Jan 16, 2021

K-State resumes play at Texas on Saturday

Posted Jan 16, 2021 6:57 PM

OPENING TIP

  1. Kansas State (5-8, 1-4 Big 12) begins a 2-game road swing on Saturday, as the Wildcats travel to Austin, Texas to take on No. 4/4 Texas (10-2, 4-1 Big 12) at 7 p.m., CT at the Frank Erwin Center. Saturday's game will air on the Longhorn Network with Lowell Gallindo (play-by-play) and Lance Blanks (analyst) on the call.
  2. K-State is returning to the court after taking a pause to basketball activities due limited numbers caused by both injuries and COVID-19 protocols. The Wildcats had just 8 healthy players, including 6 on scholarship, in their last outing, a 70-54 setback to Oklahoma State on Jan. 9. Two players - senior Mike McGuirl and junior Rudi Williams - each played the entire 40 minutes, while two others - sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshman Selton Miguel - played 39. It marked the first time since 1989 that two Wildcats played the entire 40 minutes in a regulation game. In all, seven players have missed at least one game this season, including season-opening starters Kaosi Ezeagu, Montavious Murphy and Nijel Pack as well as key reserve Antonio Gordon.
  3. K-State will be playing in just its third road contest and have played well in those previous 2 matchups, knocking off Iowa State, 74-65, on Dec. 15 to snap a 9-game road Big 12 losing streak before the 82-71 loss at No. 18/19 Texas Tech on Jan. 5. The Wildcats is 9-10 all-time against the Longhorns in Austin, including 3 straight wins from 2017-19 before last season's 64-50 setback on Jan. 11, 2020.
  4. This will be the Wildcats' third matchup against a Top 25 opponent, including the second against a Top 5 foe. The team dropped a 100-69 decision to No. 2/2 Baylor in their first Big 12 home game on Dec. 19. K-State is 119-264 all-time vs. ranked opponents, which includes a 3-15 mark vs. the AP's No. 4 ranked squad. The Wildcats have just 5 all-time road wins over Top 5 teams (No. 1 Kansas in 1994, No. 2 Kansas in 1958, No. 2 Baylor in 2017, No. 3 Missouri in 2012 and No. 5 Missouri in 1982). Head coach Bruce Weber has a school-record 26 career wins against Top 25 foes.
  5. K-State has dropped 3 in a row to start the new calendar year, as the short-handed Wildcats dropped a 70-54 decision at home to Oklahoma State last Saturday. The Cowboys rode the momentum of an 8-0 run to end the first half with a near flawless second-half shooting performance (75 percent) to run their winning streak to 3 in the series. The heavy minutes reflected in the Wildcats' offensive play, as the team scored a season-low 54 points on 36.2 percent shooting, including 25 percent from 3-point range, made just 6 of 12 free throws.
  6. K-State has started 3 true freshmen (Davion Bradford, Miguel and Pack) in 7 of 13 games, including all 5 Big 12 games, while at least 2 true freshmen have started each of the last 8 games. The Wildcats are one of 6 teams (Kentucky, Duke, James Madison, North Carolina and Washington State) to start at least 3 true freshmen in at least one game, while the 29 combined starts by true freshmen rank second only to Kentucky's 36.  
  7. Since switching to the 4-guard lineup against Milwaukee on Dec. 11, K-State is averaging 66.8 points on 43.7 percent shooting (202-of-462), including 54.6 percent (142-of-260) from inside the 3-point line. Four Wildcats (Pack, McGuirl, D. Gordon and Miguel) are averaging double figures in the 8-game span, including a team-best 11.1 points per game by Pack, while Gordon is averaging 10.4 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds. In all, underclassmen have combined for 385 or 72 percent of the team's 534 points on 51.9 percent (151-of-291) shooting in the last 8 games.


