KANSAS STATE (9-19, 2-13 Big 12) vs. 1/1 KANSAS (25-3, 14-1 Big 12)
Saturday, February 29, 2020 // 12:36 p.m. CT // Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) // Manhattan, Kan.
RIVALRY GAME
Dillons Sunflower Showdown
K-State and Kansas will meet for the 293rd time on Saturday in a rivalry that dates to 1907. It is the sixth-most played rivalry and eighth-most played in NCAA Division I history.
TELEVISION
CBS Sports / CBS Sports App
- Brad Nessler (play-by-play)
- Jim Spanarkel (analyst)
- Evan Washburn (sideline reporter)
- Ryan Galvin (producer)
RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]
Satellite Radio: XM 386 / Internet 976
- Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
- Stan Weber (analyst)
Kansas State: Bruce Weber (Wis.-Milwaukee ’78)
Overall: 472-263/22nd season
At K-State: 159-108/8th season
vs. Kansas: 3-16 (3-4 at home)
Kansas: Bill Self (Oklahoma State ‘85)
Overall: 705-214/27th season
At Kansas: 498-109/17th season
vs. Kansas State: 30-6 (11-5 on the road)
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
Kansas State (9-19)
G: #2 Cartier Diarra
G: #00 Mike McGuirl
G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #11 Antonio Gordon
F: #14 Makol Mawien
Kansas (25-3)
G: #1 Devon Dotson
G: #0 Marcus Garrett
G: #4 Isaiah Moss
G: #30 Ochai Agbaji
C: #35 Udoka Azubuike
SERIES HISTORY
Overall: Kansas leads 198-94
Current Streak: Kansas, 2
In Manhattan: Kansas leads 78-48
At Bramlage Coliseum: Kansas leads 26-5
Last Meeting: L, 60-81, 1/21/2020
Weber vs. Self: 4-17 (4-4 at home)
OPENING TIP
- Kansas State (9-19, 2-13 Big 12) continues one of its most challenging stretches in school history on Saturday, as the Wildcats will play host to No. 1/1 Kansas (25-3, 14-1 Big 12) in the 293rd edition of the Dillon’s Sunflower Showdown at Bramlage Coliseum. Following its 85-66 loss at No. 2/2 Baylor on Tuesday night, K-State will play the No. 1 and No. 2 in consecutive games for just the second time in school history and the first time since losing to No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Michigan at the 1964 Final Four at Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. The Wildcats are just the fifth Division I team since 1996-97 to play the nation’s top two teams in the same week and the first since West Virginia in 2016. The game will tip at 12:36 p.m., CT on CBS with Brad Nessler (play-by-play, Jim Spanarkel (analyst) and Evan Washburn (sideline reporter) on the call. This will be the first time CBS has called a Sunflower Showdown since a 69-62 Kansas win at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 17, 1998.
- K-State has 5 wins all-time (16 losses) against the nation’s No. 1 team in its history with 4 of those coming in Bramlage Coliseum (Missouri in 1990, Texas in 2010, Kansas in 2011 and Oklahoma in 2016). The other win came against top-ranked Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 17, 1994. The Wildcats have dropped the last 3 meetings with the No. 1 team, including a 73-67 loss to top-ranked Baylor on Feb. 3. This will be 10th meeting with a No. 1 Kansas team and the first since an 85-63 loss to the Jayhawks in the quarterfinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on March 11, 2016. The 5 wins over the No. 1 team are among 25 against Top 5 teams in school history, which includes 3 by head coach Bruce Weber (No. 1 Oklahoma in 2016, No. 2 Baylor in 2017 and No. 4 Oklahoma in 2018). Overall, Weber’s 27 wins over Top 25 teams are the most by any head coach in school history.
- K-State saw its losing streak hit 8 games on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats ran into a motivated Baylor team, who saw its Big 12 record 24-game winning streak end in its last outing on Feb. 22 against then No. 2/2 Kansas. The Bears connected on nearly 50 percent from the field, including 53.3 percent (16-of-30) in building a 26-point lead in the first half, to earn their first series sweep of the Wildcats since 2016. Five Baylor players scored in double figures led by reserve Matthew Mayer’s game-tying 19 points, while junior Cartier Diarra led the Wildcats with 19 points on 7-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while freshman DaJuan Gordon and junior Mike McGuirl added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
- Injuries have been a big part of K-State’s season, as 5 players have combined to miss 53 games, which has caused coach Bruce Weber to use 8 starting lineups. The 8 lineups are the most since using 11 in 2014-15 with at least one true freshman starting in 25 of 28 games, including rookies DaJuan Gordon and Montavious Murphy starting together 8 times, including in 7 of the last 10 games, and Antonio Gordon starting the last 2 games against Texas and No. 1/1 Baylor. 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.