Saturday, February 1, 2020 >> 1:05 p.m., CT >> WVU Coliseum (14,000) >> Morgantown, W.Va.

TELEVISION

ESPN2 / WatchESPN

Mark Neely (play-by-play)
Tim Welsh (analyst)
David Ashbrock (producer)

TICKETS

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COACHES

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

Overall: 472-255/22nd season

At K-State: 159-100/8th season

vs. West Virginia: 7-9 (2-5 on the road)

West Virginia: Bob Huggins (West Virginia ‘77)

Overall: 876-366/38th season

At West Virginia: 286-155/13th season

vs. Kansas State: 10-7 (5-2 at home)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (9-11)

G: #4 David Sloan

G: #3 DaJuan Gordon

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #23 Montavious Murphy

F: #14 Makol Mawien

West Virginia (16-4)

G: #5 Jordan McCabe

G: #10 Jermaine Haley

F: #11 Emmitt Matthews, Jr.

F: #1 Derek Culver

F: #34 Oscar Tshiebwe

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: West Virginia leads 10-8

Current Streak: K-State, 3

In Morgantown: West Virginia leads 5-3

At WVU Coliseum: West Virginia leads 4-3

Last Meeting: W, 84-68 [1/18/2020 in Manhattan]

Weber vs. Huggins: Tied 9-9 [2-5 on the road]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (9-11, 2-5 Big 12) opens the month of February on the road for the third time in 4 games, as the Wildcats travel to Morgantown, W.Va., to face former head coach Bob Huggins and his nationally-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers (16-4, 4-3 Big 12) on Saturday afternoon before an expected sold-out WVU Coliseum. For the second consecutive game, the Wildcats will face a repeat Big 12 opponent as they seek to sweep the season series from the Mountaineers for the second straight season after earning an 84-68 win at home on Jan. 18. The game will tip at 1:05 p.m., CT on ESPN2 with Mark Neely (play-by-play) and Tim Welsh (analyst) on the call.
Saturday’s game will continue a stretch of 3 games in a 6-day span for the Wildcats, which began in Wednesday’s 61-53 win over Oklahoma and concludes on Monday night at home against top-ranked Baylor (18-1, 7-0 Big 12). It marks the second time this season that K-State has faced ranked teams in consecutive games (3 consecutive Top 25 opponents from Jan. 14-21, while the Baylor game on Monday will mark the fifth Top 25 foe in a 7-game stretch for the Wildcats.
K-State concluded the month of January on a winning note with perhaps its best defensive effort of the season in the 61-53 victory over Oklahoma. The Wildcats forced the Sooners into a season-tying 19 turnovers, which they converted into 18 points, to snap a 2-game losing streak and extend its home winning streak to 8 games in the series. Oklahoma had entered the game tops in the Big 12 and No. 4 in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.2). It marked an overall stellar defensive night for K-State, which held an opponent to 60 points or less for the 95th time in head coach Bruce Weber’s tenure with the Wildcats boasting an 86-9 (.905) mark in those games. Seven of the 9 wins this season have come when opponent has been held to 60 points or less this season, but the first since the Alabama State win on Dec. 11.
West Virginia has continued its impressive turnaround this season under Hall of Fame head coach Bob Huggins, who recently passed legendary head coach Adolph Rupp (876) on the all-time wins list. The Mountaineers boast one of the best resumes in the nation with notable victories over Wichita State (75-63, Ohio State (67-59) and Texas Tech (81-49). The team is one of the top defensive teams in the country, ranking in the Top 10 in 5 defensive categories, including fourth in both field goal percentage defense (36.6) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (27.2, seventh in rebounds per game (41.4) and eighth in rebounding margin (+8.9).
The Wildcats have received a spark since junior David Sloan moved into the starting point guard role. The team has averaged 69.8 points and 13.8 assists in the last 4 games after averaging 57.8 points and 8.8 assists in the previous 4 games. During the current 4-game span, Sloan is averaging 9.5 points, 4.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 26.1 minutes per game, which included a season-high 17 points at No. 3/3 Kansas. Prior to the West Virginia game on Jan. 18, he was averaging 3.7 points and 1.9 assists in 15.5 minutes per game.
Injuries have been a big part of K-State’s season, as 5 different players have missed a combined 43 games, which has caused head coach Bruce Weber to use 6 different starting lineups. The 6 starting lineups are the most since using 11 in 2014-15.

