GAME 32

KANSAS STATE (15-16, 8-10 Big 12)

1. TCU (17-14, 4-14 Big 12)

Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship >> First Round

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 >> Sprint Center (18,972)  >> 6 p.m. CT

 

COACHES

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

Overall: 375-192 (17^th year)

at K-State: 62-37 (3^rd year)

1. TCU: 5-1

 

TCU: Trent Johnson (Boise State ’83)

Overall: 263-242 (16^th year)

At TCU: 37-57 (3^rd year)

1. K-State: 1-5

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (15-16, 8-10 Big 12)

G – #25 Nigel Johnson (5.2 ppg., 1.7 apg.)

G – #2 Marcus Foster (12.9 ppg., 2.2 rpg.)

G – #25 Wesley Iwundu (5.6 ppg., 3.4 rpg.)

F – #11 Nino Williams (11.3 ppg., 5.2 rpg.)

F – #42 Thomas Gipson (11.1 ppg., 5.2 rpg.)

 

TCU (17-14, 4-14 Big 12)

G – #5 Kyan Anderson (13.6 ppg., 4.3 apg.)

G – #32 Trey Zeigler (9.6 ppg., 4.2 rpg.)

F – #4 Amric Fields (7.8 ppg., 3.6 rpg.)

F – #33 Chris Washburn (6.7 ppg., 5.6 rpg.)

F – #34 Kenrich Williams (8.8 ppg., 6.8 rpg.)

 

INSIDE THE SERIES

Overall: K-State leads 8-3 (5-1 in Big 12 era)

In Manhattan: K-State leads 5-1 (W, 58-53, 1/7/2015)

In Fort Worth: K-State leads 3-1 (L, 55-69, 2/18/2015)

Last Meeting: TCU, 69-55, 2/18/2015 (Fort Worth, Texas)

Weber vs. TCU: 5-1 (0-0 at neutral sites)

Johnson vs. K-State: 1-5 (0-0 at neutral sites)

Weber vs. Johnson: Weber leads 5-1 (0-0 at neutral sites)

 

LAST GAME SUMMARY

Texas 62, Kansas State 49

Game 31  *  Erwin Center  *  March 7, 2015

• Texas used a stellar defensive effort, including an opponent school record-high 14 blocked shots, to post a 62-49 win over K-State on Saturday before 12,053 at the Frank Erwin Center.  The 14 blocked shots by the Longhorns surpassed the previous opponent high of 12 set four times, lastly by George Washington on Dec. 8, 2012. Senior Jonathan Holmes accounted for 4 blocks to go with 10 points, while juniors Cameron Ridley and Prince Ibeh added 3 each. Texas held K-State to 36.4 percent shooting (20-of-55) from the field, including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) in the second half. The Wildcats also managed to shoot just 20 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc. Senior Thomas Gipson and sophomore Marcus Foster led the Wildcats with 15 points each, while Gipson grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds to post his ninth career double-double and his first of the season.

 

GAME 32 – QUICK HITTERS

• Kansas State (15-16, 8-10 Big 12) opens play in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday, as the Wildcats play TCU (17-14, 4-14 Big 12) in the tournament’s first game at 6 p.m. CT at the Sprint Center. The game will air on ESPNU with Dave Flemming (play-by-play) and Miles Simon (analyst) on the call. It is also available on the WatchESPN app.
• K-State finished in a 3-way tie for 6th place in the Big 12’s regular season standings, but due to tiebreakers, dropped to the No. 8 seed. The Wildcats will play on the tournament’s opening day for the first time since 2006, snapping a streak of 8 consecutive seasons with a bye to the quarterfinals.
• K-State enters the championship with a losing record for the first time since 2003, which is the last time the program recorded a losing season (13-17). The Wildcats finished with a sub .500 Big 12 record for the first time since 2006. Prior to this season, the team had posted 8 straight 20-win seasons and double-digit Big 12 wins 7 times in the last 8 seasons.
• K-State is 31-36 (.463) all-time at the Big 8/12 Championship dating back to 1977, including an 11-18 (.379) mark in the 18-year history of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats have won 2 titles (1977, 1980), while they have advanced to the finals on 5 other occasions.
• K-State is 30-31 (.492) all-time when the championship is held in Kansas City, including 4-6 (.400) in the Sprint Center (2008, 2010-14).
• This will mark the 5th time that K-State been the No. 8 seed at the Big 12 Championship (1986, 1991, 1995, 1998) with a 1-4 mark in previous appearances. The last time the Wildcats were an 8-seed they defeated No. 9 seed Colorado, 75-61, before losing to top-seed Kansas, 68-61.
• K-State is 11-9 all-time in the Sprint Center, including 1-0 this season. The Wildcats knocked off Texas A&M, 71-64, on Dec. 20, 2014.
• This will be K-State’s first meeting with TCU at the championship, as the teams split their 2 regular season match-ups with the Wildcats winning 58-53 at home on Jan. 7 and the Frogs winning 69-55 at home on Feb. 18.
• Overall, K-State is 8-3 all-time vs. TCU, including 5-1 in the Big 12 era. This is just the second meeting on a neutral court and the first in Kansas City. The Horned Frogs have won both postseason meetings in the series, including 77-72 in the 1968 NCAA Tournament and 72-71 in the 1999 NIT.
• 21 of K-State’s 31 games have been decided by 10 points or less this season, including 12 by 5 points or less. The Wildcats are 12-9 in games decided by 10 points or less and 6-6 in those decided by 5 points or less.

