K-State men head to Texas on Tuesday

18/18 KANSAS STATE (18-5, 8-2 Big 12) at TEXAS (14-10, 6-5 Big 12)

Tuesday at 8:05 p.m. CT in the Erwin Center (16,540), Austin, Texas

TELEVISION

ESPN2 / ESPN3

Jon Sciambi (play-by-play)
Chris Spatola (analyst)
Joe McCoy (producer)

RADIO

Listen Online: TuneIn.com [free] // www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

Satellite Radio: XM 387 / Internet 978

LIVE STATS

www.texassports.com

TICKETS

www.texassports.com/tickets

(512) 471-3333

Single Game: $7-$45 (various levels)

COACHES

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

Overall: 456-240/21^st season

At K-State: 143-85/7^th season

Texas: 8-6 (3-3 on the road)

Texas: Shaka Smart (Kenyon College ’99)

Overall: 227-116/10^th season

At Texas: 64-60/4^th season

Kansas State: 3-4 (1-2 at home)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (18-5, 8-2 Big 12)

G: #3 Kamau Stokes

G: #5 Barry Brown, Jr.

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #32 Dean Wade

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Texas (14-10, 6-5 Big 12)

G: #2 Matt Coleman III

G: #12 Kerwin Roach II

G: #55 Elijah Mitrou-Long

F: #21 Dylan Osetkowski

F: #10 Jaxson Hayes

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 21-16

Current Streak: Texas, 1

In Austin: Texas leads 9-8

At Erwin Center: Texas leads 9-7

Last Meeting: L, 47-67, 1/2/19

Weber vs. Smart: 4-3 (2-1 on the road)

OPENING TIP

No. 18/18 Kansas State (18-5, 8-2 Big 12) concludes its brief 2-game road swing on Tuesday with a trip to Austin, Texas to take on a surging Texas (14-10, 6-5 Big 12) team at the Frank Erwin Center. The Wildcats jumped into the Top 25 for the first time since a 6-week stay ended on Dec. 10, 2018. The game will tip at 8:05 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Chris Spatola (analyst) on the call.
K-State enters Tuesday’s game in first place in the Big 12, just a game and half ahead of the second-place trio of No. 15/15 Texas Tech (19-5, 7-4 Big 12), No. 23/22 Iowa State (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) and No. 14/14 Kansas (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) and two games ahead of Baylor (15-8, 6-4 Big 12). Seven Big 12 schools have at least 5 league wins, as all teams have moved past the midway point of the 18-game schedule.
Senior Kamau Stokes paced four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 20 points, as K-State extended its Big 12 winning streak to 8 games with a 70-63 win over Baylor on Saturday at the Ferrell Center. The 8-game conference winning streak is the longest by a K-State team in the Big 12 era and the longest regular-season conference winning streak in 45 seasons since the Wildcats won 11 consecutive league games from Jan. 14 to Feb. 26, 1974. Stokes, who notched his ninth career 20-point game, was joined in double figures by fellow seniors Barry Brown, Jr. (13) and Dean Wade (12) and sophomore Cartier Diarra (10), as the Wildcats moved to 8-1 this season when four or more players register double digits.
Down 48-41 with under 10 minutes to play, K-State ended the game on a 29-15 run, including a pivotal 21-5 spurt ignited by a 3-pointer from Diarra, to earn its fifth consecutive win over the Bears, including its third in a row at the Ferrell Center. The Wildcats did most of their offensive damage from 3-point range, knocking down 6 of 9 triples in the second half, including 3 in the last 6:11 of the contest.
Texas is one of the Big 12’s hottest teams, winning 3 of its last 4 games, including back-to-back home victories over No. 13/14 Kansas (73-63) and Baylor (84-72). The Longhorns have one of the more balanced teams with 4 players averaging in double figures led by senior Kerwin Roach II, who is averaging 14.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Others averaging in double figures include Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate Jaxson Hayes (10.5 ppg.), sophomore Matt Coleman III (10.1 ppg.) and senior Dylan Osetkowski (10.0 ppg.).
K-State and Texas will meet for the 37th time in its respective histories on Tuesday with the Wildcats holding a 21-16 advantage in a series that dates to 1971. The Longhorns hold a narrow 9-8 edge in games played at home. The series is tied 16-all in the Big 12 era with the teams splitting each of the last 10 meetings. Texas won the first meeting, 67-47, in the Big 12 opener on Jan. 2, as the Longhorns broke open a tight game by shooting 60.9 percent in the second half. The Wildcats, which was led by junior Makol Mawien’s 13 points, were without senior starters Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes, who both missed the game due to injuries.
K-State, which has relied on its defense most of the season, has shown some offensive improvement in the last 3 games, averaging 73 points on 45.1 percent shooting (74-164), including 44.3 percent (35-of-79) from 3-point range, with 53 assists on 74 made field goals.

NOTES ON TEXAS

Texas (14-10, 6-5 Big 12) has been one of the Big 12’s hottest teams with wins in 3 of its last 4 games, including back-to-back victories over Baylor (84-72) and at West Virginia (75-53). The Longhorns broke open a tight game with the Mountaineers, connecting on 53.1 percent in the second half to sweep the season series. Freshman Courtney Ramey led the way with a game-high 19 points, while senior Kerwin Roach II added 14 points.
Texas is averaging 72.1 points on 43.6 percent shooting, including 33.4 percent from 3-point range, to go with 35.2 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.4 steals and 4.2 blocks per game, while allowing 66.2 points on 41.8 percent shooting, including 34.7 percent from 3-point range. The team is connecting on 70.0 percent from the free throw line.
Texas is averaging 68.5 points in Big 12 play on 44.3 percent shooting, including 34.1 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 63.6 points on 42.2 percent shooting, including 35.1 percent from 3-point range.
One of the most balanced teams in the Big 12, the Longhorns are led by Roach, who paces four players in double figures at 14.8 points on 43.5 percent shooting, including 35.8 percent from 3-point range, to go with 4.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.3 steals. Big 12 Freshman of the Year candidate Jaxson Hayes averages 10.5 points on a Big 12-best 75.2 percent shooting to go with 5.2 rebounds and a team-best 2.4 blocks per game, while sophomore Matt Coleman III (10.1 ppg.) and senior Dylan Osetkowski (10.0 ppg.) also average double digits. Osetkowski averages a team-best 8.0 rebounds.
Texas is led by fourth-year head coach Shaka Smart, who has posted a 64-60 (.516) record, which includes 2 trips to the NCAA Tournament. He is 227-116 (.662) in his 10th season as a head coach.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and Texas will meet for the 38th time in their histories with the Wildcats holding a 21-16 advantage in a series that dates to 1971. The Longhorns are 9-8 all-time in games played at home. The series is tied 16-16 since the start of Big 12 play with Texas holding a 9-6 edge at home.
Texas snapped a 4-game losing streak with a 67-47 win over K-State in the Big 12 opener on Jan. 2 in Manhattan. Sophomore Jase Febres came off the bench to score a game-high 23 points on 8-of-10 field goals, including 7-of-9 from 3-point range, for the Longhorns, which broke open a tight 25-22 edge by scoring 42 points on 60.9 percent shooting in the second half. Junior Makol Mawien led the Wildcats with 13 points, as seniors Dean Wade and Kamau Stokes did not play due to injuries.
Wade has averaged a team-best 11.5 points on 44.1 percent shooting in 6 career games against Texas, while senior Barry Brown, Jr., has averaged 11.0 points on 40.6 percent shooting in 7 games.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 8-6 all-time against Texas, including a 3-3 mark on the road, while he is 4-3 against head coach Shaka Smart.

ON THE ROAD

K-State has a 57-129 (.307) all-time record on the road since the start of Big 12 play in 1997. However, the Wildcats have been considerably better on the road since the 2006-07 season, having posted a 45-58 (.437) record away from home after going 10-70 (.125) from 1997-2006. The team is 28-44 (.389) under Bruce Weber on the road, including 22-35 (.386) in the Big 12.
K-State has a 4-4 record away from home this season, including a 4-1 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats lost at No. 11/11 Texas Tech to start Big 12 play, but has since recorded consecutive Top 25 road wins at No. 20/21 Iowa State (58-57) and No. 20/19 Oklahoma (74-61) to go with victories over Oklahoma State (75-57) and Baylor (70-63).

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 70, BAYLOR 63

Senior Kamau Stokes paced four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 20 points, as K-State extended its Big 12 winning streak to eight games with a 70-63 victory over Baylor on Saturday night at the Ferrell Center.
The 8-game conference winning streak is the longest by a K-State team in the Big 12 era and the longest regular-season conference winning streak in 45 seasons since the Wildcats won 11 consecutive conference games from Jan. 14 to Feb. 26, 1974 in the old Big Eight Conference.
Down 48-41 with 9:50 remaining, K-State ended the game on a 29-15 run, including a pivotal 21-5 spurt ignited by a 3-pointer from sophomore Cartier Diarra, to earn its fifth consecutive win over Baylor, including its third in a row at the Ferrell Center.
The Wildcats, which shot just 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field, did most of their offensive damage from 3-point range, knocking down 6 of 9 triples in the second half, including 3 in the last 6:11 of the contest. The team now has 35 made 3-point field goals in the last 3 games on 44.3 percent shooting (35-of-79) with assists on 33 of the 35 triples.
Stokes was among four players to score in double figures, as he and fellow seniors Barry Brown, Jr. (13) and Dean Wade (12) combined to score 45 of the Wildcats’ 70 points. Stokes went 5-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and 7-of-7 from free throw line in 36 minutes. It marked his ninth career 20-point game, including his second this season.
Brown, who has now scored in double figures in 10 consecutive games, became the school’s all-time leader in consecutive games played (128) with his 106th straight start, breaking his tie with Steve Henson (127, 1987-90). He finished with 13 points on 4-of-8 from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range, to go with a game-high 6 assist and 3 rebounds. Wade, who has now scored in double figures in 7 straight games, chipped in 12 points on 4-of-10 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws to go with a team-tying 7 rebounds.
Diarra, who scored all 10 of his points during the pivotal 29-15 run to end the game, enjoyed a solid all-around game against Baylor with 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 assists in 29 minutes off the bench.

‘CATS HAVE BEEN STELLAR ON DEFENSE UNDER WEBER

K-State has put up some impressive defensive numbers under head coach Bruce Weber, leading the Big 12 in scoring defense twice in the last 6 years (60.4 ppg., in 2012-13 and 65.4 ppg., in 2013-14).
K-State is holding opponents to 59.3 points on 41.2 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range, while forcing 15.3 turnovers per game. The Wildcats rank 4th in scoring defense, 33rd in turnover margin (+3.3), 53rd in 3-point field goal percentage defense and 56th in field goal percentage defense. The team leads the Big 12 in turnover margin (+3.3) and steals (7.6), while is second in scoring defense, rebounding defense (31.6) and turnovers forced and third in 3-point field goal percentage defense.
K-State has held 13 of 23 opponents to 60 points or less this season with one eclipsing 70. The squad has now held 82 opponents to 60 points or less in Weber’s tenure, boasting a 74-8 mark in those contests.
K-State has held its opponents to an average of 15.3 points per game under their scoring average, including 15.5 points in Big 12 play. Eight foes have been held to 20 or more points under their average, including Penn (35.3), Tulsa (28.8), Texas Tech (26.6), Southern Miss (26.2), Vanderbilt (25.6), TCU (25.4), Iowa State (24.3) and Eastern Kentucky (20.3).
In Big 12 play, K-State is allowing a league-best 60.4 points per game on 43.3 percent shooting, including 35.6 percent from 3-point range, while forcing opponents into 14.9 turnovers per game and scoring an average of 16.9 points off those turnovers. The Wildcats have held four league foes (Iowa State, TCU, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State) to less 60 points.
In the 58-45 win over No. 14/13 Texas Tech on Jan. 22, the Wildcat defense lived up to their billing, holding the Red Raiders to their lowest point total (45) under head coach Chris Beard and the lowest since scoring 44 in a loss against Loyola Chicago on Dec. 22, 2014. The team was held to a season-low 32.7 field goal percentage (16-of-49), including just 21.7 percent (5-of-23) from 3-point range.
The 45 points were the fewest surrendered a conference opponent under Weber and the fewest since holding No. 23 Texas Tech to 44 points on January 11, 2003. The Wildcats have held 3 of the last 5 opponents (Iowa State, TCU and Texas Tech) to its season-low in points.