NOTES ON 12/11 WEST VIRGINIA

No. 12/11 West Virginia (16-4, 4-3 Big 12) is coming off an 89-81 loss at Texas Tech on Wednesday, which halted a 2-game winning streak (Texas and Missouri) since its loss in Manhattan on Jan. 18. The Red Raiders connected on 54.3 percent from the field, including 64.7 percent from 3-point range, and 87.5 percent from the free throw line. The Mountaineers stayed in the game by forcing 22 turnovers, which resulted in 29 points. Sophomore Derek Culver led five players in double figures with 16 points.
West Virginia is averaging 73.7 points on 43.6 percent shooting, including 30.1 percent from 3-point range, to go with a Big 12-best 41.4 rebounds, 12.7 assists, 8.2 steals and 3.9 blocks per game, while allowing 61.6 points on 36.6 percent shooting, including 27.2 percent from 3-point range. They rank fourth nationally in field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense, while they are second in offensive rebounds (14.9, seventh in rebounds per game and eighth in rebounding margin (+8.9).
The Mountaineers are led by one of the top front courts in the country in freshman Oscar Tshiebwe (11.4 ppg., 9.1 rpg.) and sophomore Derek Culver (10.7 ppg., 9.0 rpg., who are both nearly averaging a double-double. Tshiebwe is connecting on 60 percent from the field to go with a team-best 27 blocks, while Culver is hitting on 45.6 percent to go with a team-best 39 assists. Freshman Miles McBride is averaging 10.4 points on 44 percent shooting to go with 38 assists and 21 steals. Returnees Jermaine Haley and Emmitt Matthews, Jr., are averaging 9.4 and 6.9 points per game.
West Virginia is led by Hall of Fame head coach Bob Huggins, who has posted an 876-365 (.706) record in 38 years of coaching. His 876 victories rank third among all active Division I head coaches and seventh all-time. He has a 286-154 (.650) mark in his 13th season with the Mountaineers, having led them to 9 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2010 Final Four.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State and West Virginia will meet for the 19th time in their histories on Saturday with the Mountaineers owning a 10-8 advantage, including a 9-7 mark since the start of the Big 12. The two schools met twice before the start of Big 12 play in 2013, including the first meeting in 1949.
West Virginia had won 9 of the last 12 meetings with K-State, including 4 in a row, before the Wildcats swept 2019 matchups with a 71-69 win at home on Jan. 9 and a 65-51 win in Morgantown on Feb. 18. The current 3-game winning streak is the longest since winning 3 straight from 2013-14.
West Virginia leads the series in Morgantown at 5-3, which includes wins in 5 of the last 6 meetings. The 65-51 win by K-State last season at the WVU Coliseum was the first since a 65-64 win on Jan. 12, 2013.
Head coach Bruce Weber is 7-9 all-time against West Virginia, including a 2-5 mark on the road, while Weber is 9-9 vs. head coach Bob Huggins.
Senior Xavier Sneed has had the most success against West Virginia in his career, averaging 11.4 points on 48.3 percent shooting, including 48.8 percent from 3-point range, with 3.5 rebounds in 8 games with 6 starts.

ON THE ROAD

K-State has a 60-133 (.311) 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 48-62 (.449) record away from home after going 10-70 (.125) from 1997-2006. The team is 32-49 (.410) under Bruce Weber on the road, including 25-39 (.403) in the Big 12.
K-State posted a 7-2 mark on the road in Big 12 play a season ago, which was the best mark by a Wildcat team since going 6-1 in 1975-76. This year, the team is 1-4 on the road, including 0-3 in Big 12 play.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 61, OKLAHOMA 53