NOTES ON TEXAS

  1. No. 4/4 Texas (10-2, 4-1 Big 12) saw its 6-game winning streak come to end on Wednesday night, as No. 15/15 Texas Tech got a last-second shot from junior Mac McClung with 3 seconds left to knock off the Longhorns, 79-77. Texas led for nearly 37 minutes before Tech ended the game on a 19-10 run. Four Longhorns scored in double figures led by Andrew Jones' 20 points.
  2. Texas is averaging 75.8 points on 44.8 percent shooting, including 34.7 percent from 3-point range, to go with 40.7 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 3.9 blocks per game, while allowing 65 points on 38.6 percent shooting, including 28 percent from 3-point range. The Longhorns connecting on 70.6 percent from the free throw line. In Big 12 play, Texas is averaging 77.6 points on 44.2 percent shooting, including 37.4 percent from 3-point range, while holding opponents to 70.8 points on 40.6 percent shooting.
  3. Four players are averaging in double figures led by junior Andrew Jones, who is averaging 14 points on 40.7 percent shooting with 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Fellow junior Courtney Ramey is averaging 13.9 points on 43 percent shooting to go with 3.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds per game. Senior Matt Coleman III is averaging 13.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting with a team-best 4.3 assists, while true freshmen Greg Brown is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game.
  4. Texas is led by sixth-year head coach Shaka Smart, who has posted an 100-80 (.556) record, which includes 2 trips to the NCAA Tournament and an NIT title in 2019. He is 263-136 (.659) in his 12th season as a head coach, which includes 163 victories during a stint at VCU (2009-15).


SERIES HISTORY

  1. K-State and Texas will meet for the 41st time in their histories with the Wildcats holding a 22-18 advantage in a series that dates to 1971. Texas has an 18-17 advantage since the start of Big 12 play, while the Longhorns have a 10-9 edge at home, including 10-7 in the Big 12 era.
  2. Last season, Texas swept the season series for the first time since 2016, earning a 64-50 win at home on Jan. 11 before a 70-59 win in Manhattan on Feb. 22. The Longhorns have won 3 of the last 4 meetings.
  3. Head coach Bruce Weber is 9-8 all-time against Texas, including a 4-4 mark on the road, while he is 5-5 against head coach Shaka Smart. Smart is 5-5 against K-State, including 2-3 at home.


LAST TIME OUT: OKLAHOMA STATE 70, K-STATE 54

  1. Oklahoma State rode the momentum of an 8-0 run to end the first half with a near flawless second-half shooting performance, as the Cowboys earned a 70-54 win over a short-handed K-State on Saturday night.
  2. OSU connected on 56.3 percent (27-of-48) from the field, including 75 percent (15-of-20) in the second half, as the Cowboys ran their winning streak to 3 in a row over the Wildcats. OSU's second-half field goal percentage tied for the seventh-highest by an opponent in school history.
  3. Although K-State held the Big 12's leading scorer – freshman phenom Cade Cunningham – to a season-low 5 points, four other Cowboys scored in double figures, including a game-tying 15 points each from junior Isaac Likekele and freshman Rondel Walker. OSU took advantage of the greater depth, outscoring the K-State bench, 33-6.
  4. The Wildcats played with the minimum number of 8 players, including 6 on scholarship, as injuries and unavailability continued to mount. The team played without its starting point guard Nijel Pack, while they continued to be without season-opening game starters Kaosi Ezeagu and Montavious Murphy, who each missed their ninth games.
  5. Due to the low numbers, senior Mike McGuirl and junior Rudi Williams each played the entire 40 minutes, while sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshman Selton Miguel each registered 39 minutes of action. Freshman Davion Bradford played just 12 minutes due to foul trouble, which allowed sophomore walk-on Joe Petrakis to play a career-high 15 minutes of action.
  6. The heavy minutes reflected in the Wildcats' offensive play, as the team scored a season-low 54 points on 36.2 percent (21-of-58) shooting, including 25 percent (6-of-24) from 3-point range, and made just 6 of 12 free throw attempts. K-State was within 47-39 after a 3-pointer by Gordon with 10:27 to play, but the team couldn't sustain any momentum.
  7. McGuirl tied the game-high with 15 points on 5-of-13 field goals, while Gordon collected his third double-double in the last 7 games with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Williams had 9 points in his first career start, while Miguel tallied 6 points and a game-high 7 assists.


