GAME 13
KANSAS STATE (10-2) vs. TEXAS (8-4)
Wednesday, January 2, 2019 >> 8:05 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 448-237/21st season
At K-State: 135-82/7th season
vs Texas: 8-5 (4-2 at home)
Texas: Shaka Smart (Kenyon College ’99)
Overall: 221-110/10th season
At Texas: 58-54/4th season
- Kansas State: 2-4 (1-2 on the road)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (10-2)
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Texas (8-4)
G: #12 Kerwin Roach II
G: #2 Matt Coleman III
G: #55 Elijah Mitrou-Long
F: #21 Dylan Osetkowski
F: #10 Jaxson Hayes
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 21-15
Current Streak: K-State, 4
In Manhattan: K-State leads 11-5
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 9-5
Last Meeting: W, 58-48, 2/21/18
Weber vs. Smart: 4-2 (2-1 at home)
OPENING TIP
- Kansas State (10-2) opens the 2019 portion of its schedule on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats host Texas (8-4) in the Big 12 opener at Bramlage Coliseum. The game will tip at 8 p.m., CT on before a national audience on ESPNU with Chuckie Kempf (play-by-play) and Robbie Hummel (analyst) on the call.
- Wednesday’s Big 12 opener is the last of a 5-game homestand for the Wildcats, which started in the 71-59 win over Georgia State on Dec. 15 and has included the 55-51 come-from-behind victory over Southern Miss on Dec. 19, the 69-58 win over Vanderbilt on Dec. 22 in the Wildcat Classic at the Sprint Center in Kansas City and the narrow 59-58 victory over George Mason on Saturday. K-State has posted a 7-0 mark at home venues this season and have won 9 in a row at Bramlage Coliseum.
- Texas (8-4) enters Wednesday’s game with wins in 3 of its last 4 outings, including a convincing 76-56 win over UT-Arlington last Friday (Dec. 28) to conclude a 6-game homestand. The Longhorns opened the year with 5 straight victories, including a 92-89 win over North Carolina in the Las Vegas Invitational, before dropping 3 in a row, including consecutive games at home to Radford (62-59) and VCU (54-53). The team opened its current streak with a 72-68 victory over Purdue on Dec. 9.
- This will be the 37th meeting between K-State and Texas on the hardwood with the Wildcats holding a 21-15 advantage, including an 11-5 mark at home. K-State has a slight 16-15 edge since the start of Big 12 play, but has won each of the last 4 meetings, which began with a 65-62 victory at Bramlage Coliseum on Dec. 30, 2016.
- K-State is 52-53 (.495) all-time in conference openers dating back to the start of Missouri Valley play in 1914, including a 36-19 (.655) mark at home. The Wildcats are 9-13 (.409) in Big 12 openers, including 6-3 (.667) at home. The team has won 4 of their last 6 openers in Big 12 play, including each of the last 2 openers (vs. Texas in 2016 and at Iowa State in 2017), after winning once in the previous 8 openers.
- K-State ran its winning streak to 4 games on Saturday by holding off a furious George Mason comeback attempt for a 59-58 victory that extended the school’s non-conference winning streak to 29 games at Bramlage Coliseum. Down by as many as 21 points early in the second half, the Patriots closed to within one point after a 15-4 run in the final five minutes. With 1.2 seconds left, GMU was unable to secure the inbound, as K-State deflected the ball and escaped with the victory. Senior Kamau Stokes posted his eighth career 20-point game, including his first of the season, as he became the 30th Wildcat in school history to score 1,000 career points.
- K-State ranks among the top 30 nationally in several defensive categories, including sixth in scoring defense (57.8 ppg.), 13th in 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.4) and 30th in field goal percentage defense (38.8). Since allowing a season-high 83 points in a loss at Marquette, the Wildcats have held each of the last 5 opponents to 54.6 points on 37.1 percent shooting (99-of-267), including 25 percent (32-of-128) from 3-point range.
- It marks just the third time since inception of the shot clock in 1985-86 that K-State has held 5 consecutive opponents below 60 points and the first time since the 2008-09 season.
NOTES ON TEXAS
- Texas (8-4) enters Wednesday’s contest with victories in 3 of its last 4 games, including a 76-56 win over UT-Arlington on Dec. 28 to wrap up a 6-game homestand. The Longhorns opened the year with 5 straight victories, which included an impressive 92-89 win over North Carolina, before dropping 3 in a row to Michigan State (78-68), Radford (62-59) and VCU (54-53). The current streak started with a 72-68 win over Purdue on Dec. 9.
- Texas returns 7 lettermen, including 4 starters, from a squad that won 19 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18.
- Texas is averaging 74.1 points on 42.5 percent shooting, including 32.0 percent from 3-point range, to go with 37.6 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game, while allowing 66 points on 39.7 percent shooting, including 32.3 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 66.5 percent from the free throw line.
- Senior Kerwin Roach II paces 6 players averaging 7 or more points per game this season, including 3 in double figures, at 14.0 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting to go with 4.9 rebounds and a team-best 4.0 assists. Sophomore Matt Coleman II (10.3 ppg.) and senior Dylan Osetkowski (10.1 ppg.) also average in double figures, as Osetkowski added a team-best 8.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Jaxson Hayes leads the way in field goal percentage (75.4) and blocks (29) to go with a 9.9 points per game average.
- Texas is led by fourth-year head coach Shaka Smart, who has a 58-54 record with 2 NCAA Tournament appearances in his tenure. He has a 221-110 record in just his 10th season as a head coach, which includes an impressive stint at VCU (2009-15), leading the Rams to the 2011 Final Four.
TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics