MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State was rewarded for a successful season on Sunday, as the Wildcats earned their 30^th overall bid to the NCAA Tournament, including the fourth in six seasons under head coach Bruce Weber.

K-State (22-11, 10-8 Big 12) was selected as a No. 9 seed in the South Regional and will travel to Charlotte, N.C., to play No. 8 seed Creighton (21-11, 10-8 BIG EAST) in the first round on Friday, March 16 at the Spectrum Center. The winner will advance to play the winner of the second game between the tournament’s overall No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday, March 18.

The Wildcats will be joined at the venue by No. 2 seed North Carolina, No. 7 seed Texas A&M, No. 10 seed Providence and No. 15 Lipscomb of the West Regional. The top seeds in the South Regional are No. 1 seed Virginia, No. 2 seed Cincinnati, No. 3 seed Tennessee, No. 4 seed Arizona and No. 5 seed Kentucky.

K-State and Creighton will tip off at 5:50 p.m., CT with the matchup between No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 16 seed UMBC to follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. The game will be broadcast nationally on TNT with Jim Nantz, Grant Hill, Bill Raftery and Tracy Wolfson.

Public requests for NCAA Tournament tickets are available until 11:59 pm, tonight. Please click here to request tickets exclusively within the K-State allotment. Tickets are priced at $66 (upper level) and $100 (lower level).

Kansas State is making its 37th postseason appearance, which includes 30 in the NCAA Tournament and seven in the Postseason NIT. The Wildcats advance to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in 12 seasons, including in consecutive seasons for the first time since making five straight appearances from 2010 to 2014. The program has now advanced to the postseason 10 times in the last 12 seasons (eight trips to NCAA Tournament and two to the NIT). The 30 overall bids ties for 20^thnationally (along with Georgetown and Illinois), including fourth among Big 12 schools (Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma).

In its last NCAA appearance, No. 11 seed K-State knocked off fellow No. 11 seed Wake Forest, 95-88, in the First Four at the UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio on March 14before losing to No. 6 seed Cincinnati, 75-61, on March 17 in the South Regional First Round at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif. Seven current players saw action in one or both of those NCAA Tournament games, including starts in both contests by current juniors Barry Brown, Jr., Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade. K-State has a 7-7 NCAA Tournament mark in its last seven appearances.

The program has posted a 34-33 all-time record in NCAA Tournament play, including 10-5 in the first round. The school will be making its second consecutive appearance in the South Regional and the third overall with the other trip coming in 1993 and is 1-2 all-time in the region. K-State will be making its third appearance as a No. 9 seed and the first since the 2014 NCAA Tournament, in which, the Wildcats lost to No. 8 seed Kentucky, 56-49, in the Midwest Regional in St. Louis. The other appearance as a No. 9 seed came in the 1987 NCAA Tournament when the school defeated No. 8 seed Georgia, 82-79, in overtime before losing to top-seed UNLV, 80-61, in Salt Lake City. Overall, the school is 1-2 as a No. 9 seed.

In K-State’s 29 previous NCAA Tournament appearances, the Wildcats have advanced to the Sweet 16 a total of 16 times.  The program has also reached the Elite Eight 11 times, made four Final Four appearances and played in one National Championship game (1951).

Head coach Bruce Weber becomes fifth different coach to lead K-State to at least four NCAA Tournament appearances and joins Jack Hartman (1978-82), Lon Kruger(1986-90) and Frank Martin (2007-12) as the only coaches to accomplish it four times in a six-year period. Overall, Weber advances to his 12th NCAA Tournament, which includes six at Illinois and two at Southern Illinois. He is 41^st head coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the tournament, including the 21^st active coach. He has a 12-11 record in the NCAA Tournament with three trips to the Sweet 16 and the 2005 Final Four.

The Wildcats earned their fourth 20-win season under Weber and finished in sole possession of fourth place in the nation’s top RPI conference, the Big 12, with a 10-8 mark. The 22 wins are the most since winning 27 in Weber’s first season in 2012-13, while the 10 in Big 12 play were the most since also winning 10 in 2013-14. The team is led by All-Big 12 First Team selection Dean Wade (16.5 ppg., 6.3 rpg.) and All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 All-Defensive Team member Barry Brown, Jr.(16.0 ppg., 3.1 rpg.).

Creighton enters Friday’s game with a 21-11 overall record, which includes a tie for third place with Providence and Seton Hall in the BIG EAST Conference standings with a 10-8 mark. The Bluejays are led by senior guard and former K-State player Marcus Foster, who earned First Team All-BIG EAST honors for the second consecutive season in 2017-18. He is averaging a team-best 20.3 points on 49 percent shooting, including 42.2 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31.6 minutes per game.

Two other Bluejays are averaging in double figures, including junior guard Khyri Thomas (15.3 ppg., 4.3 rpg.) and sophomore forward Martin Krampelj (11.9 ppg., 8.1 rpg.), while four others average between 6.0 and 8.3 points per game. Thomas was named Second Team All-BIG EAST, while freshman guard Mitch Ballock (7.0 rpg., 2.7 rpg.) was named to the league’s All-Freshman Team.

Foster played at K-State from 2013-15, averaging 14.1 points on 40.9 percent shooting, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range, with 2.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28.6 minutes per game in 62 career games with 57 starts. He was twice named to All-Big 12 teams, including the Second Team as a freshman in 2013-14.

Thomas was a prep teammate of current Wildcat junior guard Kamau Stokes at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia during the 2014-15 season, while Ballock played at Eudora High School in Eudora, Kansas.

Creighton is led by head coach Greg McDermott, who has a 187-92 (.670) record in eight seasons at the helm which includes five NCAA Tournament appearances. He previously spent time as head coach at Wayne State (1994-2000), North Dakota State (2000-01), Northern Iowa (2001-06) and Iowa State (2006-10). Overall, he is 454-284 (.615) in 24 seasons as head coach. He matched up four times during Weber’s time as head coach at Southern Illinois from 1998 to 2003, while he went 1-7 against the Wildcats as head coach of the Cyclones.

This will be the 16^th meeting between K-State and Creighton on the hardwood, but the first since 1987. The Bluejays own a narrow 8-7 edge in the series, including a 1-0 mark in neutral site games.

The winner of Friday’s first round matchup will face either No. 1 seed Virginia (31-2, 17-1 ACC) and No. 16 seed UMBC (24-10, 12-4 America East) on Sunday. The Cavaliers, winners of the ACC regular season and conference tournament, earned the No. 1 seed in the South Region. They are led by three scorers averaging double-figures, including a team-high 14.1 points per game from All-ACC first-team selection sophomore guard Kyle Guy. In addition to Guy, redshirt senior guard and All-ACC second-team selection Devon Hall averaged 12 points per game coupled with 4.3 rebounds per game and a 45.2 3-point percentage during the season.

As the ACC Coach of the year, Tony Bennett’s crew finished the season shooting 46.1 percent from the field and 39 percent from beyond the arc, while limiting the opponent to just 53.4 points per contest and 37.5 percent from the field. Virginia’s 17 ACC regular season wins, and nine conference road wins marked a new league record, as the Cavaliers are also just the fourth team in the Associated Press Top 25 era since 1990 to reach the No. 1 spot in the AP weekly poll after being unranked in preseason.

Bennett is an alum of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay (’92), who has a 288-117 overall record in his 11^th year as a head coach, including a 219-85 (105-51, ACC) record in his eighth season at the helm of the Cavaliers.

For the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), the Retrievers enter the NCAA Tournament after winning the American East Conference Tournament to earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2008. Coached by head coach Ryun Odom, who coached the team to their fourth 20-win season in program history, the Retrievers averaged 73.9 points per game while shooting 44.5 percent from the field in the season and were led by four scorers averaging double-figures. First-Team All-America East Graduate guard Jarius Lyles led UMBC by averaging 20.1 points per game on 43.6 percent from the field, while America East Defensive Player of the Year, K.J. Maura who average 2.0 steals per game.

Odom is an alum of Hampden-Sydney (’96) and is in his second year with UMBC, after posting a 21-13 record in his first season with the team, earning their first winning season since 2007-08 and the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, presented to the top first-year coach in Division I basketball. Prior to coaching at UMBC, Odom served as head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) during the 2015-16 season, prior to serving as an assistant and interim head coach at Charlotte from 2010-15. He is the son of longtime head coach Dave Odom.

K-State has never faced Virginia and/or UMBC on the hardwood in school history.

K-State was one of nine Big 12 teams to earn berths to the NCAA Tournament and NIT, including seven in the Big Dance, joining No. 1 seed Kansas (Midwest), No. 3 seed Texas Tech (East), No. 5 seed West Virginia (East), No. 6 seed TCU (Midwest) and No. 10 seed Oklahoma (Midwest) and Texas (South) in the field. In addition, Baylor is a No. 1 seed and Oklahoma State a No. 2 seed in the NIT. The Big 12 is the first league since at least 1996-97 to accomplish such a feat.

In addition, all three Division I programs in the state of Kansas (Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State) all advanced to the NCAA Tournament for fifth time in seven seasons.

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

The Stone Cold Foxes roller derby team from Junction City opened their season at Enid, Oklahoma Saturday against the Enid Roller Girls.

The Stone Cold Foxes fell to Enid in a close bout 141=138.

The Stone Cold Foxes will host the South Central Roller Girls at 7 p.m. March 24th at Spin City.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas absorbed the biggest blows that short-handed Kansas State could land, played without its star big man for the second straight game and won its Big 12 Tournament semifinal comfortably.

You’d think that would be enough to make coach Bill Self happy.

“I thought they played better than us,” he insisted after an 83-67 victory Friday night, “but I thought a lot of it was self-inflected. We couldn’t guard them and offensively we weren’t very smart.

“If I sleep two hours tonight,” Self added, “it’ll be more than I probably think I should.”

So much for feel-good feelings.

Malik Newman poured in 22 points, Devonte Graham added 15 points and Svi Mykhailiuk had 12 for the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-7), who nevertheless cruised into a title matchup with No. 18 West Virginia — which beat No. 14 Texas Tech in the other semifinal — on Saturday night at the Sprint Center.

It was the Jayhawks’ eighth straight win over Kansas State (23-10), and they remained perfect in 10 games against their cross-state rival in the Big 12 Tournament.

The fourth-seeded Wildcats learned Friday morning they’d be without All-Big 12 forward Dean Wade, who hurt his foot in their quarterfinal win over TCU. Then they lost starting guard Barry Brown early against the Jayhawks when he was accidentally poked in the eye.

“You can’t prepare for Barry going down the first play,” Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said. “He had very little vision. He wanted to play. He kept saying, ‘Put me in.’ But I held up fingers and asked him how many and he couldn’t say.”

Unheralded forward Mawien stepped up with a career-high 29 points, and Xavier Sneed scored 12 despite another poor shooting night, but the duo couldn’t make up for two major absences.

Brown’s injury came 90 seconds into the game, when he drove the lane and Graham accidentally got him in the left eye. He flopped to the floor in pain — “It was a little gross when I looked at it,” Weber said — and was checked for several minutes before going to the locker room.

Even when he returned to the bench, Brown was never looked like he was going to play. There was some bleeding in his eye and he spent the rest of the game holding an ice pack on it.

“It’s very tough when one of your main contributors goes down with an injury,” Mawien said. “We just had to step up and play hard.”

Kansas took advantage of the absences by ripping off a 19-4 run midway through the first half that gave the Jayhawks control. They eventually pushed the advantage to 43-30 by the break.

Mawien and the Wildcats made the Jayhawks work for it in the second half, though. The junior college transfer dominated in the paint, especially when Kansas big man Mitch Lightfoot picked up his fourth foul with 11:38 to go, and Kansas State clawed to within 53-51 with 10 minutes left.

“There was absolutely no resistant guarding Mawien,” Self said, “and I hope I’m pronouncing it correctly, because he was by far the best player in the game. He whipped us.”

It was Newman that restored order. The transfer from Mississippi State followed his career-best 30-point effort in a quarterfinal win over Oklahoma State with another virtuoso performance.

He drained a 3-pointer to make it 60-53 with 8½ minutes left, then hit his fifth of the game a few minutes later. And by the time Lagerald Vick curled in back-to-back baskets, the lead had swelled to 71-59 and the Jayhawks were on their way toward the title game.

“I mean, we know that basketball is a game of runs. Those guys did a good job of going on their run,” Newman said, “but we were able to withstand the storm. We had confidence in one another that we were going to make stops and make plays.”

 MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior forward Dean Wade will not play in tonight’s game against No. 9/9 Kansas in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship as a precautionary measure.

Wade sustained a foot injury during Thursday’s 66-64 quarterfinal win over TCU at the Big 12 Championship.

“We are obviously disappointed for Dean that he can’t go tonight,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “However, should we advance to Saturday’s championship game, we will re-evaluate his status and going forward into next week’s NCAA Tournament we have every indication he will be able to play.”

An All-Big 12 First Team performer, Wade has put together an impressive all-around effort as a junior in 2017-18, as he ranks first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.5 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (28), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.3 rpg.). He has led the Wildcats in scoring a team-best 13 times, in rebounding 17 times and in assists on eight occasions. Overall, he has averaged 16.5 points on 55 percent shooting (197-of-358), including 44 percent (40-of-91) from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent (95-of-127) from the free throw line to go with 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game.

The Wildcats (22-10) will play the Jayhawks (27-5) for a third time at 6 p.m., CT tonight in the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with the game airing on ESPN.

– www.k-statesports.com —

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

The Rural Vista Heat fell to Kensington – Thunder Ridge in the opening round of the Class 1A Division I Girls State Basketball tournament Thursday night in Hays.

Kensington – Thunder Ridge defeated Rural Vista ( Hope – White City ) 48-44.

Rural Vista finished the season with an 18-5 record.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State’s Barry Brown scored the go-ahead layup with 11.2 seconds left in overtime, and Alex Robinson missed a pair of foul shots at the other end for TCU, allowing the Wildcats to escape with a 66-64 victory in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday.

The Horned Frogs, who forced OT on Desmond Bane’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer, had the ball with the game tied at 64 and 34.5 seconds to go. But when Robinson’s pass was deflected out of bounds, a video review showed TCU’s Vladimir Brodziansky touched it last and Kansas State was given the ball.

Brown was fouled while converting a driving layup, but he missed the free throw.

At the other end, Robinson drove down the right side of the lane and was fouled by Makol Mawien with 1.3 seconds left. But the 60-percent foul shooter missed the first of two free throws, forcing him to miss the second, and the Wildcats corralled the rebound to seal the win.

Mawien finished with 16 points, and Xavier Sneed and Dean Wade scored 12 apiece for the fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-10), who advanced to play Kansas or Oklahoma State in Friday night’s semifinals.

Kenrich Williams led the Horned Frogs (21-11) with 20 points. Robinson contributed 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting, and he finished with seven turnovers — none more costly than the last.

The teams couldn’t have played a more even first half, swapping the lead seven times with seven ties and ending 30-all at the break. Both were 2 of 8 from beyond the arc, the Wildcats shot 48 percent from the field and the Horned Frogs shot 52, and neither team made a free throw.

Hardly a surprise, given the teams split in the regular-season with each winning at home.

TCU finally put together the first big run in the opening minutes of the second half. Robinson started it with a free throw and ended it with a jumper, and Williams added five points during the 11-0 spurt, which gave the Horned Frogs a 43-34 lead with 14½ minutes to go.

Kansas State clawed right back thanks to a series of Horned Frogs miscues. At one point, Robinson turned it over three times in a span of four possessions, then blew a wide open layup in transition.

Cartier Diarra scored at the other end for Kansas State, knotting the game 53-all.

Kansas State kept the momentum going, edging ahead 59-56 when the Horned Frogs’ J.D. Miller was called for basket interference with 52.3 seconds left. But after Williams missed at the other end for TCU, coach Jamie Dixon elected to play defense rather than foul the Wildcats.

Brown’s long 3-pointer missed with eight seconds left, and that gave Bane enough time — by a fraction of a second — to hit his only basket of the game and force overtime.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 8, 2018 >> 11:30 a.m. CT >> Sprint Center (18,972) >> Kansas City, Mo.

COACHES

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

Overall: 434-233/20^th season

At K-State: 121-78/6^th season

1. TCU: 9-4 (0-1 at neutral sites)

TCU: Jamie Dixon (TCU ’87)

Career Record: 373-148/15^th season

Record at TCU: 45-25/2^nd season

1. Kansas State: 3-2 (1-0 at neutral sites)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (21-10, 10-8 Big 12)

G: #2 Cartier Diarra

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #32 Dean Wade

F: #14 Makol Mawien

TCU (21-10, 9-9 Big 12)

G: #25 Alex Robinson

G: #1 Desmond Bane

F: #34 Kenrich Williams

F: #12 Kouat Noi

F: #10 Vlad Brodziansky

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 12-6

Big 12 era: K-State leads 9-4

At Big 12 Championship: TCU leads 1-0

In Kansas City: TCU leads 1-0

In Manhattan: K-State leads 7-2

In Fort Worth: K-State leads 5-2

Active Streak: TCU, 1

Weber vs. TCU: 9-4 (0-1 at neutral sites)

Dixon vs. K-State: 3-2 (1-0 at neutral sites)

Weber vs. Dixon: 2-3 (0-1 at neutral sites)

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (21-10, 10-8 Big 12) begins postseason play on Thursday morning, as the Wildcats play TCU (21-10, 9-9 Big 12) at 11:30 a.m., CT, in the first quarterfinal game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The game will air on either ESPN or ESPN2 with Bob Wischusen (play-by-play), Fran Fraschilla (analyst) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) on the call.
• K-State is 33-39 (.458) all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to its inception in 1977, including 13-21 in the Big 12 era. This will mark the ninth time that the Wildcats have been the No. 4 seed, including the fourth time in the Big 12 era, with a 6-8 mark in those previous appearances. The school is 5-5 all-time against the No. 5 seed, losing its last two meetings in 2009 (Texas) and 2011 (Colorado).
• K-State has faced TCU just once at the Big 12 Championship with the Horned Frogs taking a 67-65 victory in a first-round matchup of No. 8 and No. 9 seed on March 11, 2015. Interestingly, the Wildcats have lost all three meetings with the Frogs in the postseason (1968 NCAA Tournament, 1999 NIT and 2011 Big 12 Championship).
• The two teams split their two regular-season meetings in 2018 with each winning on their own home court, as K-State had four players score in double figures in a 73-68 victory on Jan. 20 at Bramlage Coliseum, while TCU used a late 9-0 surge to take a 66-59 victory on Feb. 27 at Schollmaier Arena. Overall, the Wildcats own a 12-6 edge in the all-time series, including 9-4 in the Big 12 era. After losing the first five meetings (2013-15) after joining the Big 12, the Horned Frogs have now split the last eight matchups in the series, including a season split in 2017 and 2018.
• K-State heads into the Big 12 Championship having already clinched a 20-win season for the 29th time in school history, including the 10th in the last 12 seasons and the fourth in six seasons under head coach Bruce Weber. The 10 Big 12 wins were the most in a single season since also winning 10 in 2013-14, while the fourth-place finish was the highest since tying for the Big 12 title in 2012-13. The squad won six Big 12 home games for the first time since posting seven in 2014-15 and clinched a winning home record in league play for the first time since 2014-15.
• K-State finished the regular season by winning four of its last six games, including three consecutive home games, highlighted by Saturday’s 77-67 victory over Baylor that clinched the No. 4 seed at the Big 12 Championship and its second consecutive bye to the quarterfinals. It marked the first season sweep of the Bears since 2013. The Wildcats, which connected on 52 percent from the field, were again led by juniors Dean Wade (25 points) and Barry Brown, Jr. (18 points), who became the seventh duo in school history to each eclipse 500 points in a single season.
• Wade and Brown were both named to the Coaches’ All-Big 12 team on Sunday, as Wade became just the fourth Wildcat to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Brown was selected to the Second Team and the All-Defensive Team.
• Balanced scoring has been a key to K-State’s success under Bruce Weber, as the Wildcats are 51-18 (.739) when four or more players score in double figures, including 10-2 (.833) this season. The team averages 77.9 points on 51 percent shooting with 16.8 assists in games (12 total) where four or more players score in double figures, while they are averaging just 59.1 points on 38.5 percent shooting with 12.0 assists in games (7 total) where only two or less players register double digits.

