^BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=

Baldwin 46, Prairie View 45

Chase County 49, Lyndon 35

Fairfield 32, Chase 27

Greeley County 36, Weskan 34

Hanover 67, Frankfort 33

Hayden 51 Highland Park 47

Heritage Christian 61, Northland Christian, Mo. 55

Jefferson West 54, Council Grove 34

KC Harmon 72, Atchison 64

Kingman 72, Garden Plain 63, 2OT

Lansing 56, BV Southwest 54

Larned 50, Nickerson 39

Little River 76, Attica 73

Maize 63, Newton 50

McPherson 87, Dodge City 76

Metro Academy 62, Blue Ridge Christian, Mo. 23

Norton 57, Cambridge, Neb. 33

Olathe South 53, SM North 50

Olpe 63, Cornerstone Family 51

Perry-Lecompton 69, Rossville 43

Salina Sacred Heart 67, Southeast Saline 49

South Central 57, Minneola 28

St. John 63, Otis-Bison 26

St. Thomas More, Conn. 72, Wichita Sunrise 62

Topeka 61, Emporia 53

Topeka Hayden 51, Highland Park 47

Washburn Rural 47, Manhattan 40

Wellsville 86, Anderson County 67

 

Girls Results

Washburn Rural 49 Manhattan 37

Topeka High 61 Emporia 41

Highland Park 60 Hayden 51

Jefferson West 53 Council Grove 37

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Legendary men’s basketball player Willie Murrell, the only Wildcat to be named to an All-Final Four team, recently passed away at the age of 78 in Denver, Colorado.

 

One of just 11 players to earn first team All-America honors, Murrell was a two-year letterman for head coach Fred “Tex” Winter from 1962-64 after transferring from Eastern Oklahoma A&M. He guided the Wildcats to a 38-16 overall record, including a pair of Big Eight Conference titles and a Final Four appearance in 1964.

 

His No. 44 jersey was honored with retirement and raised to the rafters of Bramlage Coliseum in 2009.

 

“The staff and I share in mourning the passing of such a legendary player in Willie Murrell,” said current head coach Bruce Weber. “Obviously, he left a tremendous mark during his playing career at K-State, earning All-America honors and becoming the only player to earn recognition to an All-Final Four team. We send our thoughts and prayers to his family during this difficult time.”

 

Murrell is one of just six players in school history to average a double-double for his career and one of just two (along with Bob Boozer) to average 20 points and 10 rebounds, averaging 20.6 points and 10.7 rebounds in 54 career games. His career averages in both scoring and rebounding still rank among the top-5 in school history, including third in rebounding (10.7 rpg.) and fifth in scoring (20.7 ppg.).

 

Murrell was twice named an All-American during his record-setting senior season in 1964, including earning first team honors from the Helms Foundation and second team accolades from Converse Yearbook. He averaged 22.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game as a senior in guiding the Wildcats to a 22-7 overall record, the Big Eight regular-season and Holiday championships and the 1964 Final Four.

 

Murrell earned 25.3 points during the run to the Final Four, including a 29-point, 13-rebound effort in the semifinals against UCLA en route to earning recognition to the All-Midwest Regional Tournament team and the All-Final Four squad. He is the only player to ever record a double-double in a Final Four game and the only one selected to an All-Final Four team. His 29 points against the Bruins are the most by a Wildcat in a Final Four game.

 

In addition to his All-America honors, Murrell was twice named first team All-Big Eight (1963, 1964). He still rankes among the top 10 in 20 single-game, season and/or career statistical categories in school history. He is one of just five players to average 20 points in a career, while he is one of 14 players to score 1,000 points and collect 500 rebounds in a career. He ranks 19^th on the all-time scoring list with 1,112 points, including second among transfers.

 

Following his K-State career, Murrelll was selected in the fourth round of the 1964 NBA Draft by the St. Louis Bombers. He played three professional seasons, including stints with the ABA’s Denver Nuggets (1967-68) and the Miami Floridians (1968-70).

