K-State holds weekly football press conference prior to Senior Day

FORT MYERS, Fla.&nbsp;– Sophomore&nbsp;Xavier Johnson’s layup with 11 seconds gave Pittsburgh the lead for good, as the Panthers rallied past Kansas State, 63-59, to earn a spot in the championship game of the Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tipoff on Monday night at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena.&nbsp;With the loss, K-State (4-1) will play Bradley (4-2) in the tournament’s third-place game at 5 p.m., CT on Wednesday. The Braves lost to Northwestern, 78-51, in the second semifinal game.&nbsp;Down 57-51 with 4:06 to play, K-State used a 7-0 run over an 81-second stretch to take a 58-57 lead over Pittsburgh with 2:45 to play. With the opportunity to extend the lead, the Wildcats missed four consecutive field goals and the front end of two 1-and-1 free throw opportunities before Johnson’s go-ahead lay-up.&nbsp;Johnson extended the lead with a pair of free throws after an offensive foul on junior&nbsp;Cartier Diarra&nbsp;with 5 seconds left before freshman&nbsp;Justin Champagnie&nbsp;finished it off with two more from the line.&nbsp;On a night when K-State knocked down 10 3-point field goals on 50 percent shooting, it was poor shooting from inside the arc (13-of-38) and from the free throw line (3-of-13) that proved to be the difference in the game. Despite holding Pitt to just 1-of-16 shooting from 3-point range, the Panthers connected on 67.7 percent (21-of-31) of their field goals inside the arc and hit on 85.7 percent (18-of-21) from the free throw line.&nbsp;

Pittsburgh rallies to defeat Kansas State

Game 1222/rv/rv&nbsp;Iowa State at Kansas StateDate: Saturday, November 30, 2019Kickoff: 6 p.m.Location: Manhattan, Kan.Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)Series: Iowa State leads, 50-48-4 &nbsp;WILDCATS HOST IOWA STATE ON SENIOR NIGHT IN MANHATTANK-State returns home following a 30-27 win at Texas Tech for the final regular-season game of the year as the Wildcats host No. 22 Iowa State on Senior Night. The game, which kicks at 6 p.m., will air on FS1 with Brian Custer (play-by-play) and Robert Smith (analyst) on the call. The contest can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play, former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM (S: 98, X: 200, Internet: 954) in addition to the TuneIn app. A LOOK AT K-STATE• K-State is bowl-eligible under first-year head coach Chris Klieman and is looking to improve upon its bowl position and 7-4 record this weekend on Senior Night.• K-State has rushed for 2,037 yards this year on 462 carries which includes 26 rushing touchdowns after tallying only 20 rushing scores a year ago.• K-State totaled 11 rushing scores over the Oklahoma and Kansas games, which were the most in the nation over that stretch. Skylar Thompson had seven of those scores, also the best in the nation during that stretch.• Thompson’s seven rushing scores against OU and KU were the most over a two-game stretch by a K-State quarterback since Collin Klein in 2012.• Thompson – who has four career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or later – has thrown for 2,134 yards and 12 touchdowns with four interceptions.• Thompson also became the fourth signal caller in school history with 4,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards, but the first to do so prior to his senior year.• Receivers Dalton Schoen and Malik Knowles each have over 350 receiving yards and three touchdowns.• The K-State defense enters the week ranked highly in many statistical categories, including third down defense (4th; 27.9%) and first downs allowed (25th; 195).• K-State has given up just 10 passing TDs this season, which are tied for the sixth fewest nationally this year.• The Cats have surrendered only 34 total third down conversions this season – tied for the fewest in the FBS – while they were the final team to allow a fourth-down conversion when they did so at Texas on November 9.• Linebacker Elijah Sullivan (52) and safety Wayne Jones (52) lead the team in tackles.• Eleven different Cats have at least 2.0 TFLs – led by Wyatt Hubert’s 10.5 – and Hubert leads the team and ranks second in the Big 12 with 7.0 sacks.• The Wildcats possess a great kicker/punter duo as Blake Lynch ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage (88.9%, while Devin Anctil ranks 16th in the nation with a 44.9-yard punting average.• Freshman Joshua Youngblood has two kickoff-return touchdowns this season – a 98-yarder at Texas and a 100-yarder last week at Texas Tech, the latter earning him Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week honors. A LOOK AT IOWA STATE• Iowa State enters the game with a 7-4 overall record and 5-3 mark in Big 12 play.• All four of Iowa State’s losses have been by seven points or less.• Brock Purdy leads the offense with 3,575 passing yards and 26 touchdowns, while receivers Deshaunte Jones (70 catches) and La’Michael Pettway (48) along with tight end Charlie Kolar (47) are his favorite targets.• True freshman Breece Hall leads the team with 783 rushing yards and eight touchdowns, while Purdy is second with 268 yards and eight scores.• On defense, Iowa State ranks 28th nationally against the run and is No. 50 in total defense.• Marcel Spears leads the team with 80 tackles, while O’Rien Vance has a team-high 9.0 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks.• Lawrence White, who is second on the team with 77 tackles, has a team-high two interceptions. RYAN LACKEYDirector of Football CommunicationsK-State Athletics &nbsp;<img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&amp;ik=3fe30182ee&amp;attid=0.0.1&amp;permmsgid=msg-f:1651199613017254389&amp;th=16ea3d4cb327e9f5&amp;view=fimg&amp;sz=s0-l75-ft&amp;attbid=ANGjdJ9-cHBIgNDR4fvEF263ySUOyPwYANYryfZDLhLzEVU3YEGLAoPstgQQuPHCAwdPwIbOBSUTaJaVZl2IuoPq5M-dnfHkq2WDBbekrXj6XJFmEUSs029UEabVWV0&amp;disp=emb" alt="signature_1425212803" height="23" width="191">&nbsp;

Wildcats host Iowa State on Senior Night in Manhattan

MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;–&nbsp;Thanks to his 100-yard kickoff return that helped the Wildcats earn a three-point victory at Texas Tech, Kansas State freshmen wide receiver/returner&nbsp;Joshua Youngblood&nbsp;was named the Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.&nbsp;Youngblood is the only true freshman in the conference this year to earn offensive, defensive or special teams player of the week honors, while he is the first Wildcat to do so since&nbsp;Tyler Lockett&nbsp;picked up the special teams honor twice in 2011. K-State now has three player of the week accolades this season after safety&nbsp;Denzel Goolsby&nbsp;(defensive) and wide receiver/returner&nbsp;Malik Knowles&nbsp;(special teams) were honored following the Mississippi State games.&nbsp;A product of Tampa, Florida, Youngblood returned a third-quarter kickoff for a score to push K-State’s lead to 10 over the Red Raiders in a game the Wildcats would go on to win, 30-27. It was Youngblood’s second kickoff-return touchdown this year (98 yards at Texas, which is tied for third in school history for a season and tied for fourth in a career.&nbsp;Youngblood, who leads the Big 12 with a 35.9-yard kickoff-return average, is one of eight players in the nation to return two kickoffs for touchdowns this year, but the lone freshman to do so. Additionally, he is the first true freshman with two kickoff returns of at least 98 yards since USC’s Adorre’ Jackson also went 98 and 100 yards in 2014.&nbsp;Kansas State will honor its seniors this Saturday in the regular-season finale against Iowa State inside Bill Snyder Family Stadium. The game kicks at 6 p.m., and will be shown on FS1.

K-State's Youngblood named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week

