West Virginia at Kansas State

Date: Saturday, December 5, 2015

Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.

Location: Manhattan, Kan.

Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,00)

Series: K-State leads, 4-1

TV: FS1

Joe Davis (Play-by-Play)

Brady Quinn (Analyst)

Kris Budden (Sidelines)

Radio: K-State Sports Network; k-statesports.com

SIRIUS Satellite Radio Ch. 83, XM Satellite Radio Ch. 199

Wyatt Thompson (Play-by-Play)

Stan Weber (Analyst)

Matt Walters (Sidelines)

Twitter Updates: @kstatesports and @kstate_gameday

 

K-STATE EYES BOWL ELIGIBILITY ON SENIOR DAY
Fresh off its second win in as many weeks, K-State returns home on Saturday for Senior Day with bowl eligibility on the line as the Wildcats host West Virginia in the 2015 regular season finale. The sold-out game will kick at 3:30 p.m., and be broadcast nationally on FS1 with Joe Davis (play-by-play), Brady Quinn (analyst) and Kris Budden (sideline) on the call. The contest can also be heard across the K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play), Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sideline) calling the action.
A LOOK AT K-STATE

• The Cats, guided by 2015 College Football Hall of Fame inductee Bill Snyder, are 5-6 this year, which includes close losses to No. 19 OSU, No. 2 TCU and No. 2 Baylor.
• The Cats are coming off a 45-14 win at KU and 38-35 win over Iowa State the week before that saw them erase a 35-14 second-half deficit to tie for the largest comeback in school history (21 points).
• K-State outscored the Cyclones, 24-0, in the second half and also held their offense to 144 yards and forced four fumbles over the final 30 minutes, the most since forcing four against Baylor in 2007.
• K-State took the Horned Frogs down to the wire behind four rushing touchdowns by Joe Hubener and two more from running back Charles Jones. The Cats tied the game at 45 with 1:47 left, but TCU scored a late TD for the win.
• That came a week after K-State took a 34-33 lead over OSU in Stillwater with 3:01 left, but the Cowboys kicked a field goal with less than a minute left for a two-point win.
• Hubener ran for a career-best 153 yards against the second-ranked Bears as the Cats had the ball with less than a minute to play in the game with a chance to tie the game.
• Jones has been fantastic of late, rushing for 525 yards in the last seven games. The junior had a career-best 122-yard effort at Texas, the most by a K-State running back since the final regular-season game of 2013.
• Defensively, the Cats are paced by linebackers Elijah Lee and Will Davis with 70 and 50 tackles, respectively.
• Defensive tackles Travis Britz and Will Geary have also been a force, combining for 77 tackles (7.0 per game), 16.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.

SENIOR DAY

• A total of 18 seniors will play their final home game as Wildcats on Saturday: Aaron Bennett, Reed Bergstrom, Travis Britz, Marquel Bryant, Morgan Burns, Jack Cantele, Dalton Converse, Kody Cook, Andre Davis, Luke Hayes, Nate Jackson, Kyle Klein, Matt Kleinsorge, Jordan Kupersmith, Boston Stiverson, Stanton Weber, Cody Whitehair and Dillon Wilson.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES

• K-State leads the all-time series, 4-1, and is 3-0 against WVU since the Mountaineers joined the Big 12.
• K-State has won the only prior meeting in Manhattan, a 35-12 victory in 2013.
• K-STATE IN DECEMBER
• K-State has won two of three December regular-season games since 2011, with both victories coming at home (Iowa State in 2011, Texas in 2012).
  • This weekend’s game ties for the latest home game in school history as the 1896 team played to a 6-6 tie against Fort Riley onDecember 5 that year.

  RECORD ATTENDANCE
  • Attendance at K-State games have been at an all-time high over the last three years as K-State has recorded 26 consecutive sellouts, a number that is expected to reach 27 after Saturday.
  • For a second-straight year, K-State finished the 2014 season second nationally by filling up its stadium at a 106.16-percent clip, a number that was just 0.18-percent behind Oregon (106.34).
  • K-State is averaging 53,130 fans this season and averaged 53,081 fans in 2014, a number that increased from the 2013 season (52,887).
  • Each of the last seven home openers since Bill Snyder’s return – dubbed the “K-State Family Reunion” – have been sellouts with an average of 51,655 fans in attendance.
  • Twenty of the largest 25 crowds in stadium history have come in the last two-plus years.
  • K-State is currently second nationally in percentage of capacity filled at 106.26 percent, just .46-percent behind Oregon.