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS

More than a quarter of K-State’s total points (400/1511) this season have come off opponent turnovers, as the Wildcats are averaging 17.4 points off 15.3 opponent turnovers per game. The team ranks 33rd in turnover margin (+3.3), 53rd in turnovers forced (15.3) and 67th in steals (7.6).
The Wildcats scored 20 or more points off turnovers in 9 games, including a season-high 25 in the come-from-behind 71-69 win over West Virginia (1/9/19) and at Texas A&M (1/26/19). They have also put up 20 points or more off opponent turnovers against Kennesaw State (20), Denver (23), Eastern Kentucky (24), Penn (22), Marquette (22), TCU (21) and Kansas (22).
K-State has scored more than 3,000 points (3,500) off turnovers during Weber’s tenure, an average of 15.3 points per game. In 2017-18, the Wildcats averaged 17.3 points off turnovers, outscoring opponents, 639-423.
A year ago, K-State ranked eighth nationally in total steals (294) and 18th in steals per game (7.9), while the school was one of just 5 nationally (Georgia State, Nicholls State, Purdue and Stephen F. Austin) with three players (Barry Brown, Jr., Dean Wade and Xavier Sneed) with 40 or more steals.
Led by all-time steals leader Barry Brown, Jr., who recently broke the record with 211st steal against Vanderbilt (12/22/18), the Wildcats have 3 other players with 100 or more steals, including Kamau Stokes (122), Xavier Sneed (120) and Dean Wade (112). Stokes is ranked sixth and Sneed is eighth in career steals, while Wade could also join the career Top 10. Brown currently ranks seventh in Big 12 history with 233 career steals, which is 14 shy of Kansas’ Russell Robinson (2004-08) for sixth place.

IMPROVED REBOUNDING

One of the big emphasis in the off-season was rebounding, as the Wildcats finished 10th in the Big 12 in every rebounding categories, including overall rebounding (30.7), offensive rebounds (8.2), defensive rebounds (22.5) and rebounding margin (-3.4). The 30.7 rebounding average was the lowest by a K-State team since averaging just 30.0 per game in 1984-85.
K-State is averaging 34.4 rebounds per game, which ranks last in the Big 12, to go with averages of 9.9 offensive (eighth) and 24.6 defensive (eighth) rebounds per game. On the positive side, the Wildcats are allowing opponents 31.6 rebounds per game (second in the Big 12) and hold a Big 12-best 76.1 defensive rebounding percentage.
K-State has out-rebounded 15 of 23 opponents, including 6 in 10 Big 12 games. In comparison, the Wildcats out-rebounded just 10 opponents in 2017-18 in 37 games, including 4 Big 12 foes.
K-State added one of the top rebounders in the community college ranks in junior Austin Trice, as he is averaging 3.1 rebounds per game in just 8.6 minutes game. Trice ranked among the Top 10 in 4 rebounding categories in the community college ranks in 2017-18, including 4th in average (12.1 rpg.).
In addition to Trice, the entire team has collectively elevated their efforts in rebounding this season, including Dean Wade (6.2 to 6.8 rpg.), Xavier Sneed (5.1 to 5.5 rpg.), Makol Mawien (3.4 to 4.3 rpg.), Barry Brown, Jr., (3.1 to 4.1 rpg.) and Cartier Diarra (2.5 to 3.2 rpg.).

