The Kansas Jayhawks are ranked fifth in the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.

Kentucky is number one followed by Duke, Michigan State, Louisville and Kansas.

Also from the Big 12, Texas Tech was ranked number 11 and Baylor 24th.

Game 10
West Virginia at 16/rv/rv Kansas State

Date: Saturday, November 16, 2019

Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.

Location: Manhattan, Kan.

Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)

Series: K-State leads, 5-4

CATS RETURN HOME TO HOST WEST VIRGINIA ON ESPN
K-State will look to bounce back from a narrow three-point loss at Texas this week as the Wildcats welcome West Virginia to Manhattan for an afternoon Big 12 match up. The game, which kicks at 2:30 p.m., will air on ESPN with Mark Jones (play-by-play), Dusty Dvoreck (analyst) and Olivia Dekker (sidelines) on the call. The contest can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM (S: 137, X: 200, Internet: 954) in addition to the TuneIn app.

A LOOK AT K-STATE

• K-State has won three of its last four games and is bowl-eligible under first-year head coach Chris Klieman.
• K-State has rushed for 1,789 yards this year on 387 carries which includes 25 rushing touchdowns after tallying only 20 rushing scores a year ago.
• The Wildcats are on pace to finish the 2019 season in the top 10 in school history in team rushing yards.
• K-State’s 11 rushing scores over the Oklahoma and Kansas games were the most in the nation over that stretch. Quarterback Skylar Thompson had seven of those scores, also the best in the nation during that stretch.
• Thompson’s seven rushing scores against OU and KU were the most over a two-game stretch by a K-State quarterback since Collin Klein in 2012.
• Thompson – who has four career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or later – has thrown for 1,589 yards and nine touchdowns with one interception. His current 0.5% interception percentage ranks as the best mark in Big 12 history.
• With 29 rushing yards against WVU, Thompson can become the fourth signal caller in school history with 3,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.
• Receivers Dalton Schoen and Malik Knowles each have over 300 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
• The K-State defense enters the week ranked highly in many statistical categories, including third down defense (3rd; 26.0%) and first downs allowed (17th; 152).
• K-State has given up just five passing TDs this season, which are tied for the fewest nationally this year (Ohio State).
• The Cats have surrendered only 25 total third down conversions this season, which are tied for the fewest in the FBS, while they were the final team to allow a fourth-down conversion when they did so last week against Texas.
• Linebacker Elijah Sullivan and safety Denzel Goolsby lead the team with 40 tackles apiece.
• Ten different Wildcats have at least 2.0 TFLs – led by Wyatt Hubert’s 7.5 – and Hubert leads the team with 5.0 sacks.
• Cornerback AJ Parker has a team-high three interceptions to tie for fourth in the Big 12.
• The Wildcats possess a great kicker/punter duo as Blake Lynch ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage (91.7%), while Devin Anctil ranks 18th in the nation with a 44.9-yard punting average.

A LOOK AT WEST VIRGINIA

• West Virginia is coming off a 38-17 setback to Texas Tech and enters the game with a 3-6 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Big 12 play.
• The Mountaineers are averaging 329.7 yards per game on offense, which includes 253.9 through the air.
• Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall has thrown for 1,989 yards and 12 touchdowns on 187-of-304 aim.
• Kendall’s favorite target has been Sam James, who has 58 catches for 623 yards and two touchdowns. T.J. Simmons and George Campbell each have a team-high four receiving scores.
• Running backs Leddie Brown (227) and Kennedy McKoy (220) lead the team in rushing with McCoy having a team-high three touchdowns on the ground.
• Defensively, Josh Norwood has 61 tackles to lead the way, while Darius Stills ranks second in the Big 12 in both sacks (7.0) and tackles for loss (12.0).

CATS ARE BOWL BOUND

• With the win over Kansas, K-State got win No. 6 and became bowl eligible for the 22nd time in school history.
• Since 1990, K-State has qualified for the postseason 21 times, including this season.
• Chris Klieman became the second coach in school history to take the Wildcats to a bowl in their first year as coach and the fourth overall to do so.

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RYAN LACKEY

Director of Football Communications

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Forcing Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs to settle for a bunch of field goals gave the Tennessee Titans a chance to stay close.

Ryan Tannehill and a cornerback only activated off injured reserve a week ago helped make the Chiefs pay for their fifth and sixth attempts.

Tannehill threw a 23-yard touchdown to Adam Humphries with 23 seconds left, and Joshua Kalu blocked a last-second field goal attempt to beat the Chiefs 35-32 to spoil the return of NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes.

“It’s fun to win a game like that, battle back in the fourth-quarter at home and find a way to win is a ton of fun,” Tannehill said.

The Titans (5-5) only had a chance after a bad snap by the Chiefs on Harrison Butker’s fifth field goal attempt of the day. Kansas City coach Andy Reid blamed communication for the snap taking holder Dustin Colquitt by surprise, and he threw the ball away in desperation for an intentional grounding call, setting the Titans up at their own 39.

Tannehill scrambled for 18, hit Anthony Firsker for 20 yards and then found Humphries who ran in for the TD. Tannehill also ran for the 2-point conversion for a 35-32 lead.

The Chiefs (6-4) had a final chance with Mahomes. He drove them down, setting up Butker for another field goal try from 52 yards.

Kalu blocked the kick with his left hand, and the Titans ran onto the field to celebrate. Kalu wound up at the bottom of a pile, and he said he kept getting closer each time watching the Chiefs’ cadence, hands and eyes. The block was a blur but not his decision to jump at the snap.

“As soon as I hit it, it was automatic joy,” said Kalu, recently activated from injured reserve.

Kansas City coach Andy Reid, now 1-8 all-time against Tennessee, said he wanted to see a replay of the blocked field goal thinking Kalu was offside. But Reid took the blame for the loss.

“We were in position to close it, and we didn’t get that done,” Reid said. “My responsibility. Then we were too sloppy.”

Derrick Henry ran for 188 yards, including a 68-yard TD that put Tennessee up 20-19 with 5:58 left in the third. His 1-yard TD with 6:26 remaining pulled the Titans within 29-27.

Tannehill finished with 181 yards passing and ran for 37 yards for the win.

The loss spoiled the best passing game this season for Mahomes as the Chiefs outgained the Titans 530-371. Mahomes threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns. His best play came with the pocket collapsing around him when he jumped up to throw over the linemen to Mecole Hardman who ran for a 63-yard TD with 11:54 left and a 29-20 lead.

“The knee feels fine, and I’m glad to get through another game,” Mahomes said of his knee and ankle that had been hurting last month.

Mahomes looked very healthy playing for the first time since dislocating his right kneecap Oct. 17. He got lucky when his first pass first ruled an interception was overturned by replay for Titans safety Kenny Vaccaro trapping the ball on the ground. Mahomes capped the Chiefs’ first drive with a 3-yard shovel pass to Travis Kelce.

The Chiefs sacked Tannehill four times and also forced a fumble but could only turn that into one of Butker’s four made field goals.

Tannehill got the Titans going with a 52-yard throw to Kalif Raymond, then he hit Anthony Firkser for a 9-yard TD. Then rookie linebacker David Long forced a fumble by Damien Williams, and linebacker Rashaan Evans picked up the ball, juked away from Mahomes and ran 53 yards for a TD and a 13-10 lead with 6:14 left in the second quarter.

The Fort Riley Middle School Troopers wrestling team finished with two first-place finishes, four thirds and two fourths in the Little Apple Grapple on Saturday.

Coach Bob Shefelton said first place weight class winners for the Troopers included Lane Chivers in the 100A class and Joseph Murphy in the 100D class. Finishing third were Yoel Padilla in 85B, Joseph Massong-Sanchez 148B, Alex Roberts 165A and Jace Howard in 180A.

The Troopers compete at Eisenhower Middle School in Manhattan on Tuesday.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — As Xavier Sneed clutched his right ankle and writhed in pain on the floor in front of Kansas State’s bench near the end of the first half Saturday and coach Bruce Weber was more concerned with his senior guard’s long-term health just two games into the season.

