Tipoff 10 p.m. CT

TELEVISION

ESPN2 // ESPN3

• Eric Rothman (play-by-play)
• Caron Butler (analyst)
• Bart Fox (producer)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

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

COACHES

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

Overall: 422-225/20^th season

At K-State: 109-70/6^th season

1. Washington State: 1-0

Washington State: Ernie Kent (Oregon ’77)

Career Record: 367-315/23^rd Year

Record at WSU: 42-61/4^th Year

1. Kansas State: 2-1

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (9-2)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #32 Dean Wade

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Washington State (7-3)

G: #4 Viont’e Daniels

G: #22 Malachi Flynn

G: #40 Kwinton Hinson

F: #3 Robert Franks

F: #43 Drick Bernstine

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 5-2

In Spokane: First meeting

In Pullman: Washington State leads 2-1

Last Meeting: W, 70-56, 12/10/2016

Weber vs. Kent: Weber leads 3-1

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (9-2) concludes the 2017 non-conference portion of its schedule on Wednesday, as the Wildcats travel to the Pacific Northwest to take on Pac-12 foe Washington State (7-3) at the Spokane Arena. The game, which is the second of a home-and-home series between the schools, will be shown nationally on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. CT with Eric Rothman (play-by-play) and Caron Butler (analyst).
• Wednesday’s game will be the last on the road in non-conference play, as K-State has gone 2-2 away from Bramlage Coliseum this season. The Wildcats split games with undefeated Arizona State (90-92) and George Washington (67-59) at the Las Vegas Invitational before a true road win at Vanderbilt (84-79) and a loss to Tulsa (54-61) at Wichita’s INTRUST Bank Arena. The team is attempting to win double-digit non-conference games for the 11th time in the last 12 seasons. K-State is 31-6 in non-conference play the last three seasons since posting a 7-6 mark in 2014-15.
• K-State and Washington State will be playing for the eighth time on the hardwood, which includes five meetings since 2004. The schools are currently in the midst of their third home-and-home series, which includes true home games (Manhattan and Pullman) in 2004 and 2005 and 2009 and 2010. The Wildcats have won three straight in the series, including a 70-56 victory over the Cougars on Dec. 10, 2016 at Kansas City’s Sprint Center. Although current Orlando Magic player Wesley Iwundu led with a game-high 15 points, three current Wildcats (Barry Brown, Jr., Dean Wade and Xavier Sneed) scored in double figures, as the squad opened up a narrow 28-26 lead at halftime by shooting 51.6 percent in the second half.
• K-State took out its weeklong frustration from the Tulsa game by connecting on a season-best 62.5 percent from the field in an 89-71 win over SE Missouri State on Saturday. The Wildcats, which have posted six games of 80 or more points this season, tallied season highs in four other categories, including field goals made (35), assists (25), points in the paint (44) and dunks (7). The 35 field goals made were one shy of the most in the Bruce Weber era, while the 25 assists were the most since dishing out 25 in a double-overtime loss at Baylor on Feb. 15, 2014 and 44 points in the paint were the most since totaling 46 in a win over Iowa State on Feb. 28, 2015.
• Sophomore Xavier Sneed continued his impressive play of late with a career-best 23 points against SE Missouri State, which came on 9-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-5 from long range. Sneed, who became the first Wildcat in recorded history to pace the team in five categories with 15 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 1 block against Tulsa (12/9), has scored in double figures in seven of 11 games, which includes a pair of 20-point games in the last four outings. He has upped his scoring average from 7.1 points as a freshman to 12.5 points this season.
• K-State has been solid in taking care of the basketball this season, ranking among the national leaders in assist turnover ratio (1.6/10th), turnovers per game (10.6/12th), turnover margin (5.1/15th) and assists per game (17.0/37th). Since turning over the ball a season-high 17 in the opener against American (11/10), the Wildcats have averaged just 10.0 turnovers in the last 10 games, including six games of 10 turnovers or less.

NOTES ON WASHINGTON STATE

• Washington State enters Wednesday’s contest with a 7-3 record after snapping a three-game skid with a 72-59 victory over IUPUI on Saturday. The Cougars connected on 54.9 percent from the field, including 50 percent or better in each half, as guard Malachi Flynn paced four players in double figures with 17 points. The team opened the year 6-0, which included wins over St. Joseph’s (75-71), Saint Mary’s (84-79) and San Diego State (93-86) to win the Wooden Legacy Championship at Thanksgiving for their first in-season tournament title since 2009.
• The Cougars are averaging nearly 77 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting, including 39.3 percent from 3-point range, with 35.7 rebounds, 15.8 assists, 5.5 steals and 2.7 blocks per game, while allowing opponents to average 74.8 points on 43.2 percent shooting, including 34.4 percent from long range. They are averaging 11.7 3-point field goals per game, which ranks fifth nationally, have three players with 24 or more 3-point field goals. The team is shooting 72.8 percent from the line.
• Junior forward Robert Franks and Flynn pack quite the 1-2 scoring punch at 18.3 and 15.4 points per game, respectively, while five other Cougars average 6 points or more per game. Frank has connected on 52.9 percent from the field, including 45.5 percent from 3-point range, to go with a team-best 7.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Flynn, who leads three players with 24 or more treys with 28, has a team-best 42 assists and 11 steals. Junior guard Viont’e Daniels averages 9.4 points on 47.7 percent shooting, including 46.2 percent from 3-point range, in a team-best 34.5 minutes per game. Sophomore Jeff Pollard averages 7.0 points on a team-best 58.8 percent shooting, while senior Drick Bernstine averages 6.7 points on 51.9 percent shooting with 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Washington State is led by fourth-year head coach Ernie Kent, who has a 42-61 record in his tenure. Overall, he has a 367-315 mark in his 23rd season as a head coach, which includes stints at Saint Mary’s (1991-97) and Oregon (1997-2010). He has advanced to the NCAA Tournament six times.

SERIES HISTORY

• This will be eighth meeting between Kansas State and Washington State on the hardwood with the Wildcats holding a 5-2 advantage, including wins in each of the last three matchups (2009, 2010 and 2016). The Cougars are 2-1 all-time in the state of Washington in the series, including a 47-22 win on Dec. 20, 1941 and a 58-57 victory on Dec. 3, 2005 (both in Pullman). The Wildcats won the last meeting in the state, 63-58, on Dec. 3, 2010.
• Head coach Bruce Weber is 1-0 all-time against Washington State, which includes last meeting in Kansas City, in which, K-State posted a 70-56 win on Dec. 10, 2016. The Wildcats broke open a tight one in the second half, connecting on 51.6 percent from the field, while holding the Cougars to 32.1 percent. Senior Wesley Iwundu paced four players in double figures with a game-high 15 points, while current players Barry Brown, Jr. (14), Dean Wade (11) and Xavier Sneed (10) also scored in double digits. Kamau Stokes and Iwundu each dished out 5 assists.
• K-State is 139-78 all-time against the Pac-12, including a 45-53 mark in games played on the road. The Wildcats are 0-1 against the Pac-12 this season having lost 92-90 to current No. 3 Arizona State on Thanksgiving Day in Las Vegas.

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