K-State Opens Season vs. #21 USC in Las Vegas Tonight

GAME 1
KANSAS STATE (0-0) vs #21 USC (0-0)
Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas
Monday, November 6, 2023 >> 9 p.m. CT >> T-Mobile Arena (18,000) >> Las Vegas, Nev.

TELEVISION
TNT / Max (link here)

• Spero Dedes (play-by-play)
• Grant Hill (analyst)
• Allie LaForce (sideline reporter)

RADIO
K-State Sports Network
Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580
Satellite Radio: SiriusXM 375
Online: Varsity Network [free]/ www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

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

LIVE STATS
Hoophall.com
kstate.statbroadcast.com

TICKETS
Hoophall.com
Single Game: $59-$247

COACHES
K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College ’07]
Record at K-State: 26-10/Second Year
Career Record: 28-10/Second Year+
vs. USC: 0-0 [0-0 at neutral sites]

USC: Andy Enfield [Johns Hopkins ’91]
Record at USC: 205-128/11th Year
Career Record: 246-156/13th Year
vs. K-State: 0-0 [0-0 at neutral sites]

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: K-State leads 4-1
Neutral Sites: K-State leads 2-1 [1975, 2006, 2008]
In Las Vegas: K-State leads 1-0 [2006]
At T-Mobile Arena: First meeting
Active Streak: K-State, 2
First Meeting: W, 65-57 [12/10/1960 in Los Angeles]
Last Meeting: W, 80-67 [3/20/2008 in Omaha, Neb.]

K-STATE OPENS 2023-24 SEASON AGAINST 21/22 USC IN LAS VEGAS
Kansas State (0-0) will tip off the 2023-24 season on Monday night (Nov. 6) in a nationally televised matchup against No. 21/22 USC (0-0) in the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The contest will be the last of a quadruple-header to ring in the new season with an expected tipoff of 9 p.m., CT on TNT.  The event includes 2 men’s and 2 women’s games to open the season beginning with a matchup of the Ohio State and USC women at 1 p.m., CT. Defending NCAA champion LSU and Colorado precede the Wildcats and Trojans at 6:30 p.m., CT.

KEY STORYLINES

• K-State will open the season away from home for the first time since 2002 after starting at home for 20 consecutive seasons. It will be the first such matchup since a 73-64 loss to current Big 12 member BYU at the Paradise Jam on Nov. 23, 2002, in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. It will be just the 10th season opener away from home since 1970, including the fourth neutral site contest.
• K-State is 12-16 all-time when starting the season away from home, including 3-3 in neutral site openers. The Wildcats have lost 3 consecutive openers away from home (losses to BYU in 2002, at Arizona in 1999 and at Alabama in 1994) with the last win coming in a 71-70 nailbiter against Florida State at the Great Alaska Shootout on Nov. 24, 1989.
• Overall, K-State is 93-26 all-time in season openers, including 18 wins in its last 20 such games. The 2 losses in that span came at home to Northern Colorado (60-58) in 2013 and Drake (80-70) in 2020. Last season, the Wildcats successfully opened the Jerome Tang era with a dominant 93-59 win over UTRGV at home on Nov. 7, 2022.
• Monday’s game will mark just the fourth time in school history that K-State has opened a season against a ranked opponent. It is the first such matchup since an 88-69 loss at No. 10 Arizona on Nov. 16, 1999. In total, the Wildcats are 0-3 all-time vs. ranked foes in an opener, also falling at No. 14 Cincinnati (86-70) on Dec. 2, 1968, and at No. 19 BYU (78-72) on Dec. 3, 1971.
• K-State is 4-1 all-time vs. 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.
• K-State has made several visits to Las Vegas in recent years, including neutral site matchups in the 2006 Las Vegas Holiday Classic and the 2008 and 2017 Las Vegas Invitationals held at the Orleans Arena. The Wildcats have also played the hometown Runnin’ Rebels in Las Vegas in 2009 and 2019. This will be the school’s first game in T-Mobile Arena.
• The game will match some of top newcomers in the country led by USC freshman phenom Isaiah Collier, who was the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 high school class and a contender for the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Collier is rated as the No. 2 impact newcomer according to ESPN, while K-State’s Arthur Kaluma and Tylor Perry are ranked No. 15 and No. 23 on the list.

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

• Push its all-time record to 94-26 in season openers.
• Be the first in an opener away from home since 1989.
• Snap a 3-game skid vs. ranked teams in season openers.
• Extend its winning streak over USC to 3 games.
• Extend its winning streak in Las Vegas to 3 games.