The concern didn’t last long.

Sneed started the second half, eventually buried back-to-back 3-pointers that tied the game, finished with 19 points including the game-winner in overtime, and Kansas State defeated UNLV 60-56.

“He’s our senior, he’s our go-to guy, obviously he has the most points, he guards the best players,” Weber said. “He came back and he was huge.”

Montavious Murphy gave Kansas State a 54-52 lead with 1:10 left in overtime when he drove the baseline, drew a foul and converted the free throw. UNLV’s Amauri Hardy answered by dribbling around and through a pair of Kansas State defenders to hit a short jumper and tie the game at 54 with 44.2 seconds left.

But Sneed dropped in a mid-range jumper from the baseline to give K-State a 56-54 lead with :28 to play.

Mike McGuir and Sneed each drained two free throws in the final seconds to put the game out of reach.

“We had a tough shooting night in the first half, got it going, got some good, big time buckets from everybody,” Sneed said.

Cartier Diarra added 12 points and six assists for Kansas State, while McGuir contributed with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Wildcats overcame 37.3 percent shooting, as they hit just 22 of 59 from the floor, to erase a double-digit first-half deficit.

“Our guys just gutted it out,” Weber said. “I thought our guys stayed together. We had a lot of guys make big plays; we finally got some stops without fouling in the second half. At the end we made some big shots, made some big stops and that’s how you win games.”

Hardy led UNLV with 27 points, while Elijah Mitrou-Long chipped in with 10 points and Cheikh Mbacke Diong had four points and 11 rebounds.

Kansas State’s 19-10 run to start the second half, bolstered by Sneed’s 3-pointers, triggered its comeback.

After the Wildcats took a 35-33 lead with 10:20 left in the game – their first lead since the 18:33 mark of the first half – UNLV answered with a 5-0 run to get back in front, 38-35.

The teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with neither taking a lead bigger than three points until overtime.

The Runnin’ Rebels led 68.8 percent of the game, spanning 30 minutes and 58 seconds while Kansas State only held a lead for a little more than five minutes, 11.4 percent of the game.

“We gotta stay true to ourselves, gotta hang our hats on defense, not on offense,” Hardy said. “If we continue to get stops we put ourselves in chances to have more offensive possessions. A couple of times we slipped up and let guys get to the paint. Easy drives, give up the baseline, which puts us in rotation and that’s things we don’t want to do.”

UNLV also committed 25 turnovers, which Kansas State capitalized on by scoring 19 points.

“I was hoping we’d play little better, but we hung in there, we found a way to win (and) made the plays when it counted,” Weber said. “Our guys learned about game plan, staying together, fighting, persevering; you can win games in different ways.”

The Runnin’ Rebels seized control of the momentum in the first half after falling behind 4-0 early, using a 14-0 run to open a 10-point lead. Hardy led the charge with UNLV’s first 10 points of the game, including a pair from behind the 3-point line.

Outside of Hardy’s outburst for UNLV, neither team was impressive offensively, often showing signs of sloppiness to the tune of 23 first-half turnovers combined.

The Wildcats took advantage of UNLV’s miscues and stormed back with runs of 6-0 and 12-4 to get within two, at 18-16. But it was UNLV’s domination on the boards that helped it close the half with the last two buckets, including Hardy’s third 3-pointer to that point, giving the Rebels a 23-16 lead at the half.

UNLV outrebounded the Wildcats in the game 43-37.

“They’re one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Otzelberger said. “We probably need more ball movement, but they’re a top five defensive team in the country. It’s really impressive to hold a Big 12 champion program we have a lot of respect for to 16 first half points. We have to do better coming out and starting the second half.”

By Corbin McGuire

AUSTIN, Texas – No. 16 K-State rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit to tie the game, but Texas clinched a 27-24 win against the Wildcats with a field goal as time expired on Saturday at Texas Memorial Stadium.

Joshua Youngblood injected K-State (6-3, 3-3) with new life early in the fourth quarter, as the true freshman receiver broke off a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. It ended Texas’ run of 24 unanswered points and cut the Wildcat deficit to three, 24-21.

