and senior D.J. Johnson each added 10.