K-State forced Oklahoma into a season-tying 19 turnovers, which included 12 steals, as the Wildcats snapped a 2-game losing streak with a 61-53 win over the Sooners on Wednesday before 8,472 fans at Bramlage Coliseum.
K-State converted those season-high 19 turnovers into 18 points, as the Wildcats won their eighth consecutive game against Oklahoma in Bramlage Coliseum. The Sooners entered the game ranked tops in the Big 12 and No. 4 in the NCAA in fewest turnovers per game (10.2).
It marked a stellar defensive night for K-State, which held Oklahoma to just 35.3 percent shooting (18-of-51, including 19 percent (4-of-21) from 3-point range. The team has now held an opponent to 60 points or less in 95 games under head coach Bruce Weber with the Wildcats boasting an 86-9 mark in those contests. Seven of the 9 wins this season have come when the opponent has been held to 60 points or less.
K-State got 28 points from its bench, as junior Mike McGuirl led all scorers with a game-high 16 points, including 11 in the second half, while fellow junior Cartier Diarra added 10 points. Senior Xavier Sneed chipped in 12 points to go with a game-high 4 steals in 35 minutes.
The defensive intensity started for the onset, as Oklahoma missed its first 7 field goal attempts to go with 3 turnovers before a dunk by junior Kur Kuath gave the Sooners their first successful make at the 11:21 mark. By that time, K-State had built a double-digit that the Wildcats nearly carried the entire first half before a 5-0 OU run cut the deficit to 28-22 at the half.
K-State opened the second half with 9 consecutive points to push the lead back into double figures at 37-22, as Oklahoma once again missed its first 7 field goal attempts to start the half before a jumper by junior Alondes Williams at the 14:26 mark. The lead stayed in double figures until the last minute when poor free throw shooting by the Wildcats and two 3-pointers drew the Sooners to within 57-53 with 10 seconds left. However, McGuirl ended any further comeback with 4 consecutive free throws to end the game.
The Sooner scoring trio of senior Kristian Doolittle (6) and juniors Brady Manek (5) and Austin Reaves (12, who entered the game averaging more than 45 points per game, were held to just 23 points on 6-of-24 shooting.

LEADING WITH DEFENSE

K-State has continued its reputation as one of the top defensive teams in the country under head coach Bruce Weber, holding its first 20 opponents to 63.4 points on 41.5 percent shooting (439-of-1059, including 32 percent (132-of-412) from 3-point range, while posting a Big 12-best 8.7 steals and forcing 16.6 turnovers per game (second behind Texas Tech in the Big 12).
K-State ranks among Top 50 in 3 defensive categories, including 46th in scoring defense, 26th in turnovers forced (16.6) and 27th in steals per game.
K-State has held 26 of its last 54 opponents to 60 points or less with just seven eclipsing 70 (with 6 occurring in the last 21 games). The squad has held 95 opponents to 60 points or less in Bruce Weber’s tenure, boasting an 86-9 mark in those contests. The Wildcats are 7-1 this season when holding an opponent below 60 points, including their first 4 wins.
K-State had one of the top defensive teams in the country in 2018-19, holding opponents to 59.6 points on 41.5 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range, while forcing 14.8 turnovers per game and averaging 7.5 steals per game. The Wildcats ranked among the nation’s best in a number of defensive categories, including fourth in scoring defense, 16th in turnover margin (+3.5, 36th in 3-point field goal percentage defense, 43rd in total steals (256) and 48th in steals per game.
K-State had one of the top defensive teams in the country in 2018-19, holding opponents to 59.6 points on 41.5 percent shooting, including 31.4 percent from 3-point range, while forcing 14.8 turnovers per game and averaging 7.5 steals per game. The Wildcats ranked among the nation’s best in a number of defensive categories, including fourth in scoring defense, 16th in turnover margin (+3.5, 36th in 3-point field goal percentage defense, 43rd in total steals (256) and 48th in steals per game.
The 59.6 points per game average was the lowest opponent scoring average since the introduction of the shot clock in 1985-86, surpassing the 60.4 points per game average in 2012-13, while it was the sixth-lowest all-time and the lowest since the 1982-83 team allowed 58.4 points per game. Only eight other teams (1948-49, 1949-50, 1950-51, 1961-62, 1980-81, 1981-82, 1982-83) allowed less than 60 points per game in school history.
K-State held foes to an average of 14.5 points under their average in 2018-19, including a 14.6 average in Big 12 play. Eleven opponents (6 Big 12 foes) were held to 20 or more points under their average, most notably Texas Tech (26.6, TCU (25.4 and 23.5, Iowa State (24.3) and OSU (21.8).
In Big 12 play, K-State allowed 59.6 points per game on 42.6 percent shooting, including 33.8 percent from 3-point range. It is the school’s lowest defensive scoring average in a Big 12 season and a tie for the ninth-best in a conference season and the lowest since 1961-62. The Wildcats held Big 12 opponents (Iowa State, TCU [twice], Texas Tech, Oklahoma State [twice], West Virginia, Baylor and Oklahoma) to 60 points or less on 9 occasions.