 

Fans can pay tribute to Murrell by posting on his tribute wall, which can be found on the Caldwell-Kirk Mortuary’s website at www.caldwellkirk.com.

 

—www.kstatesports.com—

 

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Fewer Kansas high school athletes are going on to compete at the state’s junior colleges since out-of-state roster restrictions were eliminated.

The number of Kansas football players in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has declined by 80 percent, from 318 in 2016 to 64 this season, The Wichita Eagle reports . Kansas participation in the last two years has declined by 53 percent in men’s basketball and 28 percent in women’s basketball. The conference is made up of 21 members schools from across the state.

“I hate to say that I saw this coming,” Wichita Northwest coach Steve Martin said. “That’s why I fought this so hard because I wanted to protect our kids.”

In theory, the rule changes — abolishing the out-of-state limits, upping the roster limit from 63 to 85, being able to offer a full-ride scholarship instead of a books-and-tuition scholarship — could have benefited Kansas athletes. The roster sizes of Jayhawk Conference teams have increased by 21 percent in the two years since the rule changes. And the football teams in the conference are deeper and more talented than ever before.

It was assumed that Kansas community colleges would stop taking the lower-level players that they had to take in years past just to fill a roster. But Valley Center athletic director Caleb Smith said that not “even the best players, the all-state, MVP-type of kids can get the time of day from them.”

Wichita Northwest has a combined 22-3 record and has played in the Class 6A semifinals and Class 5A championship game the last two seasons.

Martin said only one Kansas community college has come to Northwest and that was to recruit one player. He counts at least half a dozen seniors on his roster this year alone who have the talent to play at the next level and could benefit from playing at a community college. But with that option no longer available, some players face a stark reality if their family can’t afford to support them at an MIAA or NAIA school.

“What is happening all across the city is kids are just done playing football,” Martin said. “There’s not a lot of hope for them.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Chris Klieman announced the first part of his inaugural signing class as the Wildcats unveiled the names of 15 student-athletes who utilized the early signing period and will join the program over the next several months.

This year’s early signees include 12 players from the high school ranks, one community-college player and a pair of transfer student-athletes from other FBS institutions.

Thus far, K-State’s signing class of 2019 includes nine players on offense, five defenders and one specialist. Of the early signees, three are defensive backs, there are two apiece of offensive linemen, running backs and quarterbacks, and there is one defensive tackle, fullback, linebacker, tight end, wide receiver and punter/kicker.

The transfer student-athletes are running back James Gilbert from Ball State and safety Marcus Hayes from New Mexico. Gilbert is a graduate transfer, who is immediately eligible to play his senior season in 2019. Gilbert, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, leaves Ball State ranked seventh in school history in career rushing yards (2,806) and tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns (30).

Hayes must sit out the 2019 season after playing as a true freshman for New Mexico this past season. He totaled 51 tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. The Rockford, Illinois, product also returned punts for the Lobos, leading the nation prior to the bowl season with a 21.2-yard average, while he returned a punt 86 yards for a touchdown against Boise State.

The next opportunity for prospects to sign are during the normal signing period, which begins on Wednesday, February 6.

 

– k-statesports.com –

 

RYAN LACKEY
Director of Football and Golf Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kamau Stokes scored 18 points, all but two of them in the second half, and Kansas State used a big run out of the locker room to edge Southern Miss 55-51 on Wednesday night.

Barry Brown added 15 points for the Wildcats (8-2), who trailed 31-19 at the break before their 20-2 charge midway through the second half allowed them to seize control.

Southern Miss (7-4) closed within 53-51 when Dominic Magee grabbed an offensive rebound, got fouled and made both foul shots with 10.4 seconds to go. The Golden Eagles quickly fouled Brown, and calmly knocked down two more free throws to restore the Wildcats’ four-point cushion.

Tyree Griffin’s off-balance 3 missed badly and time ran out on Southern Miss.

Cortez Griffin finished with 18 points to lead the Golden Eagles, who had not played a Big 12 foe since losing to Kansas State in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Griffin added 11 points on 5-of-19 shooting.

