Thank you to K-State Athletics Communications for the following preview for Kansas State's Wednesday match-up with TCU at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship

Wednesday, March 11, 2020 // 8 p.m. CT // Sprint Center (18,972) // Kansas City, Mo.

TELEVISION

ESPNU / WatchESPN

Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play)Chris Spatola (analyst)Kris Budden (sideline reporter)Andy Jacobson (producer)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580

Online: TuneIn.com [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

Satellite Radio: Sirius 135 / XM 199

Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)Stan Weber (analyst)

LIVE STATS

www.Big12Sports.com

big12.statbroadcast.com [media only]

TICKETS

www.sprintcenter.com

(816) 949.7100

Single Game: $195 (all-session)

COACHES

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

Overall: 473-265/22nd season

At K-State: 160-110/8th season

vs. TCU: 13-6 (2-1 at neutral sites)

TCU: Jamie Dixon (TCU ‘87)

Overall: 412-179/17th season

At TCU: 84-56/4th season

vs. Kansas State: 5-6 (1-2 at neutral sites)

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (10-21)

G: #2 Cartier Diarra 6-4 JR

G: #00 Mike McGuirl 6-2 JR

G: #03 DaJuan Gordon 6-4 FR

G/F: #20 Xavier Sneed 6-5 SR

F: #14 Makol Mawien 6-9 SR

TCU (16-15)

G: #1 Desmond Bane 6-6 SR

G: #2 Edric Dennis 6-3 SR

G: #5 Jaire Grayer 6-5 SR

G: #22 R.J. Nembhard 6-5 SO

C: #21 Kevin Samuel 6-11 SO

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Overall: 35-41

Big 12 Championship: 15-23

As a No. 10 seed: 2-2 (last time: 2005)

First Round: 18-14

In Kansas City: 34-36

At Sprint Center: 8-11

Last Time: L, Iowa State, 59-63, 3/15/2019 (semifinals)

vs. TCU: 2-1 (last meeting: W, 70-61, 3/14/2019)

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: K-State leads 16-8

Current Streak: TCU, 2

In Kansas City: K-State leads 2-1

At Sprint Center: K-State leads 2-1

Last Meeting: L, 57-68 [2/15/2020 in Fort Worth]

Weber vs. Dixon: Weber leads 6-5 [2-1 at neutral sites]

OPENING TIP

Kansas State (10-21, 3-15 Big 12) will open play as the No. 10 seed in the 24th annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday night against No. 7 seed TCU (16-15, 7-11 Big 12) at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo. The Horned Frogs won both regular season meetings with the Wildcats, first with a Kevin Samuel tip-in for a 59-57 win in Manhattan on Jan. 7 then a record-setting 3-point performance in a 68-57 win at home on Feb. 15. The game will follow the first game between No. 8 seed Oklahoma State (17-14, 7-11 Big 12) and No. 9 seed Iowa State (12-19, 5-13 Big 12) at around 8 p.m., CT on ESPNU with Rich Hollenberg (play-by-play), Chris Spatola (analyst) and Kris Budden (reporter) on the call.

K-State enters as the tournament’s No. 10 seed for just the third time in program history and the first time since 2005. The Wildcats are 35-41 (.461) all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to its inception in 1977, including a 15-23 (.385) mark in the Big 12 era. The school is 2-2 as a No. 10 seed in the Big Eight/12 Championship, while it is 8-2 vs. the No. 7 seed. The team is 2-1 all-time against the Horned Frogs, including a 70-61 win in the quarterfinals last season. The two teams also met in 2015 (a 67-65 TCU win) and 2018 (a 66-64 K-State overtime win).

Senior Xavier Sneed enjoyed a storybook ending to his stellar career at Bramlage Coliseum, as he scored 26 of his career-high 31 points in a dominant first-half effort that propelled K-State past a short-handed Iowa State team, 79-63, to end a 10-game losing streak. The Wildcats led by as many as 24 points in the second half, including 19 at the half, in earning their first win since a 61-53 win over Oklahoma on Jan. 29. The team connected on 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field, including 70 percent (21-of-30) from inside the 3-point line, for its highest field goal percentage since shooting 59.2 percent (29-of-49) in a win over 12/13 West Virginia on Jan. 18. For Sneed, it was his first 30-point game of his career and the first by a Wildcat since Barry Brown, Jr., scored 34 points at Baylor on Jan. 22, 2018.

Close games have been the story for K-State this season, as 17 of its 31 games have been decided by 10 points or less, including 16 by single digits. The Wildcats have lost 13 games by single digits (including 8 in Big 12 play) and 7 by 5 points or less. During its recent 10-game losing streak, the team lost 7 games by 10 points or less, including 6 by single digits. The 13 losses by single digits are the most in a single season since the 2002-03 team also lost 13 games by single digits.

Injuries have also been a big part of K-State’s season, as 4 players have combined to miss 57 games, which has caused coach Bruce Weber to use 10 different starting lineups. The 10 lineups are the most since using 11 in 2014-15 with at least one true freshman starting in 27 of 31 games, including rookies Montavious Murphy and DaJuan Gordon starting together in 7 Big 12 games. The last time a pair of freshmen started together more came when Barry Brown, Jr., and Dean Wade started the last 9 games of the 2015-16 season.

AT BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

K-State is 35-41 all-time in the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to its inception in 1977, including a 15-23 mark in the 23-year history of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats have won two championships (1977, 1980), while they have advanced to the finals on five other occasions (1978, 1981, 1993, 2010 and 2013), including twice in the Big 12 era. Overall, K-State is 34-36 when the championship is held in Kansas City.

