KANSAS STATE (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) vs. 9/9 BAYLOR (14-2, 3-0 Big 12)
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 >> 7:01 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (11,010) >> Lubbock, Texas Barbed Wire Price
Big 12 Now / WatchESPN (link here)
Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]
K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College ‘07]
Record at K-State: 38-14/Second Year
Career Record: 40-14*/Second YearBaylor: 2-0 [1-0 at home]
Record at Baylor: 434-235/21st Year
Career Record: 454-226/22nd YearK-State: 18-18 [8-9 on the road]
Big 12 Era: Baylor leads 24-20 [11-8 on the road]
On the Road: K-State leads 13-11
First Meeting: L, 60-52 [3/20/1948 in Kansas City]
Last Meeting: W, 75-65 [2/21/2023 in Manhattan]
Jerome Tang vs. Scott Drew: Tang leads 2-0
K-STATE BEGINS HOMESTAND WITH TOP-10 BAYLOR TUESDAY
Kansas State (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) begins a 2-game homestand on Tuesday, as the Wildcats welcome Big 12-leading and 9/9 Baylor (14-2, 3-0 Big 12) for a 7 p.m., CT tipoff at Bramlage Coliseum. The matchup will be the first and only regular-season meeting between the schools, snapping a 12-year streak of playing home-and-home every year since the 2011-12 season.
The series is tied 25-all, however, Baylor holds a 24-20 advantage in the Big 12 era, including an 11-8 mark in Bramlage Coliseum. The Bears saw their 7-game winning streak end in 2023, as the Wildcats swept the season series for the first time since 2019 with a 97-95 overtime win in Waco on Jan. 7 and a 75-65 win at home on Feb. 21.
K-State will face a top-10 opponent for the first time this season and for the 200th time in school history with the Wildcats posting a 52-147 mark in those matchups. The team has 36 wins vs. ranked foes in the last 12 seasons, including 13 vs. the top 10 and 26 Top 25 home wins. Last season, the Wildcats tied the school record with 7 wins over Top 25 opponents.
Longtime friends Jerome Tang and Scott Drew will meet for the third time on Tuesday, as Tang got the better of Drew in the 2 wins in 2023. Tang spent 19 seasons alongside Drew as an assistant coach (2003-17) and associate head coach (2017-22) at Baylor.
KEY STORYLINESK-State saw its 4-game losing streak to an end in the 60-59 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday. The Wildcats still have 9 wins in their last 11 outings, including a 5-game winning streak from Nov. 22 to Dec. 9. Among their 12 wins are 3 Quad 2 victories (Villanova, Providence and LSU), while the 4 losses have all come to Quad 1 or 2 (Texas Tech, USC, Miami and Nebraska) teams. The Wildcats are 23-2 at Bramlage Coliseum under Jerome Tang, including 9-1 vs. Big 12 foes.K-State’s success of late can be attributed to its play on the defensive end, where the team has allowed just 59.4 points on 37.5 percent (153-of-408) shooting, including 29 percent (45-of-155) from 3-point range in the last 7 games. The Wildcats have allowed 60 points or less 5 times in that span, including holding Texas Tech to nearly 19 points under their season scoring average (78.8 ppg.) on 36.4 percent shooting, including 20 percent from long range.The Wildcats have a strong scoring trio of junior Cam Carter (16.6 ppg.), senior Tylor Perry (15.1 ppg.)and junior Arthur Kaluma (14.9 ppg.), who are responsible for 62 percent of the team’s scoring (46.6 out of 75.2 ppg.). K-State is the only Big 12 member to have 3 players rank in the league’s top-15 in scoring, as Carter ranks sixth, Kaluma 10th and Perry 12th . The trio has been even more impressive in the 12 wins, averaging 48.1 points per game.Rebounding has been a strength for the Wildcats, as they rank in the top-45 nationally in 3 categories, including 20th in offensive rebounds (13.75) and 42nd in rebounding/game (40.06) and rebounding margin (+6.3). Senior David N’Guessan (8.2 rpg.) and junior Arthur Kaluma (7.9 rpg.) rank among the Big 12’s top-5 in rebounding.