The Wildcats narrowly avoided losing their first game without Dean Wade, their preseason Big 12 player of the year. The rangy forward is expected to miss up to eight weeks after hurting a tendon in his right foot in last Saturday’s win over Georgia State.

For a while it was as if Wade’s absence galvanized the Wildcats the same way it did during last year’s NCAA Tournament when a different foot injury sidelined him for their Elite Eight run.

Then came the next 15 minutes of the half.

After scoring the game’s first seven points, the Wildcats missed nine straight 3s and were 8 of 26 from the field. They had just as many turnovers as made field goals, created only six turnovers and were pounded on the glass despite having a rare size advantage across the board.

Their 19 first-half points were the fewest they’d scored in a half this season.

Kansas State fared no better out of the locker room, coming up empty six straight possessions with four turnovers, before Stokes finally jumpstarted its big rally.

The senior guard scored 10 straight points, including two 3s that snapped an 0-for-11 start for the team, and the rest of the Wildcats eventually got into the act. By the time Brown’s bucket closed a 24-2 run that covered nearly six minutes, the Wildcats had assumed a 43-37 advantage.

Stokes added another 3-pointer a few minutes later, extending the Wildcats’ lead to 49-44, and Xavier Sneed and Cartier Diarra eventually put the game away from the foul line.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State forward Dean Wade has a partial tear of a tendon in his right foot and could miss up to eight weeks, putting his availability for the rest of the season in question.

Wade hurt the foot in last Saturday’s win over Georgia State.

The preseason Big 12 player of the year fractured his left foot in March, sidelining him for the Wildcats’ run to the Elite Eight, though coach Bruce Weber said Tuesday the injuries are unrelated.

Wade was averaging 13.6 points and 7.8 rebounds this season.

Weber also said guard Kamau Stokes missed practice Monday after hurting his own foot Saturday night, but the coach is hopeful he’ll play Wednesday night against Southern Miss.

Kansas State (7-2) also plays Vanderbilt and George Mason before beginning Big 12 play.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dedric Lawson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, Charlie Moore made six 3-pointers en route to 18 points, and top-ranked Kansas pulled away in the second half for an 89-53 victory over plucky but overmatched South Dakota. Freshman forward David McCormack added a career-best 12 points off the bench for the Jayhawks, helping to soak up minutes while Udoka Azubuike is sidelined with a sprained ankle.