NOTES ON TCU

• TCU enters Thursday’s game with a 21-10 overall record and a 9-9 mark in Big 12 play after seeing its four-game winning streak come to an end in a 79-75 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday. Facing the Big 12’s top scoring defense, the Horned Frogs connected on just 40.6 percent from the field, including 21.7 percent from 3-point range, as four players scored in double figures led by sophomore Desmond Bane’s 21 points. Seniors Vlad Brodziansky (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Kenrich Williams (11 points, 10 rebounds) each posted double-doubles.
• TCU is one of the nation’s top offensive teams, ranking among the Top 20 in six categories, including second in assists (18.9), ninth in field goal percentage (50.0), 12th in assist/turnover ratio (1.5), 16th in scoring offense (83.6) and 18th in 3-point field goal percentage (40.0). Defensively, TCU allows 76.3 points per game on 45.9 percent shooting, including 38.3 percent from 3-point range, while averaging 36.5 rebounds, 6.6 steals and 3.6 blocks.
• TCU one of the most balanced teams in the country with five players averaging in double figures led by All-Big 12 selections Vlad Brodziansky (15.2 ppg., 5.0 rpg.) and Kenrich Williams (12.9 ppg., 9.3 rpg.). Brodziansky connected on 57.7 percent from the field and 82.2 percent from the free throw line to go with a team-best 1.6 blocks per game. Williams was third in the Big 12 with 12 double-doubles to go with 4.0 assists and a team-high 1.8 steals per game. Sophomore Desmond Bane and redshirt freshman Kouat Noi average 12.9 and 10.4 points per game, respectively, and rank first and second in 3-point makes this season with 57 and 56 treys, respectively. Junior Alex Robinson is one of most underrrated point guards in the country, averaging 9.6 points and 6.1 assists per game.
• TCU is led by head coach Jamie Dixon, who has a 45-25 (.643) record in his second season at his alma mater. Overall, he is 373-148 (.716) in his 15th season as a head coach, which includes a 13-year stint at Pittsburgh (2003-16) where he led the Panthers to 11 NCAA Tournaments.

SERIES HISTORY

• This will be 19th meeting between Kansas State and TCU on the hardwood, including the 14th in the Big 12 era, with the Wildcats holding a 12-6 advantage in a series that dates to 1947. Among the five meetings between the schools prior to the start of the Big 12 era was a 77-72 win by the Horned Frogs in the 1968 NCAA Tournament. K-State won the first five matchups in Big 12 play by average of 11.8 points per game, but TCU has closed the gap with four wins in the last eight meetings, including a 66-59 victory in the last meeting on Feb. 27 at home.
• The two teams have met just once in the Big 12 Championship with TCU earning a 67-65 in the first round on March 11, 2015 in a matchup of the No. 8 and 9 seeds. The Horned Frogs connected on 47.4 percent from the field, including 51.7 percent in the first half, and were led by 16-point efforts from Kyan Anderson and Chris Washburn. The Wildcats shot just 39.7 percent, including 16.7 percent from 3-point range, and were led by Thomas Gipson’s game-tying 16 points and Nino Williams’ double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.
• Head coach Bruce Weber is 9-4 all-time against TCU, including 0-1 at the Big 12 Championship.

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

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Juniors Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade continued to rack up accolades for their outstanding seasons on Tuesday, as the U.S. Basketball Writers Associated selected each to its All-District VI team, which encompasses the states of Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and North and South Dakota.

The duo become the 14th and 15th Wildcats to earn recognition from the USBWA, which has been selecting All-District Teams since the 1956-57 season. They are just the third tandem to be selected for All-District honors in the same season, following Michael Beasley and Bill Walker in 2008 and Denis Clemente and Jacob Pullen in 2010. Overall, they are the first K-State players on the All-District team since Rodney McGruder in 2013.