  HUBENER DEVELOPES IN RUNNING GAME
  • Although junior Joe Hubener has shown the ability to throw the deep ball as he ranks 12th nationally in yards per completion, his running game has taken over during the second half of the season.
  • The Cheney, Kansas, native ranks second on the team with 598 yards and 13 touchdowns. His total yardage includes a pair of 100-yard games, rushing for 111 yards and four touchdowns against TCU and 153 yards and two scores against Baylor, while he had 90 (ISU) and 88 (KU) yards the last two weeks.
  • Hubener’s 13 touchdowns this year are tied for third nationally among quarterbacks, and his total is just two shy of entering the school’s top-10 list.
  • He has multiple touchdown runs in four games this season, including three of the last four contests.
  • His 153 yards against Baylor rank fifth in school history by a quarterback and were the most by a Wildcat quarterback since Daniel Sams had 199 yards against Baylor in 2013. His four scores against TCU tied for the third most in a game in school history.

  JONES COMING ON STRONG
  • Junior running back Charles Jones is having his best days as a Wildcat as of late as he has accounted for 85.8-percent (525-of-612 yards) of his season rushing total over the last seven games (63.5-percent of season).
  • The Shreveport, Louisiana, native recorded a career-best 122 yards on 18 attempts at Texas, which was the most rushing yards by a K-State running back since John Hubert at Kansas in the 2013 regular-season finale (220).
  • He narrowly missed another 100-yard game at Texas Tech, finishing with 99 yards.
  • Of his six career games with 75-plus rushing yards, four have come this year, including three of the last four games.
  • During the game at Texas Tech, Jones became the 27th player in school history to hit the 1,000-yard mark in a career. He now has 1,152 career rushing yards to rank 22nd in school history.

  TOP FRESHMEN
  • Running back Justin Silmon and wide receiver Dominique Heath are just two of the many freshmen contributing this season.
  • Silmon has 348 rushing yards this year, which ranks second in school history among freshmen. He has bettered the marks of Darren Sproles (210 yards in 2001) and Daniel Sams (235 yards in 2012), among others.
  • Heath ranks second on the team in catches (27), while he is third in yards (298) and tied for first in TDs (3).
  • He ranks third in school history in catches, yards and touchdowns by a freshman.

  RYAN LACKEY
  Assistant Director | Athletics Communications

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – Memphis has named offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey as its interim head coach while it begins seeking a permanent replacement for Justin Fuente, who left Sunday to take over Virginia Tech’s program.

Fuente was officially named Virginia Tech’s coach Sunday after going 26-23 in four seasons at Memphis, including a 19-6 mark the last two years. Memphis is 9-3 this year and is bowl eligible for a second straight season.

Memphis athletic director Tom Bowen said Sunday that “we are in the process of putting together a list of candidates with our leadership and will begin moving forward in the search for our next head coach.”

Dickey was 42-64 as North Texas’ head coach from 1998-2006. He was a quarterback for the Kansas State Wildcats from 1979 through 1982, on teams coached by his father, former Kansas State head coach Jim Dickey.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) – Justin Edwards scored 18 points, including four key free throws in the final 17 seconds, and Kansas State avoided an upset bid by South Carolina State, 68-66, on Sunday.

The Bulldogs pulled within 64-61 with 21 seconds remaining on an Ed Stephens 3-pointer, but Edwards sealed the game at the line.

South Carolina State kept it close for most of the game, recovering after Wesley Iwundu rattled off three-straight buckets and dished out an assist to Kamau Stokes for a 3-pointer to extend Kansas State’s halftime lead to 50-39 with 15:07 left.

Dean Wade finished with 12 points and Iwundu 11. Stephen Hurt had 10 points, 10 rebounds and two assists for Kansas State (5-1).

Stephens scored 24 points and Eric Eaves 21 for South Carolina State (3-4). Together, they accounted for 68 percent of the Bulldogs’ scoring.

Kansas Prep Scores,
Saturday’s Scores
By The Associated Press
PREP FOOTBALL
Class 2-1A State Tournament
Championship
Phillipsburg 30, Troy 29
Class 3A State Tournament
Championship
Rossville 20, Wichita Collegiate 19
Class 4A Div-I State Tournament
Championship
Bishop Miege 68, Andover Central 12
Class 4A Div-II State Tournament
Championship
Holcomb 21, Holton 0
Class 5A State Tournament
Championship
Mill Valley 35, Wichita Bishop Carroll 14
Class 6A State Tournament
Championship
Derby 27, Blue Valley Stillwell 14

OK, maybe there are too many bowls.

