GAME 8
KANSAS STATE (6-1) vs. WICHITA STATE (4-3)
Saturday December 3, 2022 | 8:05pm CT | Bramlage Colosseum (11,000) | Manhattan, Kan.
WATCH TV
ESPNU / WatchESPN (link here)
Mark Neely (Play by Play)
King McClure (Analyst)
Alex Wheat (Producer)
RADIO
K-State Sports Network
flagships: KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
satellite radio: SiriusXM375
On-line: university network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]
Brian Smoller (Play by Play)
Kamau Stokes (Analyst)
TICKETS
www.kstatesports.com/tickets
(800) 221.CATS [2287]
Single game: $40, $50, $75
TRAINER
K state: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College ‘07]
Record at K-State: 6-1/1. Year
Career record: 8-1/1. year+
State of Wichita: 0-0 [0-0 at K-State]
State of Wichita: Isaac Brown [Louisiana-Monroe ‘95]
Wichita State Record: 35-22/3. Year
Career record: 35-22/3. Year
K state: 0-1 [0-1 at Wichita State]
SERIES HISTORY
In total: K-State leads 21-11
Current streak: K-State, 3rd
In Manhattan: K-State leads 14-2
At the Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 6-2
last meeting: W, 65-59 [12/2/2021 in Wichita, Kan./INTRUST?Bank Arena]
Tang vs. Brown: 0-0 [0-0 at home]
ESTIMATED STARTING LINEUP
(Based on last game)
State of Kansas (6-1)
G: #1 Markquis Nowell
G: No. 5 cam Carter
Q: #11 Keyontae Johnson
Q: #35 Nae’Qwan Tomlin
C: #3 David N’Guessan
State of Wichita (4-3)
G: #3 Craig Porter, Jr.
G: #1 Xavier Bell
G: #10 Jaykwon Walton
Q: #33 James Rojas
Q: #11 Kenny Pohto
BETTING ODDS
K-State -6.5, O/U 130
TIP TO OPEN
Kansas State (6-1) returns home to the friendly confines of the Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday night when the Wildcats host rival Wichita State (4-3) for the first time in nearly 20 years at 8 p.m. on ESPNU . It’s the first home game for the Wildcats in 17 days since they hosted Kansas City on Nov. 17 and only the third of the season.
2022 Cayman Islands Classic champions K-State saw their 6-game winning streak halt at the start of the Jerome Tang era on Wednesday as the Wildcats played in the fourth annual BIG? EAST/Big 12 Battle of Hinkle Fieldhouse. It was the longest winning streak since the 6th win in a row from November 9th to 24th, 2018.
Saturday’s matchup is the second in a 4-game series between K-State and Wichita State, which will include a game at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center on December 22, 2023 and a visit to Charles Koch Arena on December 7 2024 included.
K-State couldn’t recover from a first-half deficit in its first loss of the season at Butler on Wednesday, as the hot-shooting Bulldogs had an answer every time the Wildcats tried to claw back into the game. The home side met an opposing peak with 54.9 percent (28 of 51) from the field, including 60.9 percent (14 of 23) in the second half, while all 5 starters scored in double digits.
K-State still had chances to rally in the second half but never quite made the next move. The Wildcats closed at 48-43 with just over 14 minutes to play on the 13-4 run, but the Bulldogs responded with a 17-2 run that took the lead to 20 points near halftime. Senior Desi Sills helped get another try going as he scored 13 of his 17 second-half points in a 15-3 run that cut it to 68-60 by just over 4 minutes. Butler once again had an answer, rattling off 6 in a row to bring the lead back into double digits en route to victory.
The loss ruined an impressive night for senior Keyontae Johnson, who hit his first double-double as a wildcat and shot a perfect 9-of-9 for a team-high 20 points followed by a season-high 12 rebounds in 36 minutes. He became only the ninth player in school history to record 9 or more field goals without a miss, and only the second to do so on the street (Dean Wade won 9 of 9 at Oklahoma State on February 2, 2019). It was his 14th career double-double, including his sixth with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds and first 24 points and 12 rebounds against Boston College on December 3, 2020.
K-State’s 6-0 start under head coach Jerome Tang was the best by a first-year coach since Hall of Famer coach Lon Kruger opened the 1986-87 season with 6 straight wins. Tang was one of four freshman-year head coaches in Division I undefeated earlier in the week, joining Missouri’s Dennis Gates (8-0), Mississippi State’s Chris Jans (7-0) and Maryland’s Kevin?Willard ( 7:0) on. all undefeated going into Friday’s games.
The Wildcats have quite the scoring duo in seniors Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell as they average 33 points per game on 50 percent (74 of 149) shots. They are currently the third-highest scoring duo in the Big 12 after the tandem of Kansas’ Jalen Wilson (21.9 ppg) and Gradey Dick (15.3 ppg) and Baylor’s LJ Cryer (17.9 ppg) and Adam Flagler ( 16.9 ppg). ). Johnson (28 points) and Nowell (29 points) joined an elite group in the overtime win over Nevada on Nov. 22 when they combined for 57 points to become only the 15th duo in school history and the first in the top 25 since 2010 points in a game.
Nowell was named Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday for his MVP performance at the Cayman Islands Classic. It was his fourth weekly award of his career after earning Sun Belt Player of the Week honors three times during the 2019-20 season while playing at Little Rock.