^BOYS PREP BASKETBALL=Abilene 71, Chapman 52

Andale 54, Augusta 49

Anderson County 84, Fredonia 40

Andover Central 70, Arkansas City 44

Attica 81, South Haven 51

Axtell 57, Onaga 18

BV Randolph 71, Clifton-Clyde 50

Baxter Springs 71, Galena 43

Belle Plaine 91, Medicine Lodge 52

Beloit 66, Phillipsburg 61

Burlingame 74, Marais des Cygnes Valley 31

Caldwell 60, Norwich 37

Caney Valley 75, Sedan 51

Central Plains 86, Ellinwood 14

Centre 57, Canton-Galva 53

Chanute 60, Coffeyville 22

Chaparral 52, Conway Springs 50

Cheney 62, Wichita Independent 21

Cherryvale 62, Uniontown 33

Clay Center 46, Concordia 36

Colby 57, Hoxie 42

Council Grove 58, Osage City 54

Dodge City 62, Guymon, Okla. 39

Ell-Saline 63, Bennington 56

Ellsworth 50, Russell 47

Elyria Christian 55, Herington 18

Emporia 72, Highland Park 49

Frankfort 39, Doniphan West 13

Frontenac 39, Riverton 37

Goddard-Eisenhower 56, Andover 50

Goessel 40, Wakefield 18

Great Bend 53, Buhler 46

Halstead 48, Mulvane 34

Hanover 76, Linn 41

Hays 67, Pratt 41

Hesston 59, Clearwater 33

Hill City 64, Quinter 43

Hillsboro 60, Southeast Saline 36

Hodgeman County 55, Fowler 30

Hoisington 56, Smoky Valley 37

Holcomb 58, Cimarron 43

Horton 53, Atchison County 41

Humboldt 59, Marmaton Valley 41

Hutchinson Central Christian 70, Chase 22

Idalia, Colo. 61, Cheylin 59

Inman 45, Berean Academy 41

Jackson Heights 54, Pleasant Ridge 52

KC Washington 67, KC Sumner 54

Lawrence Free State 58, Gardner-Edgerton 40

Lebo 35, Hartford 27

Little River 66, Peabody-Burns 14

Logan 50, Oberlin-Decatur 46

Louisburg 80, KC Turner 48

Macksville 64, Cunningham 12

Maize 61, Hutchinson 36

Maize South 89, Salina South 66

Maur Hill – Mount Academy 72, Valley Falls 43

McLouth 52, Oskaloosa 46

Minneapolis 67, Republic County 53

Minneola 69, Ingalls 58

Mission Valley 67, Lyndon 39

Moundridge 66, Marion 58

Nemaha Central 51, Riverside 34

Ness City 71, Dighton 24

Ness City 71, Dighton 24

Northeast-Arma 70, Altoona-Midway 39

Northern Heights 52, Chase County 48

Northern Valley 67, Wilcox-Hildreth, Neb. 44

Olpe 52, Southern Coffey 48

Osborne 61, Thunder Ridge 31

Otis-Bison 57, Stafford 46

Parsons 60, Independence 44

Pawnee Heights 70, Bucklin 34

Perry-Lecompton 55, Holton 38

Pike Valley 49, Tescott 26

Pittsburg 64, Fort Scott 61

Pittsburg Colgan 64, Iola 48

Pratt Skyline 55, Lyons 50

Remington 52, West Elk 43

Riley County 53, Rock Creek 37

Royal Valley 50, Jefferson West 46

Rural Vista 58, Solomon 36

SM South 73, Metro Academy 49

Sabetha 53, Hiawatha 47

Salina Central 71, Derby 37

Satanta 41, Deerfield 11

Scott City 65, Goodland 24

Shawnee Heights 30, Bonner Springs 27

Silver Lake 76, Rossville 33

South Gray 80, South Central 70

St. John 59, Kinsley 23

St. John’s Beloit-Tipton 48, Glasco/Miltonvale-Southern Cloud 40

St. Mary’s 58, Wamego 41

Sterling 50, La Crosse 49, OT

Stockton 82, Golden Plains 42

Tonganoxie 64, Baldwin 53

Trego 57, Wheatland-Grinnell 28

Valley Center 54, Goddard 36

Valley Heights 46, Washington County 42

Wallace County 66, Weskan 35

Waverly 55, Madison/Hamilton 54

Wichita Bishop Carroll 52, Wichita West 43

Wichita Campus 67, Newton 53

Wichita East 62, Kapaun Mount Carmel 45

Wichita Heights 61, Wichita South 47

Wichita Southeast 65, Wichita Northwest 51

Wichita Trinity 64, Douglass 21

Wilson 61, Natoma 48

Winfield 54, Wellington 50

Yates Center 52, Chetopa 17

 

GAME 10

KANSAS STATE (7-2) vs. SOUTHERN MISS (7-3)

Wednesday, December 19, 2018 >> 7:07 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) >> Manhattan, Kan.

 

COACHES

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

Overall: 445-237/21^st season

At K-State: 132-82/7^th season

vs Southern Miss: 0-0

 

Southern Miss: Doc Sadler (Arkansas ’82)

Overall: 192-191/13^th season

At USM: 43-84/5^th season

1. Kansas State: 3-7

 

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (7-2)

G: #2 Cartier Diarra

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #14 Makol Mawien

 

Southern Miss (7-3)

G: #0 Dominic Magee

G: #1 Cortez Edwards

G: #20 Kevin Holland

G: #55 Tyree Griffin

F: #32 Leonard Harper-Baker

 