Brown and Wade were joined on the 10-member All-District VI team by Kansas’ Devonte’ Graham and Udoka Azubuike, South Dakota State’s Mike Daum, Creighton’s Marcus Foster, Nebraska’s James Palmer, Jr., Missouri’s Kassius Robertson, Iowa State’s Lindell Wigginton and Oklahoma’s Trae Young. In addition, Graham was named the District Player of the Year, while head coach Bill Self was the District Coach of the Year.

In addition to earning All-District honors, Brown and Wade also picked up more All-Big 12 honors on Tuesday, as they were both selected to The Associated Press’ All-Big 12 Second Team. They were joined on the Second Team by Kansas’ Udoka Azubuike and Svi Mykhailiuk and TCU’s Kenrich Williams. On Sunday, Wade became just the fourth Wildcat in the Big 12 era to be selected to the Coaches’ All-Big 12 First Team, while Brown was named to the Second Team as well as the Big 12 All-Defensive Team.

Wade has put together one of the most impressive all-around efforts in K-State history, as he ranks first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.7 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (27), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.4 rpg.). He has led the Wildcats in scoring a team-best 13 times, in rebounding 17 times and in assists on eight occasions. Overall, he has averaged 16.7 points on 55 percent shooting (192-of-349), including 42.7 percent (38-of-89) from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent (95-of-127) from the free throw line to go with 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game.

One of the best defenders in the Big 12, Brown had a career-best season as a junior in 2017-18, averaging 16.6 points on 46.6 percent shooting (179-of-384), including 33.3 percent (40-of-120) from 3-point range, to go with 3.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 35.1 minutes per game. The team leader in assists (110), steals (59) and minutes (1,087), he ranked second only to Wade in most statistical categories, including scoring, double-digit scoring games (24), 20-point games (11) and field goals made (179).

Kansas State (21-10, 10-8 Big 12) will be the No. 4 seed in this week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center in Kansas City and will No. 5 seed TCU (21-10, 8-10 Big 12) in the tournament’s quarterfinal round at 11:30 a.m. CT on Thursday on ESPN or ESPN2.

–www.kstatesports.com–

 

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

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior forward Dean Wade became just the fourth Wildcat to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while fellow junior Barry Brown, Jr., was selected to the Second Team and All-Defensive Team, as the league office announced its annual men’s basketball awards on Sunday.

The tandem become just the sixth in the Big 12 era to earn spots on the 15-member All-Big 12 First, Second or Third Teams and the first since Rodney McGruder (first team) and Angel Rodriguez (third team) in 2013. Wade joins Michael Beasley (2008), Jacob Pullen (2010, 2011) and McGruder (2013) as the only First Team selections in the Big 12 era with only Beasley and Pullen doing it as undergraduates. Brown is just the eighth Wildcat to earn recognition to the Second Team and the sixth to be named to the All-Defensive Team.

Big 12 champion Kansas dominated the individual awards, as senior guard Devonte’ Graham and sophomore guard Malik Newman were named the league’s Player and Newcomer of the Year, respectively, while head coach Bill Self was named the league’s co-Coach of the Year, along with Texas Tech’s Chris Beard.

West Virginia senior guard Jevon Carter repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, while Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Baylor’s Terry Maston were selected as the Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man Award winner, respectively.

The All-Big 12 awards are selected by league’s 10 head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

Wade has put together one of the most impressive all-around efforts in K-State history, as he ranks first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.7 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (27), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.4 rpg.). He has led the Wildcats in scoring a team-best 13 times, in rebounding 17 times and in assists on eight occasions. Overall, he has averaged 16.7 points on 55 percent shooting (192-of-349), including 42.7 percent (38-of-89) from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent (95-of-127) from the free throw line to go with 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game.

Wade is one of just three Big 12 players in the last three seasons to average at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a single season, joining Kansas’ Josh Jacksonand Iowa State’s Georges Niang (twice).

Wade was even better in Big 12 play, averaging 18.8 points on 55.0 percent shooting (127-of-231), including 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from 3-point range, to go with 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. He scored in double figures in 18 league games, including 20 or more points on 10 occasions. He is the only Big 12 player this season to finish among the conference’s Top 15 in 11 of 13 categories in league-only games.

One of the best defenders in the Big 12, Brown had a career-best season as a junior in 2017-18, averaging 16.6 points on 46.6 percent shooting (179-of-384), including 33.3 percent (40-of-120) from 3-point range, to go with 3.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 35.1 minutes per game. The team leader in assists (110), steals (59) and minutes (1,087), he ranked second only to Wade in most statistical categories, including scoring, double-digit scoring games (24), 20-point games (11) and field goals made (179).

Brown finished among the Big 12 leaders in six categories, including scoring (6^th), assists (10^th), free throw percentage (15^th), steals (2^nd), assist/turnover ratio (14^th) and minutes (5^th). He also ranked among the conference’s Top 15 in six categories in league-only games, including scoring (4^th), assists (8^th), field goal percentage (15^th), steals (2^nd), assist/turnover ratio (11^th) and minutes (6^th).

