K-State to host Va. Tech

Kansas State will be a part of ESPN's third annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon on Tuesday, Nov. 16, as the Wildcats will host Virginia Tech at 3 p.m. CT.

The Wildcats and Hokies will be one of 12 live college basketball games in 24 consecutive hours on ESPN for the second straight season. Overall, the marathon will include 20 live games - 19 men's and one women's - in a minimum of 25.5 hours across ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU. ESPN3.com will offer two exclusive games as well as a simulcast of every ESPN and ESPN2 telecast. The marathon will start at 11 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 15 with Miami playing Memphis on ESPN and will also include Big 12 foe Baylor hosting LaSalle at 1 p.m. CT.

"This is going to be yet another difficult opponent on our non-conference schedule," said head coach Frank Martin. "Virginia Tech is a veteran ball club with one of the elite guards in the country in Malcolm Delaney. It's going to be important for our fans to again make Bramlage Coliseum a difficult place to play."

Virginia Tech returns all but two players from a team that posted a 25-9 overall record, including a 10-6 mark in the rugged ACC, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. In addition to All-American candidate Malcolm Delaney, who averaged a team-leading 20.2 points, the Hokies return fellow senior starters Dorenzo Hudson (15.2 ppg., 3.5 rpg.) and Jeff Allen (12.0 ppg., 7.4 rpg.). The squad is ranked among the Top 25 in a number of preseason polls, including No. 20 by FoxSports.com's Jeff Goodman and No. 22 by ESPN's Andy Katz.

The contest is expected to match two of the best guards in the country in K-State's Jacob Pullen and Delaney. Pullen, who averaged a team-leading 19.3 points, was a third team All-American by The Sporting News and an honorable mention selection by The Associated Press in 2010. Delaney led the Hokies in scoring and assists as a junior en route to earning AP honorable mention All-America honors and unanimous first team All-ACC accolades. Both were named to Dick Vitale's preseason All-American team with Delaney earning first team honors and Pullen coming in on the second team.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams on the hardwood, while it will be the Wildcats' first match-up with an ACC team since playing Clemson in the Maui Invitational in 1998.

The Virginia Tech game gives K-State yet another challenge on a non-conference lined with impressive teams. The Wildcats will play Gonzaga and either Duke or Marquette in the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic in Kansas City on Nov. 22-23, Washington State in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series on Dec. 3, Florida in the MetroPCS Orange Bowl Classic on Dec. 18 and UNLV in the K-State Holiday Classic on Dec. 21 in Kansas City.

The athletics department is working to complete the remaining non-conference schedule, but the Wildcats will play at least 18 home games at Bramlage Coliseum in 2010-11. The non-conference slate as well as the FSN Kansas City television schedule will be released at a later date.