Jimmy Goheen (@ksu_FAN) and K-State Athletics Communications help get you ready for tonight's Kansas State vs. Bradley match-up.

After a disappointing loss, Kansas State will face Bradley in the consolation game of the Fort Meyers Tip-Off. Bradley has losses to St. Joe's and Northwestern this year and a decent win over Radford. The Braves are coming off an NCAA tournament appearance last year after winning the Mo Valley tournament. They started the season 8-10 and 0-5 in the MVC before winning 12 of their last 16 games before falling to Michigan State in the first round of the NCAAs.

The Braves are coached by Brian Wardle, who has done a great job rebuilding the program. K-State fans might remember beating the Braves to open the season in 1995 on Anton Hubert's game winner 75-72.

Bradley's profile is pretty similar to K-State, except they aren't nearly as dominant on defense. Still, they want to force TOs and are good against threes, but struggled with two-point percentage defense.

Offensively, they hit the boards and take care of the ball decently well. Last year they were a top 50 3-point percentage team, but they are struggling a bit behind the arc to start the year.

It looks like this will likely be another game in the 60s, we'll see if K-State can find the way to be better on twos and from the free throw line.

GAME 6

KANSAS STATE (4-1) vs. BRADLEY (4-2)

Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loan Fort Myers Tipoff

Third-Place Game

Wednesday, November 27, 2019 >> 5 p.m. CT >> Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) >> Fort Myers, Fla.

TELEVISION

FS1

Dave Ryan (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)

LIVE STATS

www.fortmyerstipoff.com

fortmyersmedia.statbroadcast.com

TICKETS

www.fortmyerstipoff.com/Tickets

Single Game: $20/$35/$65/$85

COACHES

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

Overall: 467-245/22nd season

At K-State: 154-90/8th season

vs. Bradley: 7-8 (2-1 at neutral site)

Bradley: Brian Wardle (Marquette ‘01)

Overall: 157-142/10th season

At Bradley: 62-77/5th season

vs. Kansas State: 0-0 (0-0 at neutral site)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (4-1)

G: #00 Mike McGuirl

G: #2 Cartier Diarra

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed

F: #11 Antonio Gordon

F: #14 Makol Mawien

Bradley (4-2)

G: #5 Darrell Brown, Jr.

G: #0 Danya Kingsby

G: #25 Nate Kennell

F: #10 Elijah Childs

F: #12 Koch Bar

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 3-2

Current Streak: K-State, 3

In Fort Myers: First meeting

At Suncoast Credit Union Arena: First meeting

Last Meeting: W, 50-47 [12/9/14 in Manhattan]

Weber vs. Wardle: First meeting

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (4-1) will conclude play in the Rocket Mortgage by Quicken Loans Fort Myers Tipoff on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats play Bradley (4-2) in the third-place game set for 5 p.m., CT at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. K-State dropped a 63-59 nail-biter to Pittsburgh (5-2) in the first semifinal game on Monday, while Bradley suffered a 78-51 setback to a hot-shooting Northwestern (3-2) squad in the second semifinal. The game will air on FS1.

After winning the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam in 2018 and advancing to the tournament finals on three other occasions, K-State will look to attempt to avoid going winless in a regular-season tournament for the first time since 2008 Las Vegas Invitational, where the Wildcats lost two-point games to Kentucky and Iowa. The team won its last attempt at a third-place game at the 2017 Las Vegas Invitational, defeating George Washington, 67-59, on Nov. 24, 2017. K-State now has a 21-9 (.700) record in regular-season tournaments under head coach Bruce Weber.

This will be the sixth all-time meeting with Bradley in a series that dates back to 1947. The programs have met just 3 times since the mid-1990s with the Wildcats winning 3 straight, including a 50-47 victory in the last meeting on Dec. 9, 2014 at Bramlage Coliseum. The K-State coaching staff has a long history with Bradley due to their affiliation with Southern Illinois, where current head coach Bruce Weber was Saluki head coach from 1998-2003 and associate head coach Chris Lowery (1990-94) and assistant coach Brad Korn (1999-2004) were former Saluki players and later assistant coaches, while Lowery was head coach at SIU from 2004-12. All told, the trio went a combined 30-16 against the Braves during their stints.

K-State earned its first loss of the season on Monday night, as a late run lifted Pitt to a 63-59 win in a back-and-forth affair. Down 57-51 with 4:06 to play, the Wildcats used a 7-0 run over an 81-second stretch to take a 58-57 lead over the Panthers with 2:45 to play. With the opportunity to extend the lead, the squad missed four straight field goals and the front end of two 1-and-1 free throw opportunities before Xavier Johnson’s go-ahead lay-up with 11 seconds.K-State knocked down 10 3-point field goals on 50 percent shooting, but 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. 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.

The Wildcats were led by Diarra, who posted 13 points to go with team-highs in assists (6) and steals (3) in 34 minutes. Freshman DaJuan Gordon collected his first career double-digit scoring game with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, while fellow freshman Antonio Gordon, who earned his first career start, enjoyed a solid all-around effort with 7 points, a team-high 7 rebounds and 3 steals in 26 minutes..

NOTES ON BRADLEY

Bradley (4-2) saw its 4-game winning streak to start the season end in the loss to Northwestern. The Braves had won 4 consecutive game at home against IUPUI, UIC, Norfolk State and Radford after dropping an 86-81 decision at Saint Joseph’s in the opener on Nov. 5.Bradley is averaging 71 points on 41.6 percent shooting, including 31.9 percent from 3-point range, with 38.3 rebounds, 14.7 assists, 5.3 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while allowing 65.7 points on 41.9 percent shooting, including 28.6 percent from 3-point range. The team has connected on 72.3 percent from the free throw line.A balanced scoring team with five players (Darrell Brown, Elijah Childs, Nate Kennell, Koch Bar and Ja’Shon Henry) averaging 9 or more points per game, including double-digit scorers Brown (13.7 ppg.), Childs (13.0 ppg.) and Kennell (11.2 ppg.). Brown is averaging a team-best 13.7 points on 30.3 percent shooting, including 34.5 percent from 3-point range, while Childs is averaging a near double-double with 13.0 points on 49.3 percent shooting and a team-best 9.2 rebounds per game. Bradley returns six lettermen, including three starters, from a team that posted a 20-15 overall record, including a 9-9 mark in the Missouri Valley, and won the MVC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Michigan State.Head coach Brian Wardle enters his 10th season as a head coach in 2019-20 with a 157-142 overall record, including a 62-77 mark in his fifth season at Bradley. He was also head coach at Green Bay from 2010-15.

SERIES HISTORY

K-State leads the all-time series with Bradley, 3-2, with wins in its last three meetings (1995, 1996, 2014) with the Braves.This will be the 16th meeting for head coach Bruce Weber against Bradley, as he went 7-8 against the Braves in stints at Southern Illinois, Illinois and K-State.K-State is 45-17 all-time against teams with the Missouri Valley, including 2-2 at neutral sites.

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