GAME 5KANSAS STATE (4-0) vs. PITTSBURGH (4-2)Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loan Fort Myers TipoffSemifinal RoundsMonday, November 25, 2019 &gt;&gt; 5 p.m. CT &gt;&gt; Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) &gt;&gt; Fort Myers, Fla.&nbsp;TELEVISIONFS1<ul><li>Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play)</li><li>Bill Raftery (analyst)</li><li>Casey Carter (producer)</li></ul>&nbsp;RADIOK-State Sports NetworkFlagships: // KMAN 1350 &amp; WIBW 580Online: TuneIn.com [free] /&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/watch" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">www.kstatesports.com/watch</a>&nbsp;[free]<ul><li>Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)</li><li>Stan Weber (analyst)</li></ul>&nbsp; &nbsp;COACHESKansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)Overall: 467-244/22nd&nbsp;seasonAt K-State: 154-89/8th&nbsp;seasonvs. Pittsburgh: 0-1 (0-1 at neutral site)&nbsp;Pittsburgh: Jeff Capel III (Duke ‘97)Overall: 180-131/11th&nbsp;seasonAt Pittsburgh: 18-21/2nd&nbsp;seasonvs. Kansas State: 1-4 (0-0 at neutral site)&nbsp;PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPKansas State (4-0)G: #00 Mike McGuirlG: #2 Cartier DiarraG/F: #20 Xavier SneedF: #34 Levi Stockard IIIF: #14 Makol Mawien&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Pittsburgh (4-2)G: #1 Xavier JohnsonG: #2 Trey McGowensG: #24 Ryan MurphyF: #11 Justin ChampagnieF: #21 Terrell Brown&nbsp;SERIES HISTORYOverall: Pittsburgh leads 1-0Current Streak: Pittsburgh, 1In Fort Myers: First meetingAt Suncoast Credit Union Arena: First meetingLast Meeting: L, 47-70 [11/26/14 in Maui, Hawai’i]Weber vs. Capel III: First meeting&nbsp;OPENING TIP<ul><li>Kansas State (4-0) heads south for the Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tipoff this coming week, as Wildcats begin the semifinal round against ACC foe Pittsburgh (4-2) at 5 p.m., CT on Monday, Nov. 25 at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. The winner will face either Bradley (4-1) or Northwestern (2-2) in the championship game on Wednesday night, as the Braves and Wildcats will play in the second semifinal game at 7:30 p.m., CT on Monday. The championship game is set for 7:30 p.m., CT on Wednesday, while the third-place game is slated for 5 p.m., CT. All games will be broadcast nationally on FS1.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>This will mark just the second year for the Fort Myers Tipoff, as Boston College won the inaugural championship with a 78-66 win over Loyola Chicago on Nov. 21, 2018 in a tournament that included Richmond and Wyoming. This will mark the third in-season tournament appearance for the Wildcats in the state of Florida, following the Capital City Classic in Tallahassee, Fla., on Dec. 29-30, 1994 and the Advocare Invitational (formerly Old Spice Classic) on Nov. 22-25, 2007. K-State, which won the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam last season with wins over Eastern Kentucky (95-68, Penn (64-48) and Missouri (82-67, looks to win in-season tournaments in back-to-back years for the first time since claiming three in a row (Hawai’i Nike Festival, Capital City Classic and Otis Spunkmeyer Classic) from 1993-95.</li><li>K-State has a 21-8 (.724) record in regular-season tournaments under head coach Bruce Weber, winning the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam in 2018 and advancing to the tournament finals on three other occasions, including the 2012 NIT Season Tip-Off (losing to No. 4 Michigan, 71-57, 2015 CBE Hall of Fame Classic (losing to No. 9 North Carolina, 80-70) and the 2016 Barclays Center Classic (losing to Maryland, 69-68). The team has also participated in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off (1-2 record, 2014 Maui Invitational (1-2 record) and 2017 Las Vegas Invitational (3-1).</li><li>K-State captured its first in-season tournament title at the 2018 Paradise Jam since winning the 2011 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, Hawai’i. The Wildcats have also won tournament championships in 1990 (BMA Holiday Classic, 1993 (Hawai’i Nike Festival, 1994 (Capital City Classic, 1995 (Otis Spunkmeyer Classic) and 2006 (Las Vegas Holiday Classic). Overall, the school has a 129-78 (.623) all-time record in 76 in-season tournaments dating to the program’s first season in 1905, most of which came in the Big Six/Seven/Eight Holiday Tournament that ran in Kansas City from 1943 to 1978 and involved mostly members of the Big Six, Big Seven and Big Eight.</li></ul> NOTES ON PITTSBURGH<ul><li>Pittsburgh (4-2) has won 2 in a row (Monmouth and Arkansas-Pine Bluff) since dropping a 68-53 decision to rival West Virginia at home on Nov. 15. The Panthers opened the season with an impressive 63-61 win over ACC foe Florida State on Nov. 6 before splitting games with Nicholls State (70-75) at home on Nov. 9 and at Robert Morris (71-57) on Nov. 12.&nbsp;&nbsp;</li><li>Pittsburgh is averaging 64.3 points on 39.6 percent shooting, including 27.6 percent from 3-point range, with 36.2 rebounds, 12.3 assists, 7.3 steals and 2.8 blocks per game, while allowing 58.7 points on 38.1 percent shooting, including 34.5 percent from 3-point range. The team has connected on 69.1 percent from the free throw line.</li><li>A balanced team with four players (Trey McGowens, Ryan Murphy, Justin Champagnie and Xavier Johnson) averaging in double figures led by McGowens, who is averaging a team-best 12.3 points on 42.3 percent&nbsp;shooting to go with 5.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 31.4 minutes per game. Murphy, the junior college transfer, has knocked down a team-best 11 treys and averages 11.7 points per game. Champagnie (10.8 ppg.) and Johnson (10.3 ppg.) are both averaging better than 10 points per game, while Champagnie leads in rebounding (5.7 ppg.) and Johnson in assists (5.2 apg.). Junior Terrell Brown (6.7 ppg.) paces the the team with 12 blocks.</li><li>Pittsburgh returns eight lettermen, including four starters, from a team that posted a 14-19 overall record, including a 3-15 mark in ACC play, in head coach Jeff Capel III’s first season.</li><li>Capel enters his 11th season as a head coach in 2019-20 with an 180-131 overall record, including an 18-19 mark in his second season at Pittsburgh. He has also been a head coach at VCU (2002-06) and Oklahoma (2006-11).</li></ul>&nbsp;<ul><li> </li></ul>&nbsp;UP NEXT: BRADLEY/NORTHWESTERN<ul><li>K-State will play either Bradley (4-1) or Northwestern (2-2) on Wednesday night in either the third-place game (5 p.m., CT) or the championship game (7:30 p.m., CT). Both games will be broadcast on FS1.</li></ul>&nbsp;BRADLEY (4-1)&nbsp;<ul><li>Bradley has rebounded to win four consecutive games (IUPUI, UIC, Norfolk State and Radford) after dropping its opener at Saint Joseph’s (81-86). Five players are averaging in double figures led by Darrell Brown (13.8 ppg.).</li><li>K-State leads the all-time series with Bradley, 3-2, with wins in its last three meetings (1995, 1996, 2014) with the Braves.</li></ul>&nbsp;NORTHWESTERN (2-2)&nbsp;<ul><li>Northwestern rebounded from its opening loss to Merrimack in a big way with a 72-63 win over Providence on Nov. 13 in a Gavitt Games matchup at home. The Wildcats have since split home games with Radford (56-67) and Norfolk State (70-59). Three players are averaging in double figures led by Pete Nance (15.3 ppg.).</li><li>Northwestern leads the all-time series with K-State, 2-1, after sweeping a home-and-home series with the Wildcats in 2001 and 2002.</li></ul>&nbsp; &nbsp;