Brown became the fifth Wildcat to be named to one of the Big 12’s First, Second or Third Teams as well as the All-Defensive Team in the same season, joining Jacob Pullen(2010, 2011), Rodney McGruder (2012), Angel Rodriguez (2013) and Wesley Iwundu (2016). Overall, he is first All-Defensive Team member since Iwundu in 2016.

In Saturday’s 77-67 win over Baylor, Brown and Wade each hit milestones, becoming the 30^th and 31^st players in school history to eclipse 500 points in a single season. They became the seventh duo in school history to accomplish the feat in the same season and the first since Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente in 2009-10.

In finishing second and fourth, respectively, in scoring in Big 12 play at 18.8 and 18.6 points per game, Wade and Brown became the first K-State duo to finish among the Top 5 in scoring in Big 12-only game since Michael Beasley (28.4 ppg./first) and Bill Walker (16.6 ppg./third) in 2007-08. They are among seven players in school history in the Big 12 era and the first from the same team to average 18 or more points in league play, joining Michael Beasley (28.4 ppg./2007-08), Jacob Pullen (21.4 ppg./2010-11), Jeremiah Massey (18.8 ppg./2004-05), Denis Clemente (18.4 ppg./2008-09) and Manny Dies (18.1 ppg./1997-98).

Kansas State (21-10, 10-8 Big 12) will be the No. 4 seed in this week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center in Kansas City and will No. 5 seed TCU (21-10, 8-10 Big 12) in the tournament’s quarterfinal round at 11:30 a.m. CT on Thursday on ESPN or ESPN2.

Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards

Player of the Year: Devonte Graham, Kansas

Defensive Player of the Year: Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Newcomer of the Year: Malik Newman, Kansas

Freshman of the Year: Trae Young, Oklahoma

Sixth Man Award: Terry Maston, Baylor

Coach of the Year: Bill Self, Kansas; Chris Beard, Texas Tech

All-Big 12 First Team

**Devonte Graham, Kansas

Dean Wade, K-State

**Trae Young, Oklahoma

**Keenan Evans, Texas Tech

**Jevon Carter, West Virginia

 

All-Big 12 Second Team

Manu Lecomte, Baylor

Svi Mykhailiuk, Kansas

Barry Brown, Jr, K-State

Kenrich Williams, TCU

Mo Bamba, Texas

All-Big 12 Third Team

Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr., Baylor

Udoka Azubuike, Kansas

Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State

Vlad Brodziansky, TCU

Sagaba Konate, West Virginia

All-Big 12 Honorable Mention

Cameron Lard (Iowa State), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), Lagerald Vick (Kansas), Matt Coleman (Texas), Dylan Osetkowski (Texas), Kerwin Roach II (Texas), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech).

Big 12 All-Defensive Team

Barry Brown, Jr, K-State

**Mo Bamba, Texas

Sagaba Konate, West Virginia

**Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech

Big 12 All-Newcomer Team

Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State

Malik Newman, Kansas

**Trae Young, Oklahoma

Mo Bamba, Texas

Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech

**unanimous selection

–www.kstatesports.com–

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

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Junior forward Dean Wade became just the fourth Wildcat to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while fellow junior Barry Brown, Jr., was selected to the Second Team and All-Defensive Team, as the league office announced its annual men’s basketball awards on Sunday.

The tandem become just the sixth in the Big 12 era to earn spots on the 15-member All-Big 12 First, Second or Third Teams and the first since Rodney McGruder (first team) and Angel Rodriguez (third team) in 2013. Wade joins Michael Beasley (2008), Jacob Pullen (2010, 2011) and McGruder (2013) as the only First Team selections in the Big 12 era with only Beasley and Pullen doing it as undergraduates. Brown is just the eighth Wildcat to earn recognition to the Second Team and the sixth to be named to the All-Defensive Team.

Big 12 champion Kansas dominated the individual awards, as senior guard Devonte’ Graham and sophomore guard Malik Newman were named the league’s Player and Newcomer of the Year, respectively, while head coach Bill Self was named the league’s co-Coach of the Year, along with Texas Tech’s Chris Beard.

West Virginia senior guard Jevon Carter repeated as Defensive Player of the Year, while Oklahoma’s Trae Young and Baylor’s Terry Maston were selected as the Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man Award winner, respectively.

The All-Big 12 awards are selected by league’s 10 head coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own players.

Wade has put together one of the most impressive all-around efforts in K-State history, as he ranks first or second in 12 statistical categories, including scoring (16.7 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (27), 20-point games (11), double-doubles (four) and rebounding (6.4 rpg.). He has led the Wildcats in scoring a team-best 13 times, in rebounding 17 times and in assists on eight occasions. Overall, he has averaged 16.7 points on 55 percent shooting (192-of-349), including 42.7 percent (38-of-89) from 3-point range, and 74.8 percent (95-of-127) from the free throw line to go with 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.9 blocks in 33.4 minutes per game.

Wade is one of just three Big 12 players in the last three seasons to average at least 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a single season, joining Kansas’ Josh Jacksonand Iowa State’s Georges Niang (twice).