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 4-3

In Manhattan: Southern Miss leads 2-0

Last Meeting: W, 70-64 (3/5/2012)

Weber vs. Sadler: 1-1

 

OPENING TIP

• Kansas State (7-2) continues its homestand on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats host Conference USA foe Southern Miss (7-3) at 7 p.m., CT. The contest is the second of four straight games at home venues to end non-conference play, which includes Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt (7-2) at the Sprint Center in Kansas City and a Dec. 29 matchup with George Mason (5-6) at Bramlage Coliseum.
• Led by former Nebraska coach Doc Sadler, Southern Miss enters Wednesday’s game with a 7-3 record, which includes road wins at SMU (74-64) and Troy (81-66) and a home victory over South Alabama (71-67). The Golden Eagles saw their 3-game winning streak end in Saturday’s 63-60 loss at Wichita State. Sadler has slowly rebuilt a Southern Miss program that was rocked by NCAA scandal, going from 3 wins in his first season in 2014-15 to 16 last season. The team is led by the duo of seniors Cortez Edwards (14.2 ppg.) and Oklahoma State transfer Tyree Griffin (13.6 ppg.).
• K-State holds a narrow 4-3 lead in the all-time series with Southern Miss, including a current 3-game winning streak (1993, 2008, 2012). However, the Golden Eagles have won both meetings in Manhattan, including 71-69 at Ahearn Field House on Dec. 17, 1987 and 74-60 at Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 27, 1993. This will be the first meeting between the schools since the 2012 NCAA East Regional in Pittsburgh.
• K-State has won 27 consecutive games against non-conference opponents at Bramlage Coliseum since the 2015-16 season. Overall, the school has a 102-6 (.944) record at home venues (includes home games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the Sprint Center in Kansas City), including a 94-5 mark at Bramlage Coliseum. The Wildcats have won 89 of their last 93 non-conference home games, which includes the current 27-game winning streak.
• K-State snapped a 2-game losing streak on Saturday, as the Wildcats used a 21-6 run in the last nine minutes to post a 71-59 victory over Sun Belt favorite Georgia State at Bramlage Coliseum. Down 53-50 with just under 10 minutes to play, the team erupted for 12 consecutive points, including 8 from senior Barry Brown, Jr., to start the 21-6 run that turned a 3-point deficit into a 14-point lead (71-57) with 1:22 remaining. Brown led four Wildcats in double figures with his 17th career 20-point game with a game-high 21 points, while senior Kamau Stokes (15), junior Xavier Sneed (14) and senior Dean Wade (12) also registered double digits.
• The K-State offense got back on track against Georgia State, as the Wildcats tied a season-high with 12 made 3-point field goals, connecting on 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the field, including 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from 3-point range. Five players had at least 3 assists, as the team recorded an assist on 23 of its 25 made field goals. The performance came on the heels of averaging just 58.5 points on 36 percent shooting in the back-to-back loss at Marquette and Tulsa.
• Saturday’s win was tempered by injuries to Stokes and Wade, who both left the game in the second half due to injuries. Wade is expected to be out for an undetermined period of time, while Stokes is considered day-to-day.

 