K-State - Pitt face off in Fort faceoff in Fort Myers Tipoff semifinals Monday 

LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Joshua Youngblood returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown and Skylar Thompson passed for 246 yards and two touchdowns as Kansas State beat Texas Tech 30-27 on Saturday night.Youngblood fielded the kickoff one yard deep in the end zone midway through the third quarter, ran up the right side and covered the final 40 yards running just inches inside the right sideline, eluding multiple defenders.Blake Lynch kicked two 32-yard field goals and a 43-yarder for Kansas State (7-4, 4-4 Big 12, which snapped a two-game losing streak.Thompson’s touchdown passes were 14 yards to Phillip Brooks in the third quarter and 48 yards to Chabastin Taylor midway in the fourth quarter.SaRodorick Thompson had a 5-yard touchdown run and Jett Duffey passed for 334 yards and two touchdowns for Texas Tech (4-7, 2-6) which fell short of bowl eligibility. Duffey’s touchdown passes were 21 yards to Erik Ezukanma and 58 yards to R.J. Turner. Trey Wolff kicked field goals of 44 and 27 yards for the Red Raiders.Youngblood, a freshman who went into play leading the conference averaging 29.5 yards per kickoff return, had a 98-yarder for a touchdown against Texas on Nov. 9. Kansas State has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns this season.THE TAKEAWAYKansas State: The Wildcats rebounded nicely following last week’s home loss against West Virginia after which some players said they took the Mountaineers lightly.Texas Tech: The Red Raiders aren’t going to a bowl for the second straight season. That hasn’t happened since the 1990-92 seasons in the Southwest Conference under Spike Dykes.UP NEXTKansas State: Will host Iowa State next Saturday.

100-yard kickoff return sparks Kansas State past Texas Tech

<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574571067079.jpeg"> MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Big 12 Conference and FOX Sports announced Saturday night that Kansas State’s regular-season finale and Senior Day contest against Iowa State will kick at 6 p.m., and be shown on FS1.&nbsp;Wildcats fans can bring their friends and family to the Thanksgiving weekend game for just $20 per ticket with the Wildcat 4 Pack. Premium bench lower bowl tickets are $55 and bench tickets are $35. Arrive early to celebrate the seniors as we recognize them and their families pregame.

K-State's Senior Day game to kick under the lights

PREP FOOTBALL=Sub-State=Class 2A=Nemaha Central 39, Riley County 14Eight Player=Division II=Osborne 52, Hutchinson Central Christian 26

Riley County falls in class 2A football playoffs

There will be a Hoops &amp; Hops event as the Kansas State men's basketball team hosts Marquette on Saturday, Dec. 7th. There will be a Bootleg &amp; Basketball ticket package that includes access to a pre-game bourbon and whiskey tasting event. The event will have a throwback theme as K-State celebrates Repeal Day with tastings and cocktails in a secret location that will be revealed to ticket purchasers via text message the day of the event. This is being presented in partnership with Standard Beverage and will feature tastings and cocktails from Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, Jim Beam's small batch bourbons like Knob Creek and local Kansas distillery Boot Hill out of Dodge City. Packages for the event include a special K-State branded snifter glass as well as food, spirit tastings and cocktails. Bootleg &amp; Basketball tickets for those who already have game tickets are just $30. Event tickets that also include a bench ticket to the game are only $50. A limited number of both ticket options are available. The deadline for fans to purchase tickets to Bootleg &amp; Basketball is Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tickets can be purchased by visiting k-statesports.com, calling 1-800-221-CATS, or by visiting the Bramlage Coliseum ticket office in person from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Bootleg and Basketball event is set for the K-State - Marquette basketball game Dec. 7

PREP FOOTBALL=Sub-State=Class 6A=Derby 63, Topeka 35Olathe North 28, Blue Valley 7Class 5A=Mill Valley 34, St. Thomas Aquinas 31, OTWichita Northwest 80, Maize 42Class 4A=Andover Central 7, McPherson 0Bishop Miege 48, Paola 14Class 3A=Andale 55, Cheney 20Perry-Lecompton 35, Topeka Hayden 27Class 2A=Norton 10, Hoisington 8Class 1A=Centralia 44, Jackson Heights 6Smith Center 20, Plainville 19Eight Player=Division I=Canton-Galva 46, Madison/Hamilton Co-op 6St. Francis 66, Wichita County 20Division II=Axtell 26, Hanover 12

Friday night high school football playoff scores

There are four finalists in the Girls Division of the Hoop Holler N' Shoot free throw contest. The four advancing from the semifinal round are Makenna Dobson, Woodrow Wilson, sixth grade; Lily Bahr, Manhattan Catholic, 6th grade; Keylee Schartz, Marlatt, 6th grade and Allison Mason, Flint Hills Christian, 6th grade. They will shoot in the finals on Dec. 11th at the K-State vs. Alabama State men's game at Bramlage Coliseum. Hoop Holler N' Shoot, a program of the Little Apple Optimist Club, is a free throw contest for 5th and 6th graders in the Manhattan area grade schools. A boy and girl champion is determined at each school. The grade school champions move onto the semi-finals and finals held at Kansas State University basketball games. More than 975 students participated in the school competitions.

Finalists determined in the 2019 Girls Hoop Holler N' Shoot free throw contest

<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574303987436.jpeg">MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;– Kansas State head coach&nbsp;Chris Klieman&nbsp;and players met with members of the media on Tuesday at the Vanier Family Football Complex in preparation for the Wildcats’ final road contest of the season at Texas Tech this Saturday. A complete transcript of Klieman’s press conference (also streamed live on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/watch/?Archive=11053&amp;type=Archive" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">archived here</a>) are posted below, in addition to select comments from players.&nbsp;Following this weekend’s game, K-State returns home on Saturday, November 30 to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kstatesports.com/news/2019/11/18/football-time-for-senior-day-game-to-be-announced-this-weekend.aspx?path=football" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">face Iowa State at either 2:30 p.m. or 6 p.m.</a>&nbsp;Wildcats fans can bring their friends and family to the Thanksgiving weekend game for just $20 per ticket with the Wildcat 4 Pack. Premium bench lower bowl tickets are $55 and bench tickets are $35. Arrive early to celebrate the seniors as we recognize them and their families pregame. Tickets can be purchased online at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/tickets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">www.kstatesports.com/tickets</a>, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. CHRIS KLIEMAN, HEAD COACHOpening statement…“Good afternoon everybody. Just going back to Saturday quickly - we’re still fighting consistency, that’s the biggest thing. We put together some good consistent drives together, offensively. (We) had a big play to start the game, so there were real positives, but one of the big drives we had we ended up getting stopped at the four and not getting into the end zone, and end up getting three out of that. That’s been where we had been successful is getting more touchdowns in the red zone. That was a game, obviously, we needed touchdowns and didn’t get that done. Then, defensively, (we) had some really good series. We had a lot of three-and-outs and gave our offense an opportunity on a number of occasions when we were down four (points) late to give ourselves us a chance to get back into the game. Talking to Coach Haze (Scottie Hazelton) and the defensive staff, third and long, obviously, was our big detriment. We couldn't get off the field on third and long and gave up three touchdowns on third and long. For us to be successful, we have to win on third down, we have to be able to get in the red zone and get touchdowns. When you don’t do those things - and the match-ups, in my mind, were pretty even as far as anybody could beat anybody in that game - they had the upper hand because they were able to do some of those things. On special teams, we didn’t do anything elite at all. We just were very average on teams. When you're average at that phase - and we need to win that phase - you can end up on the short end. (We) had a good meeting with the guys yesterday. They know we need to continue to battle, needs to continue to improve, need to continue to hold each other accountable. We had a good workout yesterday. We know we are going into a tough environment at Texas Tech playing a night game. Our guys have to put our best foot forward and play our best game.”&nbsp;On West Virginia’s third down conversions…“The (first) one, we pressured and they did a nice job of picking it up, then you have all one-on-ones and nobody gets home. I thought J-Mac (Jahron McPherson) had good coverage, and they threw a nice ball for the score. So that one, give them credit, in my mind. Then they sprinted away from us on one time on a third down, and we just didn’t collapse coverage, based on the sprint out, quickly enough, and they scored. Obviously, on the last one, we just had a blown coverage. (We) did a good job getting pressure, and then when they scrambled out, we didn’t follow the scramble rules that we work on on a weekly basis, and they make a big play.”&nbsp;On starting fast offensively but not sustaining the fast start...“Sometimes it's the worst thing that happens to you, too. You get a big play and you just relax a little bit. I don’t think that’s the case. We were better this week than we were against Texas, but when you struggle to sustain the ability to rush the football, especially on early downs. I thought we were actually pretty good on third down with our offense. Unfortunately, we were on too many third and longs. Our percentages were ok on third-and-long, but you just can’t be in that many of them.”&nbsp;On the lack of explosive plays…“(There are) a number of things - whether it’s having a guy open and not finding that guy that’s open or having a guy open but missing a protection and getting hit, to having a guy open, making the completion or getting a run to somebody and we get tripped up. We’re not kicking out of enough tackles as a running back, as a wide receiver. We’re not protecting all the time as an offensive line to give Skylar (Thompson) enough protection. There are some times that we think that there may be somebody open and Skylar doesn’t see him because of maybe protection. So, I think it's a combination of everything, which is good and bad. At least we’re not pinpointing, ‘Hey, we just can’t open,’ or, ‘We can’t protect.’ We can do those things. We’ve shown we have done those things. We’re just not doing it consistently enough.”&nbsp;On Texas Tech’s propensity to give up explosive plays...“It’s still about matchups. I think that’s a big thing. It’s more about matchups. We’re not an explosive offensive group, either. Now, we can be. We’ve shown that in games, but, once again, the consistency factor has to come through for us. We need to find more explosive plays. That’s the challenge this week. It’s not an excuse, but part of it’s our health. Part of it’s the running back situation is not really healthy back there. When we think we going to kick out of tackle a tackle, we have kids with bad ankles. Once again, it’s not an excuse, we still have to kick out of those, but we’re not able to do that.”&nbsp;On Texas Tech’s pass defense struggles…“We need to still stay within what we do because I just don’t think we’re a team that’s going to get in four wides and throw it 45-50 times. We don’t want to do that. In the same respect, as we watched the TCU game unfold, TCU had a lot of success with quarterback scramble. They blitzed the heck out of TCU, Texas Tech did, and the quarterback beat them with his feet. So, Skylar’s going to have to be able to avoid some rush, as well, simply because if we want to get into a throwing game, it’s going to be a pressure game. We saw that in the last couple weeks that we’ve played. We still need to establish the run so that we can’t get into a nothing-but-throw and they can lay their ears back, or if we can’t run the football early and we’re in a bunch of third-and-longs, they’re going to pressure us. We want to be able to run the football on a 3rd and 4, on a 3rd and 5. We’ve shown the ability to do that with the quarterback run or with our jet series, but when you’re 3rd and 9 and 10, defense’s aren't as worried about it.”&nbsp;On issues with Devin Anctil in the punting game...“A little bit. Obviously, Devin’s not punting to his capabilities. It’s almost to the point of he’s human because he was punting the ball unbelievably well the first three-fourths of the season. He’s struggled the last couple of weeks. A little bit of it is technique, and we’re working on technique. I don't want him to get frustrated because then your technique does fall apart. He knows that he needs to be better, and I’m confident that he will be because he is a big weapon for us. When he’s punting the ball well, we’re flipping the field when we’re not moving the ball on offense and giving our defense a better opportunity. When he’s not and we’re getting into some short fields, we just lose that field-position game. Devin is a tremendous punter. He has tremendous pride in his craft, and I look for a big bounce back from him.”&nbsp; RYAN LACKEYDirector of Football Communications <img src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0?ui=2&amp;ik=3fe30182ee&amp;attid=0.1&amp;permmsgid=msg-f:1650673391969267358&amp;th=16e85eb450846e9e&amp;view=fimg&amp;sz=s0-l75-ft&amp;attbid=ANGjdJ_qWxeBRS05GDI3SN4BnEv6jo3n4QdgGIEUEw6rNwiNF1YWlzXdavK_SIzxCFhn9JppmhxSHU5US6iKMvVqZxNINIzv6FOe4K1XIQfDausVi4HG13liut1dnOg&amp;disp=emb" alt="signature_1425212803" height="23" width="191">&nbsp;