POINTS OFF TURNOVERS

K-State is once again using its defense to generate offense, as the Wildcats are forcing 16.6 turnovers per game, including a Big 12-best 8.7 steals per game, while averaging 17.6 points per game off those opponent turnovers.
K-State has scored 20 or more points off opponent turnovers 9 times this season, including a season-high 28 in the win over No. 12/13 West Virginia. The team has also scored 20 or more points off turnovers against Monmouth (21, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (20, Pittsburgh (24) Bradley (22, Florida A&M (20, Alabama State (26, Texas (23) and No. 23/23 Texas Tech (20).
K-State has forced 5 opponents into 20 or more turnovers, including a season-best 25 turnovers by UNLV and Monmonth.
K-State has scored over 4,000 points (4,026) off turnovers during head coach Bruce Weber’s tenure, an average of 15.5 points per game. In 2018-19, the Wildcats averaged 17.4 points off turnovers, outscoring opponents, 590-362. The team posted 12 games of 20 or more points off turnovers.

DEFICITS AND COMEBACKS

K-State has had to battle back from early deficits in 4 of the last 6 games, but has found a way to rally from those deficits before losing down the stretch. The Wildcats trailed TCU and Texas both by 7 points, were down 10-0 to No. 23/23 Texas Tech and fell behind by 16 at Alabama.
K-State was down 7-0 to start against TCU before slowing chipping away at the deficit to eventually take a 17-16 lead at the 8:19 mark of the first half and tying at 23-all before the Horned Frogs scored 12 of the last 14 points. Down 49-42 with just over 7 to play, the Wildcats tied the game at 57-all on David Sloan’s 3-pointer before losing on a tip-in with 2 seconds.
K-State trailed 9-2 to start against Texas before again rallying to take an 18-16 lead with 6:40 before halftime. With the Wildcats leading 25-23 with 2:48 to play in the first half, the Longhorns would score 20 of the next 22 points to take 43-27 advantage with 13:11 remaining.
K-State allowed No. 23/23 Texas Tech to score the first 10 points of the game, but the resilient Wildcats responded with 7 in a row to close to within one possession before trailing 37-30 at the half. The team again fought back to take a 46-45 lead on a layup by senior Cartier Diarra to cap an 11-2 run with 13:24 to play. The Red Raiders responded with a 16-4 run over the next 6 minutes to take a 61-50 lead with just over 7 minutes remaining.

2-POINTERS HAVE BEEN KEY

With its 3-point percentage nearly identical in wins (33.3; 69-of-207) as in losses (32.8; 77-of-235, K-State’s 2-point field goal percentage has been a key factor in its wins this season. On the year, the Wildcats are connecting on 47.4 percent (315-of-664) from inside the 3-point line.
K-State is connecting on 45.8 percent (233-of-509) of its field goals in the 9 wins, including 54.3 percent (164-of-302) from inside the arc, while the team is hitting just 38.2 percent (228-of-597) of their field goals in the 11 losses, including 41.7 percent (151-of-362) from inside the arc.
This has been illustrated in the losses to Marquette and Mississippi State, as K-State connected on 32.3 percent (20-of-62) of its field goals, including 33.3 percent (13-of-39) from inside the arc, in the 73-65 loss to the Golden Eagles and 32.6 percent (14-of-43) of its field goals, including 32 percent (8-of-25) from inside the arc, in the 67-61 loss to the Bulldogs.
No 2 players have been as impactful in this statistic, as senior Xavier Sneed and junior Cartier Diarra.
Sneed is averaging a team-best 16.4 points on 48.6 percent (51-of-105) shooting, including 61.5 percent (32-of-52) from inside the arc, in the 9 wins, while he is averaging 13 points on just 31.5 percent (40-of-127) shooting in the 11 losses, including 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from inside the arc.
Diarra is averaging 13.0 points on 42 percent (47-of-112) shooting, including 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from inside the arc, in the 9 wins, while he is averaging 11.9 points on 39 percent (46-of-118) shooting, including 47.6 percent (30-of-63) from inside the arc, in the 11 losses.