NOTES ON SOUTHERN MISS

• Southern Miss (7-3) enters Wednesday’s game with wins in 3 of its last 4 contests, including home victories over South Alabama (71-67), Rust (106-46) and Millsaps (81-47), before Saturday’s road loss at Wichita State (63-60). The Golden Eagles have road wins over SMU (74-64) and Troy (81-66).
• Southern Miss was picked seventh (out of the 14-team league) in the Conference USA Coaches preseason poll with Western Kentucky tabbed as the favorite with nine first-place votes.
• The Golden Eagles return seven lettermen, including three starters (Cortez Edwards, Tyree Griffin and Dominic Magee) from a squad that posted a 16-18 record and finished tied for ninth in C-USA with a 7-11 mark.
• USM is averaging 77.2 points on 46.9 percent shooting, including 36.3 percent from 3-point range, to go with 39.3 rebounds, 18.2 assists, 8.5 steals and 4.3 blocks per game, while allowing 62.4 points on 38.6 percent shooting, including 31.7 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 60.9 percent from the free throw line.
• Edwards paces three players averaging in double figures at 14.2 points per game on 45.5 percent shooting to go with 6.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game, while Griffin, a Oklahoma State transfer, is averaging 13.6 points on 43.1 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent from 3-point range, to go with a team-best 6.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. Magee also averages double figures at 10.3 points per game on 50.7 percent shooting, including 45.9 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.7 rebounds. Two others (LaDavius Draine and Leonard Harper-Baker) are averaging better than 8 points per game for the Golden Eagles, while Harper-Baker grabs 7.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per outing.
• USM is led by veteran head coach Doc Sadler, who has posted a 43-84 record in his fifth season at the helm of the Golden Eagles. He has rebuilt a program rocked by NCAA scandal under former coach Donnie Tindall to move from 3 wins in his first season in 2014-15 to 8 in year two to 9 in year three to 16 last season. Overall, Sadler is 192-191 in his 13th season as head coach, which includes stints at UTEP (2004-06) and Nebraska (2006-12).

 

SERIES HISTORY

• K-State and Southern Miss will meet for the eighth time in their histories on Wednesday with the Wildcats holding a narrow 4-3 edge. The series dates back nearly 30 years to a meeting at Ahearn Field House on Dec. 17, 1987, in which, the Golden Eagles posted a 71-69 victory.
• K-State has won the last 3 meetings between the schools (1993, 2008 and 2012). The Wildcats earned a 74-55 win over the Golden Eagles at the Sprint Center in Kansas City on Dec. 11, 2008 before earning a 70-64 victory in the 2012 NCAA East Regional at CONSOL Energy Arena in Pittsburgh.
• Southern Miss is 2-0 all-time in meetings in Manhattan, posting a 71-69 in the first matchup on Dec. 17, 1987 at Ahearn Field House and a 74-60 win on Nov. 27, 1993 at Bramlage Coliseum. The 1993 victory is one of just four losses in a home season opener in the arena’s 30-year history.
• K-State is 25-8 all-time against schools from Conference USA, including a 16-2 mark at home. The other matchups have come against Charlotte (0-1), Louisiana Tech (1-0), Marshall (3-1), North Texas (6-1), Old Dominion (1-1), Southern Miss (4-3), UTEP (3-1), UTSA (4-0) and Western Kentucky (3-0).
• The last meeting with a Conference USA opponent came on Nov. 21, 2013 at the Puerto Rico Tipoff, in which, Charlotte earned a 68-61 victory.

 

 

K-STATE WINS PARADISE JAM; FIRST TITLE SINCE 2011

• Included in K-State’s 6-0 start to season was a 3-game sweep to win the 19^th annual U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., Nov. 16-19, as the Wildcats knocked off Eastern Kentucky (95-68), Penn (64-48) and Missouri (82-67).
• The tournament championship marked the 14^th in school history and the first since winning the 2011 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawai’i. It was also the sixth career tournament title for head coach Bruce Weber and his first with the Wildcats.
• Senior Dean Wade was named the tournament’s most valuable player after averaging 17.3 points on 61.8 percent (21-of-34) shooting with 6.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists in three games, including a team-high 21 points in the title game against the Tigers, while fellow senior Barry Brown, Jr., was one of five players selected as Paradise Jam Tournament All-Stars.

 