Losses by Kentucky, Minnesota, Illinois and others on Saturday meant there will not be enough six-win teams with .500 records to fill a record 40 bowls.

At least two teams with a 5-7 record will be in the postseason, and maybe as many as five.

Indiana and Virginia Tech did get their sixth victories of the season Saturday, upping the total number of bowl-eligible teams to 75.

South Alabama, Kansas State and Georgia State could still get to six next week. But that’s it.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kansas State scored a pair of touchdowns after botched Kansas punts in the first quarter, and the Wildcats rolled from there to a 45-14 victory over their biggest rival on Saturday.

Joe Hubener threw for 133 yards while running for two touchdowns, Winston Dimel also ran for two scores, and Kansas State (5-6, 2-7 Big 12) moved within a victory over West Virginia in its home finale next weekend of becoming bowl eligible for the sixth straight season.

The Wildcats’ Morgan Burns scored a touchdown on special teams for the third straight game, though this one was a blocked punt recovery. His previous two were 100-yard kickoff returns.

Ryan Willis threw for 215 yards with two touchdowns and a pick for Kansas (0-12, 0-9), which concluded its first season under David Beaty by going winless for the first time since 1954.

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) – Wayne Selden Jr. scored 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting as No. 5 Kansas won the Maui Jim Maui Invitational with a 70-63 victory over No. 19 Vanderbilt. Kansas trailed by 10 points midway through the first half. The Jayhawks were able to cut the lead to 30-26 at halftime. They shot 62.5 percent in the second half.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – The NCAA will allow freshman Cheick Diallo to begin playing for No. 5 Kansas beginning next week, ending a months-long investigation into the five-star prospect’s background.

In a statement Wednesday, the NCAA said Diallo received a limited amount of impermissible benefits. The result is a five-game suspension that includes four games already missed and the Maui Invitational title game Wednesday night against No. 19 Vanderbilt.

Diallo will be allowed to play Tuesday night against Loyola.

The 6-foot-9 Diallo has been allowed to practice with Kansas, but he had been barred from participating in games while the NCAA examined his coursework from a New York prep school and his relationship with his guardian, Tidiane Drame.

The NCAA said Kansas provided new information last week that helped it render a decision.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – No. 9/8 North Carolina used a late 14-1 run to rally past Kansas State, 80-70, and win the CBE Hall of Fame Classic Championship on Tuesday night before 13,189 at Sprint Center.

 

Leading 67-59 with 4:22 to play, the Wildcats (4-1) saw the Tar Heels (5-1) score nine of the next 10 points to tie the game at 68-all with 2:22 play then take the lead for good with seven in a row. The preseason No. 1 team in the country secured the championship from the line, knocking down 5-of-6 free throws in the last 41 seconds.

 

The Wildcats’ first loss of the season dampened a stellar night by freshman guard Kamau Stokes, who scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. He became the fifth different player to lead K-State in scoring this season.

 

Stokes and senior Justin Edwards, who also scored in double figures with 10 points, were named to the CBE Hall of Fame Classic All-Tournament, along with North Carolina’s Justin Jackson and Brice Johnson and Northwestern’s Tre Demps. Jackson was selected as tournament most valuable player.

 

The Basics

• Final Score: 9/8 North Carolina 80, Kansas State 70
• Records: Kansas State 4-1, 0-0 Big 12 // North Carolina 5-1, 0-0 ACC
• Attendance: 13,189
• Next Game: Sunday, Nov. 29 \\ vs. South Carolina State \\ 2 p.m. CT \\ FOX Sports Kansas City

 

The Short Story

• North Carolina outscored Kansas State, 21-3, in the final 4:22 of the contest to take the CBE Hall of Fame Classic Championship before 13,189 at Sprint Center on Tuesday night.
• The team’s first loss spoiled an impressive night for Stokes, who collected his first career 20-point game with a game-high 24 points on 8-of-15 field goals, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range.
• Stokes became the fifth different Wildcat to lead the team in scoring this season.
• Edwards, who also scored in double figures, had a solid all-around night as he posted 10 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in new K-State career-high 34 minutes.
• The Tar Heels connected on 46.8 percent (29-of-62) from the field, including 54.8 percent (17-of-31) in the second half, and went an impressive 80 percent (16-of-20) from the free throw line.
• The Wildcats shot just 40.3 percent (25-of-62) and 63.2 percent (12-of-19) from the free throw line.
• K-State dropped its fifth row to North Carolina in the teams’ first meeting since 1989.