SNEED GETTING HOT

Senior Xavier Sneed has led the Wildcats in scoring 8 times this season, averaging 14.6 points on 39.2 percent shooting (91-of-232, including 32.5 percent (39-of-120) from 3-point range. He has scored in double figures in a team-best 16 games, while he has double-digit points in 9 of the last 10 games, including 5 consecutive games.
Sneed scored 19 points in the overtime win over UNLV on Nov. 9, including the go-ahead jumper with 28 seconds left, then followed that up with a 15-point effort vs. Monmouth on Nov. 13 before posting 21 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Nov. 19. His 18-point effort vs. Florida A&M on Dec. 2 lifted him to the Top 20 scoring, while he claimed his second 20-point game with 20 against Alabama State on Dec. 11. He has a combined 14.7 points in the last 10 games, including a season-best 22 against Oklahoma on Jan. 4.
With his first rebound against Marquette on Dec. 7, Sneed became the 13th player in school history with at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. He currently has 1,299 points in 124 career games to go with 554 rebounds. He joins a 1,000-point/500-rebound list that includes legends Dick Knostman, Jack Parr, Bob Boozer, David Hall, Steve Mitchell, Rolando Blackman, Ed Nealy, Jamar Samuels, Rodney McGruder, Thomas Gipson, Wes Iwundu and Dean Wade.
Sneed, who currently ranks 14th on the all-time scoring list with 1,299 points and needs just 28 to move into 12th place, needs just 54 rebounds to crack the school’s all-time Top 15 list in rebounds. If he could accomplish that feat, he would join a list that includes Ed Nealy, Bob Boozer, Jamar Samuels, Dean Wade, Rodney McGruder and Rolando Blackman that ranks in the Top 15 in both scoring and rebounding.

SNEED MOVING UP THE CHARTS

Senior Xavier Sneed continues to move up several career charts, as he ranks among the Top 20 in scoring (14th, 3-point field goals made (fifth) and attempted (fourth, steals (fourth) and minutes (10th).
With his 16-point effort in the win over No. 12/13 West Virginia, Sneed moved into the school’s Top 15 in scoring at No. 15 with 1,257 points, moving past former teammate Kamau Stokes (1,242, current Orland Magic Wes Iwundu (1,249) and Tyrone Adams (1,251). He is the the fourth Wildcat under head coach Bruce Weber to rank in the Top 15 in scoring, following Barry Brown, Jr. (1,781 points/fifth, Rodney McGruder (1,576/eighth) and Dean Wade (1,510/10th). He currently ranks 14th in 1,299 points with sights set on Ed Nealy (1,304) and Mitch Richmond (1,327).
Sneed already ranks among the very best among all 3-point shooters in school history, passing Rodney McGruder for fifth in career makes (196) and ranking fourth in career attempts (577). He needs just 4 more 3-pointers to become just the fifth Wildcat with 200 more triples in a career.
Sneed also continues to move up the steals chart with his 172 ranking fourth in school history, while he just cracked the school’s Top 10 in minutes played with 3,451 minutes in 125 games played.

DIARRA PROVING TO BE A SOLID PG

Junior Cartier Diarra is proving to be a solid point guard for the Wildcats, averaging 13 points on 40.4 percent (93-of-230) shooting with 5.0 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 31.5 minutes per game. He has led the team in scoring 9 times, including 7 times in the last 13 games.
Diarra became the 26th Wildcat to eclipse 200 career assists vs. 23/23 Texas Tech (1/14/20, while he needs 1 to become the 39th player to top 100 assists in a single season. He has led the team in assists in 15 of 20 games this season, while he has at least 5 assists in 12 games, including a career-high 10 vs. Alabama State on Dec. 11. He became the first Wildcat with a 10-assist game since Marcus Foster (at Baylor) on Feb. 15, 2014.
Diarra ranks among the top 65 nationally in both assists (56th/5.0 apg.) and total assists (63rd/99). He ranks third in assists and fifth in steals in the Big 12, while he is 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.46) and 13th in scoring.
Diarra has scored in double figures in 11 times in the last 16 games, including team-highs vs. Marquette (14, Mississippi State (20, Tulsa (25, Texas (14, No. 23/23 Texas Tech (19) and No. 12/13 West Virginia (25).