Chris Klieman holds weekly press conference ahead of Texas Tech game

<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574252644276.png">AVERY OSEN Associated PressMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Xavier Sneed had 21 points and six rebounds, Cartier Diarra had seven points and eight assists as Kansas State escaped a scare from Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-51 on Tuesday night.&nbsp;The Wildcats continue to struggle in the first half and still haven't led at intermission yet this season."If we continue to do that as the competition gets better, we won't be able to come back," coach Bruce Weber said. "We've had to grind out some things, but we are learning and growing from it."&nbsp;Sneed had five 3-pointers and it was the first time he'd scored more than 20 points in a game since leading Kansas State past Kentucky in the Sweet 16 two years ago."We're still getting better and a lot of our guys are learning still," Sneed said. "We're all being coachable and that's the biggest thing right now."&nbsp;Marquell Carter led the Arkansas-Pine Bluff (0-4) with 20 points and nine rebounds as the Lions trailed by just six points with nine minutes left in the game.&nbsp;This was Arkansas-Pine Bluff's narrowest margin of defeat this season.&nbsp;The Lions were without two of their top players, Shaun Doss and Terrance Banyard, who both got injured in the past few days.&nbsp;"I think we came in with the mindset of how this game would go, but credit to them," Weber said.&nbsp;&nbsp;Makol Mawien finished with 10 points and Antonio Gordon provided nine as Kansas State ended with 24 points in the paint and 10 offensive rebounds.&nbsp;Neither team took care of the ball very well as Kansas State had 16 turnovers compared to Arkansas-Pine Bluff's 20.&nbsp;Kansas State (4-0) has relied heavily on Diarra and his ability to see the floor as he set a school record for most assists in the first four games of a season with 27.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I try to get their eyes off me and make my teammates look better," Diarra said. "Got to keep passing the ball and getting assists and if they're making shots that'll open more shots for me and allow me to attack."&nbsp;A zone defense by the Lions proved to be troublesome and the Wildcats posted the fewest point total in a home game this season.&nbsp;Kansas State was able to make a season high eight 3-pointers and held the Golden Lions to just three.&nbsp;Both teams had a 12-0 run in the first half, and they were squared at 27 after 20 minutes.&nbsp;INJURY WATCH&nbsp;Montavious Murphy didn't play for the Wildcats due to an injury he sustained against Monmouth last week. He averages five points and five rebounds this season.&nbsp;"He tweaked his knee in the game last week, but it's nothing major," Weber said. "We're hoping for him to play next week, but we're not going to push it."&nbsp;BIG PICTURE&nbsp;Arkansas-Pine Bluff had too many turnovers to hang with the Wildcats but showed promise after a poor start to the season.&nbsp;Kansas State's first half woes continued, but they were able to pull away in the second half.&nbsp;UP NEXT&nbsp;Arkansas-Pine Bluff plays its third game in six days Thursday when they face Pittsburgh.&nbsp;Kansas State will take part in the Fort Myers Tipoff in Florida when they take on Pittsburgh on Monday.