INJURIES, YOUTH DEFINE SEASON SO FAR FOR K-STATE 

  1. Very few teams in the country have had to deal with the mixture of injuries, COVID-19 protocols and youth quite like K-State has in 2020-21.
  2. Already one of the country's most inexperienced teams with just 4 returning lettermen and 11 total underclassmen, the Wildcats have seen 7 different players miss at least 1 game this season, while only 2 players (senior Mike McGuirl and sophomore DaJuan Gordon) are currently active who started the season opener with Drake on Nov. 25.
  3. K-State is one of just 6 schools nationally (Duke, Kentucky, James Madison, North Carolina and Washington State) to start at least 3 true freshmen in one game this season, while the 29 combined starts by Wildcat true freshmen are second only to Kentucky's 36.


GAMES MISSED IN 2020-21 [41]

  1. Luke Kasubke - 13 (has not played this season)
  2. Kaosi Ezeagu - 9 (has not played since 12/5/20)
  3. Montavious Murphy - 9 (expected to miss rest of season)
  4. Carlton Linguard, Jr. - 4 (missed first 4 games but back now)
  5. Antonio Gordon - 4 (has not played since 12/21/20)
  6. Seryee Lewis - 1 (has not played since 1/5/21)
  7. Nijel Pack - 1 (has not played since 1/5/21)


IRON 'CATS

  1. Due to low numbers caused by injuries and COVID-19 protocols, K-State had just 8 available players - including 6 on scholarship - for its last outing against Oklahoma State at home on Saturday, Jan. 9. To make the situation worse, sophomore Carlton Linguard, Jr., was on a minutes limit due to a back injury (playing just over 14 minutes), while freshman Davion Bradford ended up playing just over 12 minutes due to foul issues.
  2. This caused the remaining 6 to play the bulk of the minutes, including walk-on Joe Petrakis logging a career-high 15 minutes of action.  Senior Mike McGuirl and junior Rudi Williams each played all 40 minutes, setting career-highs, while two others - sophomore DaJuan Gordon and freshmen Selton Miguel - each registered 39 minutes, also career-highs. All told, those 4 players were responsible for 158 of K-State's 200 total minutes.
  3. McGuirl and Williams are the first Wildcats to play all 40 minutes of a regulation game since Barry Brown, Jr., played all 40 against Baylor on March 2, 2019. It marked the first time two teammates played all 40 minutes in a regulation game in more than 30 years since Steve Henson and LaKeith Humphrey accomplished the feat against Oklahoma State in a 69-62 win at home on Feb. 5, 1989.


YOUNG JOE HAS A BIG NIGHT

  1. Sophomore walk-on Joe Petrakis took advantage of his opportunity with just 8 available players against Oklahoma State on Jan. 9, outscoring freshman All-American candidate Cade Cunningham (6 points to 5 points), while logging a career-high 15 minutes of action.
  2. Petrakis, who redshirt his first season in 2019-20 after playing one season at Dodge City College, scored his first career points with 6:13 left in the first half and finished with a career-high 6 points on 2-of-5 field goals, including his first 3-pointer, to go with 2 rebounds.


YOUNG 'CATS PERFORM WELL AT TECH

  1. Despite dropping an 82-71 loss at No. 18/19 Texas Tech on Jan. 5, K-State became the first team to eclipse 70 points in regulation against Texas Tech this season, including posting the highest field goal percentage by a Red Raider foe this season at 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the field, including 61.2 percent (19-of-31) from inside the 3-point line. Texas Tech had entered the game, allowing a Big 12-best 56.3 points on 37.4 percent shooting.
  2. Four Wildcats scored in double figures against Texas Tech, including a team-leading 17 points each by freshmen Nijel Pack and Selton Miguel. Miguel tied his season-high on 6-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assists, while Pack collected a season-high 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-7 from long range. Fellow freshmen Davion Bradford and senior Mike McGuirl each added 10 points.


McGUIRL DOING WHATEVER IT TAKES

  1. Mike McGuirl is making the most of his senior season, as he is among the team leaders in nearly every category, including first in scoring (12.5 ppg.), double-digit scoring games (9), field goals made (55) and attempted (143), 3-point field goals made (29) and attempted (81), assists (48) and minutes (34.5). He is second in steals (16) and third in rebounding (3.9 rpg.).
  2. McGuirl ranks in the Top 20 in several categories in the Big 12, including 19th in scoring (12.5 ppg.), ninth in assists (3.7 apg.), sixth in 3-point field goals made (2.23) and fourth in minutes (34.5 mpg.).
  3. McGuirl has led the team in scoring a team-best 5 times, while he has led in rebounding twice, in assists 6 times and in steals on 5 occasions.
  4. McGuirl's 9 double-digit scoring games this season are nearly more than his entire total (10) that he had entering the 2020-21 season. He opened the year with his first career 20-point game vs. Drake on Nov. 25 with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. He equaled that total with 22 points vs. Fort Hays State on Dec. 8. He currently has scored in double figures in a career-best 5 consecutive games.
  5. In addition to his scoring, McGuirl has also set up his teammates, dishing out a team-best 48 assists (to 24 turnovers). He has 6 games at least 5 assists this season, including a career-best 8 vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20).


MR. EVERYTHING

  1. Sophomore DaJuan Gordon has proved to be K-State's Mr. Everything, as he is third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game, while leading the way in both rebounding (6.9 rpg.) and steals (1.4 spg.). He is also first in free throws made (32), attempted (42) and percentage (76.2).
  2. Gordon is one of just 2 guards (OSU's Isaac Likekele) to rank in the Big 12's Top 10 in rebounding, as he places eighth with 6.9 rebounds per game, while he is fifth in the league in defensive rebounds (5.31).
  3. Gordon's 3 double-doubles tie 3 others (David McCormack, Kevin Samuel and Jalen Wilson) for the third-most among Big 12 players and are only surpassed by WVU's Derek Culver (7) and Texas' Greg Brown (4).
  4. Gordon's 3 career double-doubles have all come in the last 7 games, including 2 in Big 12 play. He posted his first career double-double in the win at Iowa State (12/15/20), scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He followed that with a 13-point, 12-rebound effort vs. Jacksonville (12/21/20) before his latest double-double vs. Oklahoma State (1/9/21) with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in a career-best 39 minutes.
  5. Overall, Gordon has grabbed double-digit rebounds in 4 games (all in the last 7 games), including in consecutive games against Jacksonville (12/21/20) and Omaha (12/29/20). He is the first Wildcat to post double-digit rebounds in back-to-back games since Wesley Iwundu in March 2017.
  6. Gordon has scored in double figures in 7 games this season, including a career-best 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting vs. TCU (1/2/21). Four of those 7 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 7 games.
  7. Gordon is also the leader on the Wayne McClain Play Hard Chart with 96 points, which includes leading the team in deflections/blocks (31), steals (18), loose balls (17) and offensive rebounds (21).


PACK OFF TO IMPRESSIVE START

  1. Freshman Nijel Pack is off to an impressive start, averaging 10.7 points on 43.2 percent shooting, including 37.7 percent from 3-point range, to go with 3.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 32.3 minutes per game.
  2. Pack is second on the team in scoring, field goals made (51), 3-point field goals made (23) and assists (48), while he is third in double-digit scoring games (6), steals (15) and minutes played (387).
  3. Pack became the first Wildcat true freshmen to start the first 12 games of the season since Kamau Stokes started the first 17 games in 2015-16.
  4. Pack ranks first in the Big 12 with a 2.69 assist/turnover ratio, while he is 10th in minutes (32.25), tied for 11th in assists (3.58), 12th in 3-point field goals made (1.92) and 14th in steals (1.25).
  5. Before missing the Oklahoma State game on Jan. 9, Pack had started to hit his scoring groove, scoring in double figures in 3 of 4 games, including a season-high 17-point effort at No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21).