 

How It Happened | First Half

• North Carolina jumped out to the early lead, scoring the first four points, and taking an 8-2 edge.
• K-State used a 15-3 run to first take its first lead on a pair of free throws by Ervin at the 11:39 mark then extend the advantage to 17-11 on Edwards’ layup with 9:29 before halftime.
• The Tar Heels responded with a 9-0 spurt to retake the lead at 20-17 at the 7:35 mark.
• With the Carolina lead at 24-19 with 6:11 before halftime, K-State got an 11-4 run to regain the lead at 30-28 on a pair of free throws by Edwards with a minute remaining.
• Both teams traded points before halftime, as the Wildcats entered the locker room with a 32-30 edge.
• K-State connected on 36.7 percent (11-of-30) in the first half, including 28.6 percent (2-of-7) from 3-point range, to go with 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the free throw line. North Carolina made one field goal and connected on 38.7 percent (12-of-31), including 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from long range.
• The Wildcats scored 12 points off turnovers in the opening half on 7 Tar Heel turnovers.
• Stokes tied for the game-high with 9 points on 3-of-7 shooting, including a pair of treys, while Edwards added 8 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in the opening half.

 

How It Happened | Second Half

• The two teams went back and forth in the early going of the second half, battling through several ties before K-State used an 11-2 run to take a 53-48 lead with 9:53 to play.
• UNC battled back to retake the lead at 54-53 on a 3-point play by Kennedy Meeks at the 8:06 mark.
• However, a 3-pointer by Stokes ignited a 14-5 run by the Wildcats that gave them a 67-59 lead with 4:22 to play. During the stretch, freshman Dean Wade and senior Stephen Hurt each had 3-pointers.
• The Tar Heels once again fought back to it at 68-all with 9-1 run with 2:22 to play then took the lead for good on a dunk by Meeks just 19 seconds later.
• UNC shot 54.8 percent (17-of-31) in the second half and was 85.7 percent (12-of-14) from the line.
• Stokes scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting with four 3-pointers.

 

Beyond the Boxscore

• North Carolina now leads the all-time series with K-State, 5-1, including a 5-0 mark at neutral sites.
• K-State falls to 41-120 all-time vs. Top 10 teams, including 4-7 under head coach Bruce Weber.
• K-State has a 12-11 record all-time at Sprint Center and move to 6-2 in CBE Classic play.
• The Wildcats lost the tournament title for the second time, following a loss to Duke in 2010.
• K-State fell to 0-4 in the Sprint Center when playing for a tournament championship, which includes the 2010 and 2013 Big 12 Championships and the 2010 CBE Classic title.
• K-State lost the rebounding battle (43-30) for the first time this season.
• The Wildcats have now had a different leading scorer in each of their five games.

 

Quotable

• “Obviously it’s a little disappointing,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “We told them we came here to win.  To learn about our team. We have a better team than we did a year ago. They enjoy each other, they’re coachable, they play hard. We competed with one of the best teams in the country down to the end. We had an eight point lead until the last TV timeout. The last 2-3 minutes they turned it up a notch and we got a little hesitant and made some mistakes. They hit some big shots. You have to give them a lot of credit. At the same time we broke down on some little things on the defensive end.”

 

Up Next

• K-State returns home on Sunday with a matchup against South Carolina State (2-3) at 2 p.m. CT on Star Wars Day at Bramlage Coliseum. Tickets are available starting at $10, while fans can take advantage of the new Bramlage Bundle for just $20, which includes a general admission/bench ticket, $10 concessions voucher and a souvenir from the K-State Super Store. The contest will be televised on FOX Sports Kansas City (state of Kansas, Kansas City area), K-StateHD.TV and ESPN3 (outside of state of Kansas).

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

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

LAHAINA, Hawaii (AP) – Perry Ellis scored 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting and No. 5 Kansas had another easy win on the way to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational championship game.

The Jayhawks (3-1) beat UCLA 92-73 on Tuesday night in the semifinals and will play No. 19 Vanderbilt, which defeated Wake Forest 86-64, for the title on Wednesday night.

It will be the second championship for either school. Vanderbilt won here in 1986, and Kansas won in 1996.

Frank Mason III had 16 points, Wayne Selden Jr. scored 15 and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk had 13 for Kansas in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score. The Jayhawks were up 59-33 at halftime and by at least 20 points for all but the closing seconds of the second half.