Nine home games at Bramlage Coliseum, including marquee matchups with 3-time NCAA champion Villanova in the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle and regional rival Nebraska, highlight the non-conference schedule for second-year head coach Jerome Tang and his Kansas State men’s basketball program.
In addition to its nine home games, K-State will host in-state foe Wichita State in the Wildcat Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Thursday, Dec. 21.
As previously announced, K-State will open its 120th season of men’s basketball on Monday, Nov. 6 against USC at T-Mobile Arena in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas. It will be just the 10th season opener away from home since 1970, including the first since 2002.
FULL SCHEDULE: Click here to see the entire schedule
The home opener at Bramlage Coliseum will occur on Friday, Nov. 10, as the Wildcats play host to first-time opponent Bellarmine. The lone exhibition game will be played against Emporia State on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
In all, the Wildcats will play 18 home games in 2023-24, including a 9-game Big 12 schedule with visits from Baylor, BYU, UCF, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and West Virginia. Dates and times as well as the television schedule for those games will be released at a later date.
As previously announced, K-State will also play in the third annual Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, which is set for Friday, Nov. 17 and Sunday, Nov. 19 in Nassau, The Bahamas and includes a field of 2023 Final Four participant Miami, Georgia and Providence.
Aside from the neutral site games with USC and the Baha Mar Hoops Championship, the Wildcats will play a true road game at LSU, which will be the first-ever visit to the Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge. It will be the first of a two-game series between the schools with the Tigers coming to Bramlage Coliseum in 2024-25.
The expanded Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship will run Tuesday-Saturday, March 12-16 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City and will coincide with the women’s championship, which runs Thursday-Tuesday, March 7-12, also at T-Mobile.
Opening in Vegas
K-State will open the 2023-24 season against USC in the 2023 Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas on Monday, Nov. 6 in a quadruple-header at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The matchup between the Wildcats and Trojans will be the nightcap of the event following the women’s game between defending NCAA champion LSU and Colorado. The day will start with a matchup between the Georgia/Oregon men and the Ohio State/USC women.
The game with the Trojans will mark the first time in more than 20 seasons that K-State will open the season away from home since a 73-64 loss to BYU at the Paradise Jam on Nov. 23, 2002, in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. K-State has made several visits to Las Vegas in recent years, including the 2006 Las Vegas Holiday Classic and the 2008 and 2017 Las Vegas Invitationals held at the Orleans Arena. This will be the school’s first game in T-Mobile Arena.
K-State is 4-1 all-time against USC, including an 80-67 win in the last meeting with the Trojans in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. This will be the second meeting in Las Vegas after a 68-55 win by the Wildcats at the 2006 Las Vegas Holiday Classic on Dec. 22, 2006.
Matchups with Villanova, Nebraska Highlight Home Schedule
The 9-game home schedule is highlighted by visits from 3-time NCAA champion Villanova as part of the fifth edition of the Big 12/BIG EAST Battle as well as former conference rival Nebraska.
It will be just the second meeting all-time meeting with Villanova and the first in more than 80 years since the BIG EAST Wildcats earned a 51-34 win on Dec. 27, 1940, in Philadelphia. The Cornhuskers, who have played games in Manhattan dating back to 1906, will make their first visit to Bramlage Coliseum since 2011.
The home schedule tips off with consecutive games with Bellarmine (Nov. 10) and South Dakota State (Nov. 13) before visits from Central Arkansas (Nov. 22), Oral Roberts (Nov. 28) and North Alabama (Dec. 2). It will be the first-ever meetings with Bellarmine and North Alabama.
The Wildcats will host Chicago State on Tuesday, Jan. 2 before opening Big 12 play on Saturday, Jan. 6.
Pre-Thanksgiving Trip to Bahamas
K-State will participate in the third annual Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship, which is set for Friday, Nov. 17 and Sunday, Nov. 19 at the Baha Mar Convention Center in Nassau, The Bahamas. The team will be joined in the field by 2023 Final Four participant Miami, Georgia and Providence.