MORE ABOUT K-STATE

• The Wildcats return 10 lettermen, including six players (Barry Brown, Jr., Cartier Diarra, Makol Mawien, Xavier Sneed, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade) that combined to start all 37 games a season ago, for a team that posted a 25-12 overall record (10-8 in Big 12 play) and advanced to the Elite Eight for the 12th time in school history and the first time since 2010.
• It marked just the sixth 25-win campaign in school history, including the second under head coach Bruce Weber, while the school advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in six seasons and 30th time overall.
• K-State returns 185 combined starts from 2017-18, which is the most of any Division I team in the country, and ahead of other schools which return all of its starts, including George Mason (165), Iowa (165), Lipscomb (165) and North Florida (165).
• K-State returns 93.2 percent (2,452 of 2,630 points) of its offense from 2017-18, which ranks 11th among Division I teams (trailing George Mason, Harvard, Wofford, Washington, Brown, Iowa, Wisconsin, UC Irvine, Syracuse and St. Francis). The Wildcats also returns more than 90 percent of their field goals made (869/92.7%), 3-point field goals made (232/91.3%), free throws made (482/96%), assists (476/93.3%) and steals (266/90.5%) as well as 80 or better percent of their minutes (6,558/85%), rebounds (905/80%) and blocks (98/89%).
• K-State returns seven of its top-8 scorers from last season, including three with double-digit averages [Wade (16.2 ppg.), Brown (15.9 ppg.) and Sneed (11.1 ppg.). Other returners include Kamau Stokes (9.0 ppg.), Cartier Diarra (7.1 ppg.), Makol Mawien (6.8 ppg.) and Mike McGuirl (3.3 ppg.). The Wildcats return their individual leader in scoring (Wade), rebounding (Wade), assists (Brown), steals (Brown) and blocks (Mawien).

 

‘CATS EARN PRESEASON RANKINGS

• K-State opened the 2018-19 season in the Top 15 in both major polls, as the Wildcats earned a No. 11 ranking in the preseason USA Today Coaches poll to go with a No. 12 ranking in the preseason Associated Press poll.
• It marks the first time that K-State has started with preseason rankings in both polls since the 2010-11 campaign when the school opened at No. 3 in the AP and USA Today Coaches polls.
• K-State appeared in the Preseason AP poll for the 17th time in school history, while it was the highest preseason ranking since starting the 2010-11 campaign at No. 3. It was also the 12th time debuting in the AP Top 15 (1951-52, 1952-53, 1953-54, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59, 1961-62, 1964-65, 1965-66, 1975-76 and 2010-11).
• The Wildcats have received several preseason rankings, including No. 11 by NBCSports.com, Yahoo! Sports, Street & Smith’s, Lindy’s and Athlon, No. 12 by ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Stadium, No. 13 by The Athletic, Blue Ribbon Yearbook and No. 14 by SI.com.
• K-State was one of four Big 12 teams to place in both Top 25 polls, as Kansas was the unanimous No. 1 team. West Virginia was No. 13 in both polls, while TCU was ranked No. 20 (Coaches) and No. 21 (AP), respectively.

 

‘CATS PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 PLAY; WADE NAMED PRESEASON POY

• K-State was picked to finish second by the league coaches in the annual Big 12 Preseason poll released on Oct. 19, as the Wildcats received 72 points and two first-place votes. Kansas was selected first, while West Virginia, TCU and Texas rounded out the Top 5.
• The second-place selection was the second-highest by a K-State team in the history of the poll, following the 2010-11 team which was picked to finish first with 119 points. In fact, the Wildcats have been picked to finish fifth or better on just six other occasions in the poll, including fourth in 2007-08, 2009-10 and 2014-15 and fifth in 2006-07, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
• Senior Dean Wade became just the second Wildcat to ever be selected the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year by the league coaches, while Wade and Barry Brown, Jr., were both named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. The duo was joined on the team by Kansas’ Dedric Lawson, Iowa State’s Lindell Wigginton and West Virginia’s Sagaba Konate.
• Wade’s selection marked the second time that a K-State player has been named the preseason Player of the Year and the first since Jacob Pullen in 2010-11. It also was just the second time that two Wildcats appeared on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, following Pullen and Curtis Kelly in 2010-11. Wade and Brown are just the sixth and seventh players in school history to earn recognition to the Preseason All-Big 12 (since 1996-97), following Manny Dies in 1998-99, Kelly and Pullen in 2010-11, Rodney McGruder in 2012-13 and Marcus Foster in 2014-15.