NOTES ON 21/22 USC (0-0)

• Led by 11th-year head coach Andy Enfield, USC posted a 22-11 record, including a tie for second place in the Pac-12 with a 14-6 mark, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season in 2022-23. Enfield has led the Trojans to 95 wins over the last 4 seasons, including a trip to the Elite Eight in 2020-21.
• USC returns starters Kobe Johnson (9.2 ppg.) and Joshua Morgan (7.0 ppg.), along with former 5-star 7-foot-1 big man Vince Iwuchukwu (5.4 ppg.), who played in only 14 games with 5 starts after recovering from a medical emergency. The Trojans also welcome the 4th-ranked recruiting class that includes the top-ranked incoming freshman Isaiah Collier as well as 20th-ranked freshman Bronny James.
• USC is led by Enfield, who has led the Trojans to a 205-128 record in 10 seasons with 5 trips to the NCAA Tournament (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022), including a run to the Elite Eight in 2021. Overall, Enfield is 246-156 in his 13th season as a head coach, which includes 2 seasons at Florida Gulf Coast, where his team won 26 games and earned the moniker “Dunk City” during their magic run to the Sweet 16 in 2013.

CONNECTIONS

• K-State and USC share a famous connection in Hall of Fame head coach Fred “Tex” Winter, who was a 1947 graduate of USC after becoming an All-American pole vaulter for the Trojans. He learned the famed triangle offense from USC head coach Sam Barry before starting his coaching career at K-State in 1947. He won 261 games and eight conference titles during his 16 years (1953-68) as head coach at K-State. He would later gain fame as an NBA assistant to Phil Jackson, winning 11 titles in Chicago and Los Angeles.

SERIES HISTORY

• K-State leads the all-time series with USC, 4-1, including a 2-1 mark in games played at neutral sites.  The two teams first met on Dec. 10, 1960, in Los Angeles, as the Wildcats earned a 65-57 victory over the Trojans in the first of two wins by Winter over his alma mater (also in 1963).
•  After USC earned an 81-80 win at the Vanderbilt Invitational in 1975, the teams didn’t meet again for more than 30 seasons before K-State collected back-to-back wins during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The Wildcats defeated the Trojans, 68-55, at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic on Dec. 22, 2006, before an 80-67 win in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

ALL-TIME RESULTS

LAST MEETING
K-STATE 80, USC 67 [3/20/2008]

• The last meeting between the schools was a historic one for K-State, as the Wildcats captured its first NCAA Tournament win since 1988 with their 80-67 victory over the 6-seed Trojans in the first round of the Midwest Regional at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., on March 20, 2008.
• The Wildcats jumped out to a 37-27 lead at the half behind the play of redshirt freshman Bill Walker, who scored 17 points in the opening half while facing his childhood friend O.J. Mayo, who led the Trojans with 20 points.
• Walker was one of four Wildcats in double figures, finishing with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Freshman phenom Michael Beasley led K-State with game-highs in both points (23) and rebounds (11).

SUCCESS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

• K-State has posted a 171-53 (.762) record in non-conference play since the 2006-07 season. During that span, the Wildcats have a 129-14 (.901) mark at home venues (includes games played at Bramlage Coliseum, INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita and the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City) in non-conference play, including a 119-12 (.908) mark at Bramlage Coliseum.
• K-State’s 12-1 non-conference mark in 2022-23 was the best since the 2009-10 team went a program-best 13-1. The 12 wins last season matched the 2008-09 and 2010-11 teams for the second-most in that span.

1700 WINS AND COUNTING

• K-State’s overtime 96-87 win over Nevada on Nov. 22, 2022, in the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic represented the 1,700th win in school history. The Wildcats are the 43rd Division I team to eclipse 1,700 wins, including the sixth Big 12 school.
• The Wildcats enter the 2023-24 season with a 1,721-1,223 (.585) all-time record as a program, which includes 32 NCAA Tournament appearances and 21 conference championships.

LAST TIME OUT: K-STATE 102, EMPORIA STATE 68 [EXHIBITION]

