KANSAS STATE (9-17, 2-11 Big 12) vs. TEXAS (15-11, 5-8 Big 12)
Saturday, February 22, 2020 // 1:06 p.m. CT // Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) // Manhattan, Kan.
PROMOTION
Throwback Game
The Wildcats will wear special two-tone lavender throwback uniforms, which were worn from 1973 to 1982, with the first 1,500 students receiving a lavender t-shirt.
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 472-261/22nd season
At K-State: 159-106/8th season
vs. Texas: 9-7 (4-3 at home)
Texas: Shaka Smart (Kenyon College ‘99)
Overall: 249-133/11th season
At Texas: 86-77/5th season
vs. Kansas State: 4-5 (2-2 on the road)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (9-17)
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G: #4 David Sloan
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #23 Montavious Murphy
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Texas (15-11)
G: #1 Andrew Jones
G: #3 Courtney Ramey
G: #4 Donovan Williams
F: #5 Royce Hamm, Jr.
F: #33 Kamaka Hepa
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 22-17
Current Streak: Texas, 1
In Manhattan: K-State leads 11-6
At Bramlage Coliseum: K-State leads 9-6
Last Meeting: L, 50-64 [1/11/20 in Austin]
Weber vs. Smart: Weber leads 5-4 [2-2 at home]
OPENING TIP
- K-State (9-17, 2-11 Big 12) will host its first Saturday home game in more than a month, as the Wildcats return to play Texas (15-11, 5-8 Big 12) at Bramlage Coliseum. The Longhorns have won 2 of the last 3 meetings and will be attempting to sweep the season series for the first time since 2016 after a 64-50 victory on Jan. 11. The game will tip at 1:06 p.m., CT on CBS with Andrew Catalon (play-by-play) and Steve Lappas (analyst). This will be the first CBS game at Bramlage Coliseum and the first in the regular season since a 69-62 loss at Kansas on Jan. 17, 1998.
- Saturday's contest will be Throwback Day at Bramlage Coliseum, as K-State will wear their two-tone lavender throwback uniforms, which were worn from 1973 to 1982, and made famous by the Purple Pop-Gun tandem of Mike Evans and Chuckie Williams during the 1974-75 and 1975-76 seasons and commemorated by Rolando Blackman on the cover of Sports Illustrated after the 1981 upset of No. 1 Oregon State in the NCAA Tournament. Overall, the Wildcats posted an 186-81 (.697) record during the period of the uniform (1973-82, including an 85-41 (.675) mark in Big Eight play, winning the 1977 Big Eight regular-season title and the 1977 and 1980 Big Eight Tournament crowns to go with five NCAA Tournament appearances.
- Texas Tech extended K-State’s misery in close games, as the Red Raiders swept the season series with a 69-62 victory on Wednesday night at United Supermarkets Arena. The loss was the Wildcats’ sixth straight, which is the longest such streak in the Bruce Weber era and the longest by a Wildcat team since also dropping 6 in a row from Feb. 2-19, 2005. The team has now lost 11 games by single digits, including 6 in Big 12 play, and fell to 3-12 in games decided by 10 points or less.
- Texas Tech was impressive on the offensive end, connecting on 50 percent from the field with 18 assists on 23 made field goals, but K-State still had opportunities, closing to within 44-42 after a layup by junior Cartier Diarra midway through the second half. However, a missed dunk by Diarra on the next possession ignited an 8-2 run by the Red Raiders, which provided the necessary cushion to flip the narrow 44-42 lead into a 52-44 advantage with 6:44 to play. The Wildcats could get no closer than 5 points (64-59 with 38 seconds left) the rest of the way. Despite the loss, the team was better offensively, connecting on 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field, including 61.3 percent (19-of-31) from inside the 3-point line. It was the highest field goal percentage since hitting on 59.2 percent (29-of-49) in a win at home over No. 12/13 West Virginia on Jan. 18 and the highest in a road game this season.
- Injuries have been a big part of K-State’s season, as 5 players have missed 49 games, which has caused coach Bruce Weber to use 7 starting lineups. The 7 lineups are the most since using 11 in 2014-15 with at least one true freshman starting in 23 of 26 games, including true freshmen DaJuan Gordon and Montavious Murphy starting together 8 times, including in 7 of the last 8 games. The last time a pair of freshmen started together in more than one game came when Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade started the last 9 games of 2015-16.