 

NEXT UP: VANDERBILT (7-2)

• K-State will make the short drive to Kansas City, as the Wildcats will host SEC foe Vanderbilt (7-2) at 6 p.m., CT on Saturday at the Sprint Center. The game will air nationally on ESPN2.

TOM GILBERT
Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

 

 

 

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Kansas didn’t get the chance to hold onto its preseason No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 very long, even as an unbeaten team. The Jayhawks are sticking around this time.

The Jayhawks sat atop Monday’s latest men’s college basketball poll for a second straight week. That didn’t happen earlier this season, when Duke jumped Kansas to take No. 1 in the first regular-season poll after a dominating romp against Kentucky despite the fact the Jayhawks had beaten a top-10 Michigan State team.

The Jayhawks (9-0) spent four weeks at No. 2, including one in which Gonzaga hurdled them for No. 1 after beating the Blue Devils in the Maui Invitational championship game. But Kansas reclaimed the top spot last week after Gonzaga’s loss to Tennessee and stayed there after beating reigning national champion Villanova 74-71 at home.

It marked Kansas’ fifth victory by six or fewer points this year, including an overtime win against now-No. 3 Tennessee on Nov. 23.

“I don’t think we’ve played great, by any stretch,” Kansas coach Bill Self said after the Villanova win. “But we played a lot better today than we’ve been practicing. I’m optimistic, very, leaving out of here knowing there is (another) gear we can get to that hasn’t been apparent on a daily basis.”

AT THE TOP

Kansas, Duke and Tennessee were 1-2-3 for the second straight week, with the Jayhawks earning 56 of 65 first-place votes to stay firmly in place. The Blue Devils got five first-place votes to stay at No. 2, while the Volunteers had two.

Michigan and Virginia each claimed one first-place vote, helping them climb into the top five.

Among that quintet, Tennessee is at its highest spot since reaching No. 1 in February 2008 while Michigan has its highest ranking since February 2013.

THE TOP 10

The rest of the top 10 featured Nevada at No. 6, followed by Auburn, Gonzaga, North Carolina and Michigan State.

For Auburn, the Tigers have their highest ranking since the 1999-2000 season, when they spent 13 weeks in the top 10 and peaked at No. 2.

RISERS AND SLIDERS

Gonzaga and North Carolina met over the weekend in a marquee matchup between teams that played for the national championship less than two years ago. A 103-90 win by the homestanding Tar Heels led to some of the week’s biggest poll movement.

The Zags had the biggest fall, sliding from fourth to eighth. The Tar Heels climbed three spots to ninth and were joined by No. 21 Houston and No. 22 Indiana as the week’s biggest risers.

SMALL MOVEMENTS

Outside of Gonzaga and UNC, there wasn’t a huge amount of significant poll movement. Eight teams stayed in the same spots, including No. 13 Virginia Tech, No. 14 Buffalo, No. 15 Ohio State, No. 16 Wisconsin and No. 19 Kentucky.

Among the climbers, No. 18 Arizona State moved up two spots while six others rose only one slot, including No. 17 Mississippi State and No. 20 Marquette.

Five of the week’s ranked sliders fell only one spot, including No. 11 Florida State, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 23 Iowa and No. 24 Furman.

NEWCOMER

No. 25 Nebraska was the only addition to this week’s poll, though the Cornhuskers were ranked No. 24 earlier this month.

SLIDING OUT

For the second time this season, the reigning champs are out.

Villanova was ranked 17th last week before losing to Penn — snapping a city-record 25-game winning streak against its Philadelphia “Big 5” rivals — and then at Kansas to fall out of the poll again. The Wildcats were ranked eighth in November before losses to Michigan and Furman knocked them out of the poll, though that turned out to be merely a one-week absence.

Kansas State and Syracuse were the other teams to fall out of the poll. They were both tied with Indiana at No. 25 last week — the first three-way tie in the AP Top 25 since three teams shared the No. 13 ranking in 1991.

The Wildcats beat Georgia State in their only game last week and were among the leading vote-getters just outside the rankings. The Orange lost at home to Old Dominion.