 

AT PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

• K-State is 31-36 all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to its inception in 1977, including an 11-18 mark in the 18-year history of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship… The Wildcats have won 2 championships (1977, 1980), while they have advanced to the finals on 5 other occasions (1978, 1981, 1993, 2010 and 2013), including twice in the Big 12 era.
• This will marked the 5th time that K-State has been the No. 8 seed at the championship (1986, 1991, 1995, 1998), including the 2nd time in the Big 12 era, with a 1-4 mark in those previous 4 appearances… The last time that squad was an 8-seed they defeated No. 9 seed Colorado, 75-61, in the first round before falling, 68-61, to top-seed Kansas in the quarterfinals.
• K-State is 1-0 all-time (1-0 in the Big 12 era) vs. No. 9 seed at the league championship with the last appearance coming in 1998… This will be the Wildcats’ first meeting with TCU in the conference championship.
• Overall, K-State is 30-31 all-time when the championship is held in Kansas City, including 4-6 in the Sprint Center (2008, 2010-14)… The Wildcats are 11-9 all-time in the Sprint Center, including a 71-64 win over Texas A&M on Dec. 20, 2014.

 

THE OPPONENT: TCU (17-14, 4-14 Big 12)

• TCU enters Wednesday’s game with a 17-14 record after ending Big 12 play on a 3-game losing streak that included an 89-76 loss to No. 17/17 Iowa State at home… The team finished 13-6 at home, 2-8 on the road and 2-0 in neutral sites.
• The Horned Frogs are averaging 68.5 points on 43.7 percent shooting, including 32.7 percent from 3-point range, on the season with 37.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.1 steals and 5.4 blocks per game… They are allowing opponents 62.2 points per game on 39.8 percent shooting, including 34.4 percent from beyond the arc… The team is shooting 61.5 percent from the free throw line.
• TCU ranks among the nation’s Top 20 in three categories, including 3rd in free throws attempted (797), 14th in offensive rebounds (13.6) and 15th in blocked shots (5.4), while the squad is 47th in rebounding and field goal percentage defense.
• TCU ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in blocked shots, 3rd in scoring defense and assist-to-turnover ratio and offensive rebounds.
• TCU is one of the more balanced scoring teams in the Big 12, as six players are averaging better than 6 points per game led by All-Big 12 honorable mention Kyan Anderson, who is averaging 13.6 points on 39.9 percent shooting… He is also averaging team-bests in field goals (126), 3-point field goals (53), free throws (117), assists (132), steals (40) and minutes (32.0)… Fellow senior Trey Zeigler is 2nd in scoring at 9.6 points per game to go with 4.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per outing… Sophomore transfer Kenrich Williams is tops in rebounding at 6.8 per game, while averaging 8.8 points per game… Senior Amric Fields is averaging 7.8 points on a team-best 48.5 percent shooting… Sophomore Chris Washburn is tops in blocks (42).
• Zeigler’s father, Ernie, was an assistant coach at K-State from 1999-2000 under former head coach Tom Asbury.
• TCU is led by third-year head coach Trent Johnson, who has a 37-57 record in his tenure… He has a 263-242 record in his 16th season as a head coach, which includes stints at Nevada (1999-2004), Stanford (2004-08) and LSU (2008-12)… He guided each of those schools to the NCAA Tournament, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 2003-04 (Nevada) and 2007-08 (Stanford).