NOTES ON 9/9 BAYLOR (14-2, 3-0 Big 12)
14/16 K-STATE 75, 9/10 BAYLOR 65 [Feb. 21, 2023]No. 14/16 K-State used a dominant second-half performance to erase a halftime deficit and earn a season sweep over Baylor for the first time since 2019 with a 75-65 win in the last meeting between the schools at Bramlage Coliseum on Feb. 21.Keyontae Johnson led all scorers with 25 points.
TEXAS TECH 60, K-STATE 59Texas Tech used a 14-4 game-ending run, including a game-deciding 3-point play from senior Joe Toussaint with 30 seconds to play, to continue its home winning streak over K-State with a 60-59 victory on Saturday afternoon before 14,856 fans at the United Supermarkets Arena.Leading 55-46 with 4:37 to play, K-State (12-4, 2-1 Big 12) saw its chances of ending a 9-game losing streak at United Supermarkets Arena fall painstakingly short, as Texas Tech (14-2, 3-0 Big 12) scored 11 of the last 13 points to complete the rally from a 12-point second half deficit.With the win, the Red Raiders extended their Big 12-best winning streak to 9 games, while moving to a perfect 10-0 at home this season. The loss snapped the Wildcats’ 4-game winning streak and a 2-0 start to Big 12 play. K-State’s last win in Lubbock came in a 60-56 victory on Feb. 25, 2014.Texas Tech scored 8 straight points during the game-ending run to tie the game at 57-all after a pair of free throws from sophomore Darrion Williams with 1:37 to play. Senior Tylor Perry gave K-State its last lead at 59-57 with 41 seconds remaining before Toussaint converted on a layup and the game-winning free throw with 30 seconds to play. The Wildcats had one last chance with 17 seconds to play, but Perry’s jumper came up short at the buzzer.Perry led all players with 16 points, while juniors Cam Carter and Arthur Kaluma gave the Wildcats’ three double-digit scorers with 15 and 10 points, respectively. Senior Will McNair Jr. nearly registered a double-double with 9 points and a game-high 9 rebounds while collecting a career-best 5 blocks.The Wildcats overcame a sloppy start to the game, in which, the team had as many points (10) as turnovers (10) in the first 12 minutes in trailing by 9 points. However, a 3-point play from McNair Jr. ignited a 23-3 run to end the half, including a stretch of 20 straight, to take a 33-22 lead at the break. During the run, the Wildcats knocked down 6 3-pointers, including 4 from Perry.K-State held the lead for much of the second half, thwarting several Texas Tech rallies before the final run. The Red Raiders cut the deficit to 46-44 at the 8-minute mark, but the Wildcats responded with 9 of the next 11 points to push ahead 55-46 with 4:37 left. They led 57-49 after a layup by redshirt freshman Dorian Finister with 3:21 to play before the late 8-0 run by the home team.K-State connected on 44 percent (22-of-50) shooting from the field, including 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from 3-point range. Despite hitting on 10 3-pointers, the Wildcats were held to a season-low 18 points in the paint. The team entered the game averaging 34.8 points per game in the paint.Texas Tech was held to just 36.4 percent (20-of-55) shooting, including 20 percent (5-of-25) from long range. However, the Red Raiders were able to grab 14 offensive rebounds and convert those into a 14-5 edge in second-chance points. They also hit on 15-of-18 free throw attempts.
YearOverallHomeBramlage2006-0711-47-07-02007-0810-48-17-12008-0912-311-010-02009-1013-19-08-02010-1112-39-18-12011-1211-17-06-02012-1311-29-08-02013-1410-37-17-12014-157-66-25-22015-1611-28-08-02016-1711-28-08-02017-1811-28-18-02018-1910-37-06-02019-207-66-26-12020-214-54-54-52021-228-56-16-12022-2312-18-07-02023-2410-38-17-1Total180-56137-15126-13
PERRY MORE THAN JUST A SCORER
EXCELLING FROM THE FREE THROW LINE
Galvanized wire farm gate BIG MAN OFF TO SOLID START