Dec 15, 2020

Game Preview: K-State opens Big 12 Play at Iowa State Tonight

Posted Dec 15, 2020 12:14 PM

OPENING TIP

  1. Kansas State (2-4) hits the road for the first time in 2020-21 on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats open Big 12 play with a trip to Ames, Iowa to take on Iowa State (1-2, 0-0 Big 12) at 8 p.m., CT at Hilton Coliseum. This will be the earliest conference game in school history and just the third Big 12 game in December (Texas at home on Dec. 30, 2016 and Iowa State on the road on Dec. 29, 2017). The game will air nationally on ESPNU with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and King McClure (analyst) on the call.
  2. K-State is 53-54 (.495) all-time in conference openers dating back to the start of Missouri Valley Conference play in 1914, including a 17-34 (.333) mark on the road. The Wildcats are 10-14 (.417) in Big 12 openers, including 3-11 (.214) away from home. The team has split their last 8 openers in Big 12 play (all under coach Bruce Weber), including a 1-2 record in that span when opening on the road. The one win in that stretch is notably in that it came at Iowa State in a 91-75 win on Dec. 29, 2017.
  3. The Wildcats have met the Cyclones more times than any opponent in a league opener, holding a 10-6 mark in those matchups, including the aforementioned win at Hilton Coliseum in 2017. The teams have split the previous 8 conference openers in Ames, including wins by K-State in 1956, 1959, 1969 and 2017. This will be the third such meeting in the Big 12 era with the Cyclones winning 72-70 at home on Jan. 7, 2006 in the first matchup prior to 2017. 
  4. Led by a quartet of newcomers, K-State snapped a 2-game skid in the 76-75 win over Milwaukee on Friday night, as the Wildcats connected on a season-high 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the field, including 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from inside the 3-point line. The team posted or tied season-bests in 6 categories, including points, field goals made (29), 3-point field goals made (10), assists (20) and turnovers (10) to cap off a 6-game homestand to start the season. Five Wildcats, including a trio of freshmen starters (Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack) and junior transfer Rudi Williams, scored in double figures for the first time since the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship against Iowa State on March 15, 2019.
  5. The 4 newcomers (Bradford, Miguel, Pack and Williams) combined for 63 of K-State's 76 points vs. Milwaukee on 57.1 percent shooting (24-of-42), including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range. Bradford, Miguel and Pack became the first freshmen trio to register double-digits in the same game since a Jan. 12, 2016 home game against Texas Tech when Kamau Stokes (17), Barry Brown, Jr. (15) and Dean Wade (10) all posted double figures. The 47 combined points were the most by 3 freshmen scorers since Brown (20), Stokes (15) and Wade (13) combined for 48 in a double-OT loss to West Virginia on Jan. 2, 2016.
  6. Typically, the strong point on nearly every Bruce Weber-coached team, the defense has so far struggled in the early going, as the Wildcats are allowing 73.0 points on 48.6 percent shooting, including 56.6 percent inside the 3-point arc. This has been particularly evident in the second half, where opponents are averaging 41.7 points on 51.8 percent shooting, including 60.4 percent from inside the arc.
  7. One of the youngest teams in the country, K-State got even younger on Friday night against Milwaukee, as the Wildcats started 3 true freshmen (Bradford, Miguel and Pack) for the first time in nearly 13 seasons following Ron Anderson, Michael Beasley and Jacob Pullen against Notre Dame in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec, 4, 2007. The Wildcats played just 2 upperclassmen (Mike McGuirl and Williams) in the game.