DIARRA NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK DEC. 30

Junior Cartier Diarra earned his first career Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honor on Dec. 31 after scoring a career-best 25 points, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 22.4 seconds left, to help the Wildcats defeat Tulsa, 69-67, on Dec. 30.
Diarra is the first Wildcat to earn the Big 12’s weekly honor since Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade won the accolade in back-to-back weeks on January 14 and 21, 2019. Overall, it marks the school’s 29th Player of the Week honor since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997, including the 13th under head coach Bruce Weber.
Diarra collected his third 20-point game of the season in Sunday’s victory over the Golden Hurricane, connecting on 8-of-16 from the field, including 6-of-11 from beyond the arc, to go with a 3-of-4 effort from the line, a game-high 7 assists and 5 rebounds in 33 minutes of action. His 6 3-pointers were a career-high and the most by a Wildcat since teammate Xavier Sneed knocked down 6 triples against West Virginia on Jan. 1, 2018.

SLOAN CREATES A SPARK

K-State has received a spark since junior David Sloan has moved into the starting point guard role, allowing junior Cartier Diarra to move off the ball, in the win over 12/13 West Virginia on Jan. 18.
The Wildcats have averaged 69.8 points and 13.8 assists in the last 4 games after averaging 57.8 points and 8.8 assists in the previous 4 games. During this 4-game span, Sloan is averaging 9.5 points, 4.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 26.1 minutes per game, which included a season-high 17 points at No. 3/3 Kansas. Prior to the West Virginia game, Sloan was averaging 3.7 points and 1.9 assists in 15.5 minutes per game.

FRESHMEN PLAYING A MAJOR ROLE

Three freshmen (DaJuan Gordon, Antonio Gordon and Montavious Murphy) are playing major roles for the Wildcats, as each are averaging 20 or more minutes this season, including 10 starts by Murphy, 7 by Antonio Gordon and 3 by DaJuan Gordon. Murphy missed 7 games due to injury.
DaJuan Gordon has played in all 20 games, averaging 23.3 minutes per game to lead all reserves. He has scored in double figures 4 times, including a 15-point effort against No. 12/13 West Virginia. He has connected on 47.3 percent (53-of-112) from the field and 38.3 percent (18-of-47) from 3.
Antonio Gordon has seen action in 16 games, averaging 19.6 minutes per game. He is averaging 5.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
Murphy, who became the first true freshmen to start an opener since 2015, started each of the first 3 games of the season before his injury on Nov. 13. He returned to play 18 minutes against Saint Louis before starting 7 of the last 9 games and averaging 25.4 minutes per game.

EZEAGU JOINS TEAM JAN. 17

Head coach Bruce Weber announced on January 17 that transfer forward Kaosi Ezeagu (Brampton, Ontario/GTA Prep/UTEP) has signed a scholarship agreement to join the men’s basketball team. He will have three years of eligibility once he sits out the required time as a Division I transfer.
Ezeagu will enroll at K-State for the spring semester and will be able to start practicing with the team. He will have to sit out for the reminder of the 2019-20 season and the first semester of the 2020-21 season before being eligible in mid-December 2020.
A 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward from Brampton, Ontario, Ezeagu played one season at UTEP for head coach Rodney Terry in 2018-19. He played in all 29 games for the Miners as a true freshman, averaging 3.2 points on a team-best 56.9 percent shooting (37-of-65) with 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 12.4 minutes per game. He led the team with 24 blocked shots with at least 2 blocks in eight contests. Twice he scored in double figures, including 10 in his first game against UTPB on Nov. 16, 2018 and a season-best 12 against Middle Tennessee State on March 6, 2019.
Ezeagu was born in the Bahamas but went to prep school in Brampton, Ontario, where he was rated one of the top prep players in Canada after averaging 11.4 points and 10.4 rebounds at GTA Prep in 2017-18.