OFFENSE STILL STRUGGLING BUT IMPROVEMENT

K-State is averaging a Big 12-low 65.7 points on 42.6 percent shooting (543-of-1276), including 32.9 percent (158-of-480) from 3-point range, and 65.6 percent (267-of-407) from the free throw line. The Wildcats rank 324th among 351 Division I teams in scoring offense, 271st in field goal percentage, 252nd in 3-point field goal percentage and 320th in free throw percentage.
In the Big 12, K-State ranks ninth in field goal percentage and 3-point field goal percentage and 10th in scoring offense and free throw percentage.
The Wildcats have scored 70 or more points on just 8 occasions, while they have only connected on 45 percent from the field in 9 games and 40 percent or better from the 3-point line on 6 occasions.
In Big 12 play, K-State is averaging 64.9 points on 42.5 percent shooting, including 36.1 percent from 3-point range, and 67.8 percent from the line. The Wildcats rank 10th in scoring offense, fifth in 3-point field goal percentage, seventh in field goal percentage and eighth in free throw percentage
The struggles from the 3 are particularly noticeable after a record-setting 2017-18 season from 3-point range, in which, the Wildcats set single-season marks for makes (254) and attempts (745). Five different players posted 30 or more 3-point field goals led by Xavier Sneed’s 65 makes.
There has been offensive improvement in the last 3 games, as K-State is averaging 73 points on 45.1 percent (74-of-164) shooting, including 44.3 percent (35-of-79) from 3-point range, with 53 assists on the 74 made field goals. In addition, there has been assists on 33 of the 35 made 3-pointers.

‘CATS HAVE FIRST 8-GAME LEAGUE WIN STREAK IN BIG 12 ERA

Since starting Big 12 play 0-2 for the first time since 2011, K-State has rattled off 8 consecutive victories, which started with the come-from-behind win over West Virginia (71-69) and includes four Top 25 wins (at No. 20/21 Iowa State (58-57) and No. 20/19 Oklahoma (74-61) and at home over No. 14/13 Texas Tech (58-45) and No. 13/14 Kansas (74-67), along with wins over TCU (65-55), Oklahoma State (75-57) and Baylor (70-63). It is the longest win streak in Big 12 play in school history and the longest regular-season conference win streak since winning 11 in a row from Jan. 14 to Feb. 26, 1974.
During the win streak, K-State is averaging 68.1 points on 45 percent (189-of-420) shooting, including 38.8 percent (69-of-178) from 3-point range, to go with 70.5 percent (98-of-139) from the line, while averaging 14.5 assists and just 10.8 turnovers per game. In losing the first 2 Big 12 games, the team averaged just 52 points on 33 percent (36-of-109), including 24.4 percent (10-of-41) from 3-point range, with 12.5 turnovers per game.
On the defensive end, the Wildcats are allowing 59.2 points in the win streak on 42.6 percent (173-of-406) shooting, including 33.5 percent (58-of-173) from 3-point range, while averaging 17.5 points off 14.9 opponent turnovers. In those first 2 Big 12 games, the team allowed 65 points on 46.5 percent (40-of-86), including 43.5 percent (20-of-46) from 3-point range.
During the win streak, senior Barry Brown, Jr., has averaged a team-best 18.9 points on 52.4 percent (55-of-105) shooting, which includes 3 20-point performances, while fellow senior Dean Wade, who has played in 7of the 8 games, is averaging 14.1 points on 50 percent (34-of-68) shooting. Four other players (Kamau Stokes, Xavier Sneed, Cartier Diarra, Mike McGuirl and Makol Mawien) are averaging between 4.9 and 9.8 points per game. Brown averaged just 12.0 points in the first 2 Big 12 games.

NEXT UP: 23/22 IOWA STATE (18-6, 7-4 Big 12)

K-State returns home to Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats play host to 23/22 Iowa State (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) at 3 p.m. The Wildcats won the first matchup, 58-57, at Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 12.