NOTES ON IOWA STATE

  1. Iowa State (1-2, 0-0 Big 12) has only been able to play 3 games so far, as the Cyclones have had several opponents postpone or cancel games due to COVID-19 related issues. The Cyclones opened the year with an 80-63 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 29 before following with back-to-back losses to South Dakota State (68-71) and Iowa (77-105) to open December.
  2. Iowa State is coming off a 105-77 loss to a Top 5 Iowa team on Friday, as the Hawkeyes connected on 54.4 percent from the field, including 50 percent or better from the field in both halves. Three Cyclones scored in double figures led by transfer Javan Johnson's 20 points, while junior Rasir Bolton and senior transfer Jalen Coleman-Lands added 18 and 17 points, respectively.
  3. Iowa State is averaging 75.0 points on 46.8 percent shooting, including 33.3 percent from 3-point range, to go with 30.7 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 8.0 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while allowing 79.7 points on 48.1 percent shooting, including 33.8 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 75.0 percent from the free throw line.
  4. The Cyclones are a balanced scoring team with 5 players averaging 9 or more points per game, including 4 in double figures. A transfer from DePaul, Jalen Coleman-Lands is averaging a team-best 15.3 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting, including a team-best 10 3-pointers on 41.7 percent shooting, to go with 4.3 rebounds in 31.5 minutes per game. Rasir Bolton is averaging 14.7 points on 55.9 percent shooting with 6.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game in 35.1 minutes per game. Bolton is one of 3 players in the top 7 conferences to by averaging 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists this season. A sitout transfer, Javan Johnson is averaging 13.7 points on 43.2 percent shooting with 4.0 rebounds in 29.7 minutes per game. The old man of the group - reshirt senior Solomon Young - is averaging 10.7 points on 56 percent shooting with 3.7 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game.
  5. Iowa State is led by fifth-year head coach Steve Prohm, who has posted a 96-75 (.572) record, which includes 3 trips to the NCAA Tournament and 2 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championships. He is 200-104 (.666) in his 10th season as a head coach, which includes a stint at Murray State (2011-15).


SERIES HISTORY

  1. K-State and Iowa State will meet for the 232nd time in their histories with the Wildcats holding a 141-90 advantage in a series that dates back to 1909, including a narrow 51-50 mark in games played in Ames. Iowa State has won 6 of the last 10 meetings, including a 73-63 win in the last meeting at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 8, 2020. 
  2. Iowa State owns a 28-21 all-time mark in the series at Hilton Coliseum, including wins in 6 of the last 8 meetings in the arena. K-State won back-to-back matchups (2017 and 2019) to halt a 6-game losing streak.
  3. K-State snapped a 3-game losing streak in the last overall meeting with Iowa State, as senior Xavier Sneed scored a career-high 31 points in a 79-63 win on Senior Day at Bramlage Coliseum on March 7, 2020. The Wildcats return only 3 players from that game last March, including senior Mike McGuirl who scored 10 points on 5-of-7 field goals, along with sophomores DaJuan Gordon (5 points) and Antonio Gordon (3 points).
  4. Head coach Bruce Weber is 7-11 all-time against Iowa State, including a 2-6 mark on the road, while he is 4-7 against head coach Steve Prohm. Prohm is 7-4 against K-State, including a 3-2 mark at Hilton Coliseum.


LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 76, MILWAUKEE 75

  1. Led by a quartet of newcomers, Kansas State saw five players score in double figures while connecting on a season-high 54.7 percent from the field, as the Wildcats snapped a 2-game skid with a 76-75 win over Milwaukee on Friday night before a limited crowd of 577 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
  2. K-State posted or tied season-highs in 5 categories, including points, field goal percentage (29), 3-point field goals made (10) and assists (20) to cap off a 6-game homestand to start the season. Five Wildcats, including a trio of freshmen (Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack) and junior transfer Rudi Williams, scored in double figures for the first time since March 15, 2019 against Iowa State.
  3. The 4 newcomers combined for 63 of K-State's 76 points on 57.1 percent shooting (24-of-42), including 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from 3-point range. The freshmen trio became the first to register double figures in the same game since a Jan. 12, 2016 home game against Texas Tech.
  4. Bradford led the team in both scoring (18) and rebounding (7) for the first time in his career, while Miguel posted his second straight double-digit scoring game with 17 points and Williams added 16 points off the bench on 6-of-8 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Pack and Mike McGuirl added 12 and 11 points, respectively, while McGuirl dished out a career-best 8 assists while committing just one turnover.


NON-CONFERENCE HISTORY

  1. K-State has a 113-12 (.911) record at home venues (includes home games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play dating back to the 2006-07 season, including a 104-9 (.920) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
  2. Despite seeing their 33-game winning streak end at Bramlage Coliseum with a loss to Marquette on Dec. 7, 2019, the Wildcats have still won 100 of their last 110 non-conference home games.
  3. K-State has posted a 149-46 (.767) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season. Prior to last season, the team had posted double-digit non-conference wins in 12 of the last 13 seasons.


UP NEXT: BAYLOR (4-0)

  1. K-State will return home for the second game of the December Big 12 slate where they will play host to Baylor (4-0) at 3 p.m., CT. The contest will start an expected 4-game homestand for the Wildcats. The Bears are currently in the midst of stoppage in play due to COVID-19 related issues.
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