MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State will open the Big 12 Conference portion of its men’s basketball schedule at home against West Virginia on Saturday, January 2.
The Wildcats, who own the second-most Big 12 wins (52) in the last five seasons, will play 14 league games against teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, including seven in Bramlage Coliseum. In addition, five of the nine home league contests will also fall on a Saturday, including matchups with NCAA Tournament participants Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, West Virginia as well as the annual Sunflower Showdown with Kansas.
K-State is 58-18 (.763) at home in Big 12 play since the 2006-07 season.
“I think I say this every year but the schedule will again be very challenging,” said fourth-year head coach Bruce Weber. “There are five Big 12 teams in most of the early preseason polls, including three in the Top 10, so the league should once again be one of the best, if not, the best, in the country. I think this year more than ever, it doesn’t matter what team you play on a given day, you better be ready to play at a high level every day to be successful.”
K-State will have 15 of its 18 conference contests broadcast on one of ESPN’s family of networks, including the home game with Kansas on Saturday, February 20 and the road contest at Iowa State on Saturday, February 27 on either ESPN or ESPN2. The squad will also play six times on ESPNU, which includes the opener with West Virginia, while there will be seven appearances on ESPNews. The three league games not on ESPN networks (the road game at Texas on January 5 and home games with Texas Tech on January 12 and TCU on March 2) will be broadcast as part of the institutionally controlled television package, which will be announced at a later date.
After opening league play with West Virginia, the Wildcats will play back-to-back road games at Texas on Tuesday, January 5 and Oklahoma on Saturday, January 9 before returning home for consecutive tilts against Texas Tech on Tuesday, January 12 and Iowa State on Saturday, January 16. The squad finishes the month with road games against Baylor (Wednesday, January 20) and West Virginia (Tuesday, January 26) in between a home contest with Oklahoma State on Saturday, January 23. K-State hosts Ole Miss in the Big 12-SEC Challenge on Saturday, January 30.
The Wildcats will open February with a road trip to Kansas on Wednesday, February 3 before hosting Oklahoma (Saturday, February 6) and Baylor (Wednesday, February 10) in consecutive home games. The team will play back-to-back road trip the next week with Oklahoma State on Saturday, February 13 and TCU on Wednesday, February 17. The squad follows with two straight home games, beginning with Kansas on Saturday, February 20 and finishing with Texas on Monday, February 22. The regular season rounds out with two road games in its last three contests, including Iowa State on Saturday, February 27 and Texas Tech on Saturday, March 5 with Senior Night slated for Wednesday, March 2 against TCU.
The Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship will be held Wednesday through Saturday, March 9-12, at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Wildcats return four players with starting experience in 2015-16 to go with the influx of seven newcomers, including PARADE All-American Dean Wade(St. John, Kansas/St. John) and NJCAA First Team All-American Carlbe Ervin II (Oklahoma City, Oklahoma/Connors State College). Senior guardJustin Edwards (6.3 ppg., 3.3 rpg.) is the team’s top returner in both scoring and steals (37), while junior forward Wesley Iwundu (5.8 ppg., 3.5 rpg.) is the leading returner in rebounding (108), assists (61), blocks (20) and minutes (780).
Season tickets for the 2015-16 season are now available and can be purchased in a variety of ways, including toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287), online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets and in-person at the Athletics Ticket Office located in Bramlage Coliseum.
The remaining game times as well as the third-tier television slate will be released in the coming weeks.
2015-16 Kansas State Men’s Basketball Schedule
Day Date Opponent
Friday Oct. 30 EMPORIA STATE (Exh.)
Friday Nov. 6 FORT HAYS STATE (Exh.)
Opening Games of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic (Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kan.)
Friday Nov. 13 MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE
Monday Nov. 16 COLUMBIA
Friday Nov. 20 SOUTH DAKOTA
CBE Hall of Fame Classic (Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.)
Monday Nov. 23 vs. Missouri 6 p.m. ESPNU
Tuesday Nov. 24 vs. North Carolina/Northwestern
Sunday Nov. 29 SOUTH CAROLINA STATE
Friday Dec. 4 @Georgia
Wednesday Dec. 9 COPPIN STATE
Saturday Dec. 12 @Texas A&M
Wichita Wildcat Classic (INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, Kan.)
Saturday Dec. 19 COLORADO STATE
Tuesday Dec. 22 NORTH DAKOTA
Tuesday Dec. 29 SAINT LOUIS
Saturday Jan. 2 WEST VIRGINIA* ESPNU
Tuesday Jan. 5 @Texas* Longhorn Network
Saturday Jan. 9 @Oklahoma* ESPNews
Tuesday Jan. 12 TEXAS TECH*
Saturday Jan. 16 IOWA STATE* 3 p.m. ESPNU
Wednesday Jan. 20 @Baylor* ESPNews
Saturday Jan. 23 OKLAHOMA STATE* 5 p.m. ESPNU
Tuesday Jan. 26 @West Virginia* 6 p.m. ESPNews
Big 12-SEC Challenge (Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kan.)
Saturday Jan. 30 OLE MISS ESPNU
Wednesday Feb. 3 @Kansas* 8 p.m. ESPNU
Saturday Feb. 6 OKLAHOMA* 5 p.m. ESPNU
Wednesday Feb. 10 BAYLOR* ESPNews
Saturday Feb. 13 @Oklahoma State* 12 p.m. ESPNews
Wednesday Feb. 17 @TCU* ESPNews
Saturday Feb. 20 KANSAS* 5 p.m. ESPN/2
Monday Feb. 22 TEXAS* 6 p.m. ESPNU
Saturday Feb. 27 @Iowa State* 3/5 p.m. ESPN/2
Wednesday March 2 TCU*
Saturday March 5 @Texas Tech* 2 p.m. ESPNews
Wed.-Sat. March 9-12 Big 12 Championship (Sprint Center, Kansas City, Mo.)
– www.k-statesports.com –
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics