GAME 5
KANSAS STATE (4-0) vs. PITTSBURGH (4-2)
Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loan Fort Myers Tipoff
Semifinal Rounds
Monday, November 25, 2019 >> 5 p.m. CT >> Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) >> Fort Myers, Fla.
TELEVISION
FS1
- Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play)
- Bill Raftery (analyst)
- Casey Carter (producer)
RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]
- Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
- Stan Weber (analyst)
COACHES
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 467-244/22nd season
At K-State: 154-89/8th season
vs. Pittsburgh: 0-1 (0-1 at neutral site)
Pittsburgh: Jeff Capel III (Duke ‘97)
Overall: 180-131/11th season
At Pittsburgh: 18-21/2nd season
vs. Kansas State: 1-4 (0-0 at neutral site)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (4-0)
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #34 Levi Stockard III
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Pittsburgh (4-2)
G: #1 Xavier Johnson
G: #2 Trey McGowens
G: #24 Ryan Murphy
F: #11 Justin Champagnie
F: #21 Terrell Brown
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Pittsburgh leads 1-0
Current Streak: Pittsburgh, 1
In Fort Myers: First meeting
At Suncoast Credit Union Arena: First meeting
Last Meeting: L, 47-70 [11/26/14 in Maui, Hawai’i]
Weber vs. Capel III: First meeting
OPENING TIP
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
NOTES ON PITTSBURGH
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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).
UP NEXT: BRADLEY/NORTHWESTERN
- 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.
BRADLEY (4-1)
- 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.).
- K-State leads the all-time series with Bradley, 3-2, with wins in its last three meetings (1995, 1996, 2014) with the Braves.
NORTHWESTERN (2-2)
- 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.).
- 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.