Wade was even better in Big 12 play, averaging 18.8 points on 55.0 percent shooting (127-of-231), including 45.3 percent (29-of-64) from 3-point range, to go with 6.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 blocks per game. He scored in double figures in 18 league games, including 20 or more points on 10 occasions. He is the only Big 12 player this season to finish among the conference’s Top 15 in 11 of 13 categories in league-only games.

One of the best defenders in the Big 12, Brown had a career-best season as a junior in 2017-18, averaging 16.6 points on 46.6 percent shooting (179-of-384), including 33.3 percent (40-of-120) from 3-point range, to go with 3.5 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 steals in 35.1 minutes per game. The team leader in assists (110), steals (59) and minutes (1,087), he ranked second only to Wade in most statistical categories, including scoring, double-digit scoring games (24), 20-point games (11) and field goals made (179).

Brown finished among the Big 12 leaders in six categories, including scoring (6^th), assists (10^th), free throw percentage (15^th), steals (2^nd), assist/turnover ratio (14^th) and minutes (5^th). He also ranked among the conference’s Top 15 in six categories in league-only games, including scoring (4^th), assists (8^th), field goal percentage (15^th), steals (2^nd), assist/turnover ratio (11^th) and minutes (6^th).

Brown became the fifth Wildcat to be named to one of the Big 12’s First, Second or Third Teams as well as the All-Defensive Team in the same season, joining Jacob Pullen(2010, 2011), Rodney McGruder (2012), Angel Rodriguez (2013) and Wesley Iwundu (2016). Overall, he is first All-Defensive Team member since Iwundu in 2016.

In Saturday’s 77-67 win over Baylor, Brown and Wade each hit milestones, becoming the 30^th and 31^st players in school history to eclipse 500 points in a single season. They became the seventh duo in school history to accomplish the feat in the same season and the first since Jacob Pullen and Denis Clemente in 2009-10.

In finishing second and fourth, respectively, in scoring in Big 12 play at 18.8 and 18.6 points per game, Wade and Brown became the first K-State duo to finish among the Top 5 in scoring in Big 12-only game since Michael Beasley (28.4 ppg./first) and Bill Walker (16.6 ppg./third) in 2007-08. They are among seven players in school history in the Big 12 era and the first from the same team to average 18 or more points in league play, joining Michael Beasley (28.4 ppg./2007-08), Jacob Pullen (21.4 ppg./2010-11), Jeremiah Massey (18.8 ppg./2004-05), Denis Clemente (18.4 ppg./2008-09) and Manny Dies (18.1 ppg./1997-98).

Kansas State (21-10, 10-8 Big 12) will be the No. 4 seed in this week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at the Sprint Center in Kansas City and will No. 5 seed TCU (21-10, 8-10 Big 12) in the tournament’s quarterfinal round at 11:30 a.m. CT on Thursday on ESPN or ESPN2.

Phillips 66 All-Big 12 Men’s Basketball Awards

Player of the Year: Devonte Graham, Kansas

Defensive Player of the Year: Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Newcomer of the Year: Malik Newman, Kansas

Freshman of the Year: Trae Young, Oklahoma

Sixth Man Award: Terry Maston, Baylor

Coach of the Year: Bill Self, Kansas; Chris Beard, Texas Tech

All-Big 12 First Team

**Devonte Graham, Kansas

Dean Wade, K-State

**Trae Young, Oklahoma

**Keenan Evans, Texas Tech

**Jevon Carter, West Virginia

 

All-Big 12 Second Team

Manu Lecomte, Baylor

Svi Mykhailiuk, Kansas

Barry Brown, Jr, K-State

Kenrich Williams, TCU

Mo Bamba, Texas

All-Big 12 Third Team

Jo Lual-Acuil, Jr., Baylor

Udoka Azubuike, Kansas

Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State

Vlad Brodziansky, TCU

Sagaba Konate, West Virginia

All-Big 12 Honorable Mention

Cameron Lard (Iowa State), Donovan Jackson (Iowa State), Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State), Lagerald Vick (Kansas), Matt Coleman (Texas), Dylan Osetkowski (Texas), Kerwin Roach II (Texas), Zhaire Smith (Texas Tech).

Big 12 All-Defensive Team

Barry Brown, Jr, K-State

**Mo Bamba, Texas

Sagaba Konate, West Virginia

**Jevon Carter, West Virginia

Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech

Big 12 All-Newcomer Team

Lindell Wigginton, Iowa State

Malik Newman, Kansas

**Trae Young, Oklahoma

Mo Bamba, Texas

Zhaire Smith, Texas Tech

**unanimous selection

–www.kstatesports.com–

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

The Chapman High School boys basketball team fell to Smoky Valley 66-53 in the championship game of their Class 4A Division II Substate Tournament Saturday night in Lindsborg.

The season ends for Chapman, while Smoky Valley will advance to the Class 4A Division II State Tournament at White Auditorium in Emporia on Thursday.