The Wildcats and Friars will tip off at 5 p.m., CT on Friday, Nov. 17, following a matchup between the Hurricanes and Bulldogs at 2:30 p.m., CT. The winners of the first-round games will play in the championship game at 1:30 p.m., CT on Sunday, Nov. 19, while the consolation game will tip at 11 a.m., CT.
All games of the tournament will air on CBS Sports Network.
This will mark K-State’s first appearance in the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship; however, the Wildcats have won tournament championships in their last two visits to the Caribbean, including the 2018 Paradise Jam in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
K-State has never played Miami on the hardwood, while it has met Providence just once, defeating the Friars, 87-80, in the 1977 NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats and Bulldogs have met four times, most recently in 2018.
In-state rivalry meet in Kansas City
K-State will return to Kansas City for the 12th Wildcat Classic game on Thursday, Dec. 21, at the T-Mobile Center by hosting in-state rival Wichita State. The Wildcats are 9-2 all-time in the game, posting a 71-56 victory over Nebraska on Dec. 17, 2022, in the first contest since 2019.
The game will be the second in a 3-game series between the rivals after the Wildcats earned their fourth straight win in the series with a 55-50 victory at home on Dec. 3, 2022. It will be the first meeting between the schools in a location other than Manhattan or Wichita.
The Wildcats at a Glance
Senior Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who declared for the NBA Draft before opting to return for his senior season, headlines six returners, including three starters, for K-State in 2023-24.
The 6-foot-8, 195-pound forward from Harlem, N.Y., was third in scoring (10.4 ppg.) and double-digit scoring games (21) behind All-Americans Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson and second in rebounding (5.9 rpg.) to Johnson, while he led the way in blocks (1.0 bpg.) and dunks (43).
Tomlin will be joined by fellow regular starters – senior David N’Guessan and junior Cam Carter – along with sophomores Jerrell Colbert and Dorian Finister and redshirt freshman Taj Manning as returners.
Carter, along with Tomlin, was among four players to start all 36 games a year ago, as he ranked fourth on the team in 3-point field goals (35), assists (1.4 apg.) and steals (0.9 spg.) and fifth in scoring (6.5 ppg.), field goals made (86) and minutes (26.3 mpg.). N’Guessan started 11 of the first 12 games before an injury sidelined him for 6 games at the start of Big 12 play. He returned to play the last 16 games, including 7 starts, highlighted by an 11-point performance in the win over Michigan State. He led the team in field goal percentage (70.6) while averaging 6.4 points to go along with 3.5 rebounds in 19.5 minutes per game.
The Wildcats will also welcome graduate transfers Tylor Perry (North Texas) and Ques Glover (Samford) and junior Arthur Kaluma (Creighton) as well as the top-30 freshman recruiting class of Dai Dai Ames, R.J. Jones and Macaleab Rich.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 season continue to be a hot commodity. Fans can purchase tickets by calling toll free at (800) 221.CATS (2287) and/or online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets.
2023-24 Non-Conference Schedule
Day Date Opponent
Wednesday Nov. 1 EMPORIA STATE (Exh.)
Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas (T-Mobile Arena; Las Vegas, Nev.)
Monday Nov. 6 vs. USC
Friday Nov. 10 BELLARMINE
Monday Nov. 13 SOUTH DAKOTA STATE
Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship (Baha Mar Convention Center; Nassau, The Bahamas)
Friday Nov. 17 vs. Providence
Sunday Nov. 19 vs. Georgia/Miami [Fla.]
Wednesday Nov. 22 CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Tuesday Nov. 28 ORAL ROBERTS
Saturday Dec. 2 NORTH ALABAMA
Big 12 / BIG EAST Battle
Tuesday Dec. 5 VILLANOVA
Saturday Dec. 9 @LSU
Sunday Dec. 17 NEBRASKA
Wildcat Classic (T-Mobile Center; Kansas City, Mo.)
Thursday Dec. 21 WICHITA STATE
Tuesday Jan. 2 CHICAGO STATE