 Kansas State defeats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 62-51

MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have regained a half-game lead in the AFC West by winning in Mexico City.Daniel Sorenson picked off Philip Rivers at the goal line with 18 seconds remaining to preserve the Chiefs’ 24-17 victory over the Chargers. Mike Williams made a spectacular 50-yard catch with 44 seconds to play and Los Angeles got to the Kansas City 14 before Rivers tossed his fourth interception of the night.Patrick Mahomes (mah-HOHMZ’) passed for 182 yards and hit Travis Kelce (KEHL’-see) for his only touchdown. LeSean McCoy and Darrel Williams rushed for touchdowns as the 7-4 Chiefs hung on to win the fourth regular-season NFL game played in Mexico.Kansas City leads its division by a half-game over Oakland.Rivers passed for 353 yards during his first four-interception game since November 2016.The Chargers are 4-7 following their fifth loss in seven games.

Chiefs hold off Chargers for win in Mexico City

<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1574040145139.jpeg">MANHATTAN, Kan.&nbsp;–&nbsp;The Big 12 Conference and FOX Sports announced Sunday that Kansas State’s final road game of 2019 slated for this Saturday at Texas Tech will kick at 6 p.m., and be shown on FS1.&nbsp;It is the Wildcats’ first night game at Texas Tech since a 41-34 victory in 2011, while it is the third time K-State will play under the lights this season. The Wildcats are looking for their fourth-straight win over the Red Raiders, which would tie their longest winning streak in the series.&nbsp;K-State’s regular-season finale and its annual celebration of Senior Day is on November 30 against Iowa State, and that game time and TV designation will be announced on Monday. Tickets for the game against the Cyclones are available at&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kstatesports.com/tickets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(17, 85, 204);">www.kstatesports.com/tickets</a>, by phone at 1-800-221-CATS or at the main ticket office inside Bramlage Coliseum. RYAN LACKEYDirector of Football CommunicationsK-State Athletics

K-State to kick at night in final road contest

Hakeem Bailey intercepted a Skylar Thompson pass at the West Virginia ( three-yard line in the closing seconds to prevent the Wildcats from rallying for a narrow victory over the Mountaineers. The final score at Bill Snyder Family Stadium Saturday was 24-20 in favor of the Mountaineers.	Jarret Doege threw for 234 yards and three scores for West Virginia ( 4-6 ) in the win.	K-State made their share of mistakes in this ballgame. Afterwards coach Chris Klieman stated that it was a disappointing loss. "A game that West Virginia earned the victory and deserved to win. I thought they outplayed us. All that being said, we had an opportunity late in the game to almost steal a victory. So, disappointed in a number of things but we've got to move on, we've got to move forward.	K-State struggled to run the ball, averaging just 3.2 yards per attempt on 32 carries.	Kansas State ( 6-4 ) will play at Texas Tech next Saturday.

Late game interception stops K-State rally 

MANHATTAN, Kansas (AP) — Kansas State hasn’t started games as well as coach Bruce Weber had hoped, despite Wednesday’s 73-54 win over Monmouth.The Wildcats have been outscored in the first half 74-57 through three contests this year and trailed at the half in every game.But somehow, they are still undefeated.“We’re a young team and we’ve won by two decent margins and against decent teams,” Weber said. “We’ve just got to learn and grow from it.”Xavier Sneed scored 15 points and had six rebounds and Makol Mawien nearly had his second double-double of the season scoring 11 points and pulling in nine rebounds. Freshman Montavious Murphy had a career-high eight points.Ray Salnave had 20 points and five rebounds while Mustapha Traore scored five points and had 10 rebounds in the losing effort.Even more first half woes for Kansas State is 3-point shooting- making only one 3 in the first 20 minutes of games this season.“If you haven’t figured it our we’re one for 32 from 3 in the first half this year,” Weber said.Weber and Murphy said they think the speed of the game and a young team are partially to blame on the slow starts.“We come out and just take things for granted and then come and play hard in the second half,” Murphy said. “I think we need to start doing that to start and lock in.”Kansas State’s defense forced 25 turnovers scoring 21 points off those mistakes. The Wildcats 17 steals tied for the third-most in a game in school history.The Wildcats (3-0) won the game in the paint outscoring the Hawks 38-20 as Kansas State seemed to be bigger and faster against the Hawks.“They are big, strong guys,” Monmouth coach King Rice said. “There’s a lot of bumps in the game and it takes a lot out of our legs.”Monmouth (1-2) closed the first half on a 14-4 run after a layup at buzzer by Traore to lead 29-20 at the break.“Our guys started making it a one-on-one game and that’s when they got us down by a bunch,” King said. “I think some of you guys might have been shocked, but I’m a head coach and this is college basketball. Anything can happen in this game.”Sneed opened the second half with a 3, starting a 9-0 run for the Wildcats, which tied the game. K-State scored 23 of the first 27 points in the second half and cruised to victory from there.

K-State rallies to defeat Monmouth

Game 10West Virginia at&nbsp;16/rv/rv&nbsp;Kansas StateDate: Saturday, November 16, 2019Kickoff: 2:30 p.m.Location: Manhattan, Kan.Stadium: Bill Snyder Family Stadium (50,000)Series: K-State leads, 5-4 CATS RETURN HOME TO HOST WEST VIRGINIA ON ESPNK-State will look to bounce back from a narrow three-point loss at Texas this week as the Wildcats welcome West Virginia to Manhattan for an afternoon Big 12 match up. The game, which kicks at 2:30 p.m., will air on ESPN with Mark Jones (play-by-play, Dusty Dvoreck (analyst) and Olivia Dekker (sidelines) on the call. The contest can be heard across the 39-station K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play, former K-State quarterback Stan Weber (analyst) and Matt Walters (sidelines) calling the action. The game can also be heard on SiriusXM (S: 137, X: 200, Internet: 954) in addition to the TuneIn app. A LOOK AT K-STATE<ul><li>K-State has won three of its last four games and is bowl-eligible under first-year head coach Chris Klieman.</li><li>K-State has rushed for 1,789 yards this year on 387 carries which includes 25 rushing touchdowns after tallying only 20 rushing scores a year ago.</li><li>The Wildcats are on pace to finish the 2019 season in the top 10 in school history in team rushing yards.</li><li>K-State’s 11 rushing scores over the Oklahoma and Kansas games were the most in the nation over that stretch. Quarterback Skylar Thompson had seven of those scores, also the best in the nation during that stretch.</li><li>Thompson’s seven rushing scores against OU and KU were the most over a two-game stretch by a K-State quarterback since Collin Klein in 2012.</li><li>Thompson – who has four career game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or later – has thrown for 1,589 yards and nine touchdowns with one interception. His current 0.5% interception percentage ranks as the best mark in Big 12 history.</li><li>With 29 rushing yards against WVU, Thompson can become the fourth signal caller in school history with 3,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.</li><li>Receivers Dalton Schoen and Malik Knowles each have over 300 receiving yards and three touchdowns.</li><li>The K-State defense enters the week ranked highly in many statistical categories, including third down defense (3rd; 26.0%) and first downs allowed (17th; 152).</li><li>K-State has given up just five passing TDs this season, which are tied for the fewest nationally this year (Ohio State).</li><li>The Cats have surrendered only 25 total third down conversions this season, which are tied for the fewest in the FBS, while they were the final team to allow a fourth-down conversion when they did so last week against Texas.</li><li>Linebacker Elijah Sullivan and safety Denzel Goolsby lead the team with 40 tackles apiece.</li><li>Ten different Wildcats have at least 2.0 TFLs – led by Wyatt Hubert’s 7.5 – and Hubert leads the team with 5.0 sacks.</li><li>Cornerback AJ Parker has a team-high three interceptions to tie for fourth in the Big 12.</li><li>The Wildcats possess a great kicker/punter duo as Blake Lynch ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage (91.7%, while Devin Anctil ranks 18th in the nation with a 44.9-yard punting average.</li><li> </li></ul>A LOOK AT WEST VIRGINIA<ul><li>West Virginia is coming off a 38-17 setback to Texas Tech and enters the game with a 3-6 overall record and a 1-5 mark in Big 12 play.</li><li>The Mountaineers are averaging 329.7 yards per game on offense, which includes 253.9 through the air.</li><li>Former Oklahoma quarterback Austin Kendall has thrown for 1,989 yards and 12 touchdowns on 187-of-304 aim.</li><li>Kendall’s favorite target has been Sam James, who has 58 catches for 623 yards and two touchdowns. T.J. Simmons and George Campbell each have a team-high four receiving scores.</li><li>Running backs Leddie Brown (227) and Kennedy McKoy (220) lead the team in rushing with McCoy having a team-high three touchdowns on the ground.</li><li>Defensively, Josh Norwood has 61 tackles to lead the way, while Darius Stills ranks second in the Big 12 in both sacks (7.0) and tackles for loss (12.0).</li><li> </li></ul>CATS ARE BOWL BOUND<ul><li>With the win over Kansas, K-State got win No. 6 and became bowl eligible for the 22nd time in school history.</li><li>Since 1990, K-State has qualified for the postseason 21 times, including this season.</li><li>Chris Klieman became the second coach in school history to take the Wildcats to a bowl in their first year as coach and the fourth overall to do so.</li></ul>

Wildcats host West Virginia on Saturday

The Kansas Jayhawks are ranked fifth in the latest Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. Kentucky is number one followed by Duke, Michigan State, Louisville and Kansas. Also from the Big 12, Texas Tech was ranked number 11 and Baylor 24th.

Jayhawks ranked fifth in Associated Press college basketball poll

<img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2019/11/1573240225927.jpeg">FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Graduate transfer quarterback Alex Delton has left TCU’s team after not playing in the past two games. Coach Gary Patterson acknowledged the departure of Delton during his weekly news conference Tuesday. The transfer from Kansas State was named a team captain at the beginning of the season and started the first two games for the Horned Frogs. Patterson said Delton obviously wanted to play more. Freshman Max Duggan has started the past six games. Duggan is dealing with an injured middle finger on his throwing hand sustained in Saturday’s 34-27 loss at Oklahoma State. Michael Collins came in for Duggan and took a hard shot to the midsection on TCU’s last offensive play. Patterson said he thinks Duggan will play Saturday against No. 11 Baylor, but that Collins probably won’t for the Frogs (4-4). In his career at Hays High, Delton was a two-year starter at quarterback for the Indians, completing more than 55 percent of his passes for 1,978 yards, 26 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 1,369 yards and 21 touchdowns. — Hays Post contributed to this report