LOVE, GORDON SUSPENDED FOLLOWING ACTIONS AT KANSAS

Redshirt junior James Love III and freshman Antonio Gordon have been issued suspensions by the Big 12 Conference following their actions at the conclusion of Tuesday night’s game at Kansas, Commissioner Bob Bowlsby announced Wednesday.
Love has been suspended for eight games, which will begin once he is medically cleared for competition, while Gordon’s suspension will be three games and begin immediately. Until each student-athlete has served their suspension, they are immediately prohibited from traveling with the team to away competition, participating in pregame activities, and being in the team’s bench area. However, each student-athlete may continue to practice and receive related support to their participation as a student-athlete.
Additionally, both programs were reprimanded for violations of the Big 12 Sportsmanship Policies as a result of players leaving the bench area.
“We do not condone this type of behavior in any circumstance and fully support Commissioner Bowlsby’s decision on this matter,” K-State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said. “There is no place for this type of conduct in the game of basketball, or any sport, and in particular this great rivalry. In addition, I would like to offer my appreciation to Jeff Long and the University of Kansas administration and staff for their efforts in resolving the situation.”
“I’m extremely disappointed in our team’s actions in the aftermath of last night’s game at Kansas,” added Head Coach Bruce Weber. “They do not reflect what our program is about here at K-State. Our team will live with the consequences of those actions and move forward in a positive manner. Our focus going forward is to help our players learn from this situation and ensure that it never happens again.”

RECAPPING NON-CONFERENCE HISTORY

K-State concluded non-conference play with the 77-74 loss at Alabama on Saturday. Despite the setback, the Wildcats finished with a winning record in non-conference play for 14th season in a row.
K-State has a 111-8 (.932) record at home venues (includes home games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the Sprint Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play dating back to the 2006-07 season, including a 102-6 (.944) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
Despite seeing their 33-game winning streak end at Bramlage Coliseum with a loss to Marquette on Dec. 7, the Wildcats have still won 98 of their last 104 non-conference home games. The last home non-conference loss before Marquette came against Georgia, 50-46, on Dec. 31, 2014.
K-State has posted a 147-42 (.781) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season, which includes a 10-3 (.769) mark in 2018-19. The team has posted double-digit non-conference wins in 12 of the last 13 years.
Since going 7-6 in non-conference in 2014-15, which included back-to-back losses to Texas Southern and Georgia, the Wildcats has won double-digit non-conference games each of the past four seasons and is 50-15 (.781) in non-conference play since the start of 2015-16 season.

WEBER NAMED USA BASKETBALL CO-NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR

After leading Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup this past summer, K-State men’s basketball coach Bruce Weber was selected as the co-recipient of the 2019 USA Basketball National Coach of the Year award.
Weber shared the honor with Louisville women’s basketball coach Jeff Walz, who also led the USA Women’s U19 World Cup Team to a gold medal on July 20-28 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Since 1996, USA Basketball has awarded its National Coach of the Year honor to a USA Basketball head coach, who during the year of the award, made a significant impact on the success of the individual athlete and team performance at the highest levels of competition in a manner consistent with the highest ethical, professional and moral standards.
Weber, who served as a head coach in the USA Basketball system for the first time in his career, led Team USA to their seventh gold medal at the FIBA (International Basketball Federation) U19 World Cup, including the first since 2015, with a perfect 7-0 record. Team USA capped their perfect performance with a 93-79 win over Mali in the gold-medal game in Greece on July 7.
Team USA averaged better than 100 points per game and won the tournament by an average of 28.7 points per game, including victories over New Zealand (111-71, Lithuania (102-84) and Senegal (87-58) to capture Group A then wins over Latvia (116-66) in the group of 16, Russia (95-80) in the medal round, Lithuania (102-67) in the semifinals and Mali (93-79) in the finals. The team ranked first in points per game (100.9, field goal percentage (.475, assists per game (28.6 apg.) and steals per game (15.9 spg.).

UP NEXT: 1/1 BAYLOR (18-1, 7-0 Big 12)

K-State makes a quick turnaround on Monday night, as the Wildcats play host to top-ranked Baylor (18-1, 7-0 Big 12) at 8 p.m., CT. on ESPN2. The Bears will be the eighth top-ranked team to visit Bramlage Coliseum in its 32-year history and the first since Oklahoma in 2016.

TOM GILBERT

Director for Men’s Basketball Communications | K-State Athletics

Kansas State vs. West Virginia set for Saturday