MIGUEL HITS THE GAME-WINNER

  1. Freshman Selton Miguel connected on a 3-pointer with 9.7 seconds left to lift K-State to a 60-58 win over Omaha on Dec. 29.  It was the rookie's first game-winner of his career, as he capped his 11-point effort with his third trey of the contest in 35 minutes.
  2. Miguel, a starter in each of the last 8 games, is having a solid start to his freshman campaign, averaging 8.3 points on 34.7 percent shooting, including 9.0 points on 32.6 percent shooting in Big 12 play. He ranks fourth on the team in scoring and steals (11), while he is third in 3-pointers (14).
  3. Miguel's 5 double-digit scoring games have come in the last 9 outings, including a team-tying 17 points at No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21). He also scored a season-tying 17 points vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20) on 7-of-14 field goals, while he had 14 vs. No. 2/2 Baylor (12/19/20).


IMPRESSIVE YOUNG BIG MAN

  1. With sophomore Kaosi Ezeagu out for an extended time, freshman Davion Bradford has flashed his potential this season, earning starts in each of the last 9 games. He is averaging 6.8 points on a team-best 66 percent shooting (35-of-53) with 3.7 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game.
  2. Bradford has scored in double figures in 4 games thus far, including scoring a season-high 18 points vs. Milwaukee (12/11/20) on 6-of-8 shooting. He also played a major role in the win at Iowa State (12/15/20) with 14 points on 5-of-7 field goals and a 4-of-4 effort from the line. He posted double digits in back-to-back games vs. TCU (1/2/21) and at No. 18/19 Texas Tech (1/5/21).
  3. Bradford has already shown the ability to finish at the rim, totaling a team-high 17 dunks, which in comparison equals Makol Mawien's entire total (17) in 32 games played from the 2019-20 season


AGORDON STRONG OFF BENCH

  1. Despite missing the last 4 games, sophomore Antonio Gordon has shown the ability to provide some scoring off the bench, as he collected a career-high 23 points on 9-of-9 field goals with a team-tying 6 rebounds vs. No. 2/2 Baylor (12/19/20) in just 21 minutes of action.
  2. Gordon's 23 points tied for the eighth-most by reserve in a conference game in school history and were the most since Marcus Foster had 23 against TCU on Jan. 7, 2015. He also became the eighth Wildcats to go 9-of-9 or better from the field and the first since Dean Wade also went 9-of-9 at Oklahoma State on Feb. 2, 2019 and the first at home since 2002.


MURPHY EXPECTED TO MISS SEASON

  1. Sophomore Montavious Murphy has elected to have what is expected to be season-ending surgery to fix his ailing knee, which has caused him to miss 9 games this season. Murphy, who was the opening day starter vs. Drake (11/25/20), saw action in 4 games, including the first 3.
  2. Murphy, who became just the fourth true freshman to start an opener under Bruce Weber in 2019-20, has now missed 22 games in his career due to injury, including the last 6 games of his freshman season.
  3. Murphy had a solid freshman season in 2019-20, averaging 5.2 points on 40.7 percent shooting with 3.7 rebounds in 25.1 minutes per game.


UP NEXT: AT OKLAHOMA (7-4, 3-3 Big 12)

  1. K-State continues its 2-game homestand on Tuesday, as the Wildcats travel to Oklahoma (7-4, 3-3 Big 12) at 5:30 p.m., CT at the Lloyd Noble Center on FOX Sports Oklahoma. This will be the first meeting between the schools this season after they split their 2 matchups in 2019-20. The Sooners have won 4 of the last 5 meetings at home, including a 66-61 victory on Jan. 4, 2020 in the last matchup at the Lloyd Noble Center.
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