This will mark the third time that K-State has been the No. 10 seed at the championship and the first time since 2005. The Wildcats are 2-2 as the 10th seed, beating No. 7 seed Nebraska (62-58) before losing to No. 2 Kansas (63-94) in 2001 and knocking off No. 7 seed Texas A&M (68-62) before losing to No. 2 Kansas (67-80) in 2005. In fairness, the program has twice been the lowest possible seed (No. 12) twice, going winless in 1997 and 2000.K-State will play in the first round of the Big 12 Championship for the first time since 2016 after earning a bye to the quarterfinals in each of the last 3 seasons.

Last season, as the tournament’s No. 1 seed (for the first time since 1977), the Wildcats defeated No. 8 seed TCU, 70-61, before losing to No. 5 seed Iowa State, 63-59 in the semifinals. K-State is 8-2 all-time (4-0 in the Big 12 era) vs. the No. 7 seed at the league championship with 10 appearances coming in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1988, 1993, 2001, 2005, 2010 and 2013. The team has won the last four meetings (Nebraska in 2001, Texas A&M in 2005, Oklahoma State in 2010 and Texas in 2013) with the No. 7 seed. The last win against a No. 7 seed came against Texas, 66-49, in the quarterfinals in 2013.

The Wildcats are 18-14 (6-6 in the Big 12 era) in the first round, including a 75-71 win over No. 9 seed Oklahoma State at the 2016 Championship.Head coach Bruce Weber is 6-7 in the Big 12 Championship, including 4-3 in the quarterfinals.

NOTES ON TCU

TCU (16-15, 7-11 Big 12) enters Wednesday’s game with consecutive losses to No. 1/1 Kansas (66-75) and at home to Oklahoma (76-78). Since snapping a 7-game losing streak against K-State on Feb. 15, the Horned Frogs have won 3 of their last 7 games, including a 75-72 win over No. 2/2 Baylor. Three players are averaging in double digits for the Horned Frogs led by All-Big 12 First Team selection and senior Desmond Bane’s 16.6 points per game average on 45.3 percent shooting, including 44.1 percent from 3-point range, and 78.9 percent from the free throw line. He also adds averages of 6.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 35.9 minutes per game. He is joined in double figures by sophomores R.J. Nembhard (11.8 ppg.) and Kevin Samuel (10.1 ppg.). Samuel has a team-best 8.4 rebounds per game.

TCU is led by fourth-year head coach Jamie Dixon, who has posted an 84-56 (.600) record, which an NCAA Tournament trip in 2018 and bids to the NIT in both 2017 and 2019. He is 412-179 (.697) in his 17th season as a head coach, which includes a stint at Pittsburgh (2003-16).

HISTORY AT THE SPRINT CENTER

K-State is 18-16 all-time in the Sprint Center, including a 8-11 mark at the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship (2008, 2010-present).K-State has played at least one game in the Sprint Center for 14 straight seasons since its opening in 2007. The Wildcats are 8-2 in the Wildcat Classic, which has been played in 2007-12, 2014, 2016, 2018-19, while they are 2-2 in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic (appearances in 2010 and 2015).

K-State has already played one game in the Sprint Center in the calendar year, losing 66-63 to Saint Louis on Dec. 21, 2019. The Wildcats were led by junior Levi Stockard III, who scored a game-high 17 points on 5-of-5 field goals, while senior Xavier Sneed added 11 points on 3-of-7 shooting. The Billikens connected on 51.1 percent from the field in the win. Twice K-State has advanced to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship game in the Sprint Center, losing to Kansas in 2010 and 2013.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 79, IOWA STATE 63

Senior Xavier Sneed scored 26 of his career-high 31 points in a dominant first-half effort by Kansas State, as the Wildcats ended their losing streak with a 79-63 win over Iowa State on Senior Day before 8,439 fans at Bramlage Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

K-State led by as many as 24 points in the second half, including 19 at the half, in earning its first win since late January, as the Wildcats connected on 51.8 percent (29-of-56) from the field, including 70 percent (21-of-30) from inside the 3-point line. It was the highest field goal percentage since shooting 59.2 percent (29-of-49) against No. 12/13 West Virginia on Jan. 18. 2020.

Sneed, who became the first Wildcat with a 30-point game since Barry Brown, Jr., scored 34 points at Baylor on Jan. 22, 2018, was nearly perfect in helping K-State build its largest halftime lead (19 points) in Big 12 play, as he connected on 8-of-11 field goals, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range, and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line in scoring 26 points. Sneed was responsible for more than 63 percent of the Wildcats’ 41 first-half points, as the team hit on 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field.

K-State kept the momentum going in the second half, pushing the lead out to as many as 24 points, including 76-52 on back-to-back jumpers by junior Mike McGuirl with 4:28 to play. The Wildcats would connect on 51.6 percent (16-of-31) after halftime, including 61.9 percent (13-of-21) inside the arc, to hit on 50 percent or better in both halves for the first time since that West Virginia game in January. K-State continued to fight all the way until the end, closing to within 64-58 on a 3-point play by junior Mike McGuirl with 2:27 to play and then again at 67-63 on a 3-pointer by senior Xavier Sneed with 40 seconds, but each time OSU answered from the free throw line to stay ahead.

Sneed finished with 31 points on 10-of-21 field goals, including 4-of-11 from 3-point range, and 7-of-8 free throws to go with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals in 33 minutes. He was joined in double figures by junior Cartier Diarra (14) and McGuirl (10). Senior and former walk-on Pierson McAtee enjoyed a dream end to his home playing career by tying or eclipsing career-highs in 6 categories in first career start, including points (6), rebounds (5), field goals made (3) and attempted (8) and minutes played (25).

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