K-State’s defense followed suit by forcing a three-and-out, which led to a 45-yard field goal from Blake Lynch to even the game.

Texas answered with the game-winning drive, keyed by a conversion on third-and-14. The Longhorns, who went 67 yards in 13 plays to eat up the final 6:45 of the game, drug the clock down to three seconds before Cameron Dicker notched the game-winner from 26 yards out to end K-State’s three-game winning streak.

“I thought we played well. It was two really good football teams that went at it. I’m proud of the guys. I’m proud of the resolve, being down two scores,” K-State head coach Chris Klieman said. “It stinks to lose. There are no moral victories. That’s not what we’re about, but I’m so proud of the way we fought. I told the guys, ‘I think we’re a really good football team and Texas is a really good football team. I think we proved we belong on any stage there is.’”

K-State got off to the exact start it needed. The Wildcats scored the game’s first two touchdowns, including one on the third play from scrimmage, to take an early 14-0 lead.

After a pair of runs to start the game, Skylar Thompson found redshirt freshman receiver Malik Knowles on a wheel route out of the backfield for a 70-yard touchdown. Knowles finished with 94 yards receiving on three catches.

“We got a big score and, in a game like this, especially with them coming off an open week and having two weeks to prepare and being healthier, we had to get off to a fast start,” Klieman said. “I’m really happy with how the guys jumped out on them.”

Thompson, who finished with a career-high 253 passing yards on 17-of-27 through the air, then engineered an eight-play, 63-yard touchdown drive. The redshirt junior quarterback capped it with a 19-yard touchdown pass to Wykeen Gill for an early two-score advantage. Dalton Schoen, who finished with five catches for 68 yards, snagged a pair of third passes on this drive for 35 of those yards.

K-State’s offensive hit a wall afterward, however.

On their first two drives, the Wildcats picked up 138 yards of offense on 11 plays (12.5 yards a play). They managed just 136 yards on their next six drives, 34 plays in all (4.0 yards a play). K-State was also limited to a season-low rushing total of 51 yards on 26 attempts.

“We had to throw it because they were going to run blitz us to death. They’ve got a really good (defensive) front, and they just blitzed us as much as they could, which is great because you have chances at some big plays. We were able to throw some hitches and stuff outside and obviously got the big play to Malik, and they blitzed on the throw to Wykeen for a touchdown,” Klieman said. “If we’re going to run the ball like we did (against Kansas), we have to anticipate them bringing everybody, and that’s what they did. We’ve got to find some things to be able to find some explosive plays.”

Texas scored on only one of its five series in the first half, an 80-yard touchdown drive that accounted for nearly half of its total yards (162) at the break. The Longhorns picked up steam in the second half, tallying 315 yards and 20 points in the final two quarters against K-State, which will return home to host West Virginia on Saturday, November 16 at 2:30 p.m.

“We had a chance to go 2-0 on this road trip. I’m disappointed that we didn’t, but I told the guys, ‘So, now what?’” Klieman said. “We have a lot to play for. I think we’re a really good team that’s getting better every week. I think everybody can see that. We’re excited to come back home to our great fans.”

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RYAN LACKEY

Director of Football Communications

K-State Athletics

By MADDY TANNAHILL Associated Press

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Devon Dotson and No. 3 Kansas got back on track.
Dotson had 22 points and six assists and Udoka Azubuike added 10 points and 10 rebounds in Kansas’ 74-62 victory over UNC Greensboro.
“I thought Devon played great,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “That was a different Devon than we saw on Tuesday night.”
The Jayhawks rebounded from a loss to No. 4 Duke on Monday night.
“We had a tough time dealing with him (Dotson) tonight, staying in front,” UNC Greensboro coach Wes Miller said.
After leading by four points at the half, the Jayhawks (1-1) shot 41.7% from beyond the arc in the second half to pull away. Kansas shot 45.8% from the field overall and outrebounded the Spartans 42 to 35.

UP NEXT
Kansas: Hosts Monmouth on Nov. 15.
UNC Greensboro: Hosts Averett on Monday in the opening game of the Spartan Invitational.