• K-State connected on 52.1 percent from the field, including 55.6 percent in the second half, as the Wildcats eclipsed 100 points in home exhibition play for the first time since 1993 in a 102-68 win over Division II Emporia State on Nov. 1 before 9,268 fans at Bramlage Coliseum. It was the team’s first and only public exhibition before the start of the 2023-24 season.
• It was the first 100-point game in home exhibition play since a 101-80 win over Fort Hood on Nov. 22, 1993, while it was the most in a home exhibition game since scoring 111 in a win over Michigan AAU on Nov. 15, 1991. The victory also extended K-State’s winning streak in home exhibition play to 29 games, which dates to 2003, and includes 6 wins over Emporia State.
• Junior Cam Carter paced four Wildcats in double figures with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-13 field goals in just 14 minutes to go with 3 assists and 2 steals, while sophomore big man Jerrell Colbert added 13 points off the bench on perfect 5-of-5 shooting, along with 5 rebounds, also in 14 minutes. Freshman Dai Dai Ames and junior Arthur Kaluma also broke double-digits with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Freshman Macaleab Rich collected a game-high 9 rebounds to go with his 8 points off the bench. Senior Tylor Perry, who picked up 2 early fouls, dished out a team-best 5 assists to go with 8 points.
• The 100-point game was the eighth in the school’s exhibition history since 1964, including the fifth in Bramlage Coliseum. K-State scored its 102 points on 38 made field goals, including 29 coming inside the 3-point line, while knocking down 17 of 19 attempts (89.5 percent) from the free throw line. The Wildcats scored 56 points in the paint to go along with 25 fast-break points, 21 points off turnovers and 53 bench points. They also had assists on 26 of their 38 field goals with 9 players having at least 2 assists led by Perry’s team-high 5.
• K-State scored the first 6 points, including a 3-pointer by Carter to open the game, before Emporia State rallied to tie it at 10-all.  The Wildcats used a 9-2 run capped by a 3-pointer from senior Ques Glover to create separation and build as much as an 18-point lead in the first half. Four players (senior Will McNair Jr., Carter, Kaluma and Glover) all scored buckets in the run. The Wildcats scored 51 points on 48.6 percent (18-of-37) shooting in the first half with 28 points coming in the paint and 26 points coming off the bench.
• Emporia State was led by junior guard Solomon Oraegbu’s 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while First Team All-MIAA selection Owen Long added 17 points. The Hornets are ranked No. 20 in the NABC Division II preseason poll and were picked second in the preseason MIAA poll.
• K-State is 74-21 all-time in exhibition play dating to the first competitions in 1964, including a 57-9 record at home and a 51-9 mark at Bramlage Coliseum.

POSTGAME NEWS & NOTES

• Head coach Jerome Tang used a starting lineup of senior Tylor Perry, junior Cam Carter, redshirt freshman Taj Manning, junior Arthur Kaluma and senior David N’Guessan. All 13 available players saw action in the first half with Tang mixing and matching various lineups, including one with all 3 true freshmen (Dai Dai Ames, R.J. Jones and Macaleab Rich).
• Carter led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-13 field goals to go with 3 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes. He scored 15 of his 20 points in the first half on 5-of-10 shooting, as he helped the Wildcats build as much as an 18-point lead in the opening half. It marked the second straight year that Carter led the Wildcats in exhibition play, as he scored 13 points in a win over Washburn in 2022.
• Freshmen Dai Dai Ames (11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), R.J. Jones (5 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists) and Macaleab Rich (8 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) combined for 24 points on 10-of-20 field goals with 13 rebounds and 7 assists.

KALUMA, PERRY NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM

• Junior Arthur Kaluma and fifth-year senior Tylor Perry were each chosen as Honorable Mention selections to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team by the league coaches when the league office announced its annual preseason teams.
• Kaluma and Perry are the first Wildcats named to the Preseason All-Big 12 since Barry Brown Jr. and Dean Wade in 2018-19.
• A 6-foot-7, 225-pound wing, Kaluma transferred to K-State after an impressive 2-year stint (2021-23) at Creighton, where he helped the Bluejays to 47 wins, including 26 in BIG EAST play, a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances (2022, 2023) and the school’s first trip to the Elite Eight in 2022-23.
• Kaluma averaged double-figure scoring both seasons at Creighton, totaling 758 points (11.1 ppg.) on 43.3 percent shooting (270-of-624), including 29.1 percent (68-of-234) from 3-point range, and 71.4 percent (150-of-210) from the free throw line in 68 games with 67 starts. As a sophomore, he averaged 11.8 points on 42.3 percent (146-of-345) shooting to go with 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists in starting all 37 games for the Bluejays.
• A 5-foot-11, 182-pound guard, Perry came to K-State after a decorated 2-year career (2021-23) at North Texas, where he led the Mean Green to 56 total wins, including a school-record 31 in 2022-23, the 2023 NIT Championship and 2022 C-USA regular-season title. In addition to being the 2023 C-USA Player of the Year and NIT Most Outstanding Player, he was twice named to the C-USA First Team (2022, 2023) while was the league’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2022.
• Perry scored 1,043 points in his North Texas career on 43.1 percent (299-of-694) shooting from the field, including 41.3 percent (184-of-445) from 3-point range, and 85.9 percent (261-of-304) from the free throw line. He was the Mean Green’s leading scorer (17.3 ppg.) in 2022-23 while leading the C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage (41.3), free throw percentage (87.2) and minutes (34.2) and placing second in 3-pointers/game (3.11) and fourth in scoring. He scored in double figures in 33 of 36 games played with 14 20-point performances highlighted by his career-best 35-point effort vs. San Jose State on Nov. 25.

KALUMA NAMED TO PRESEASON WATCH LIST FOR JULIUS ERVING AWARD 

• Kaluma was also one of 20 players named to the preseason Watch List for the 2024 Julius Erving Award, which annually recognizes the nation’s top small forward, by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
• This is the second time that Kaluma has been named to a preseason Watch List after he was chosen to the Watch List for the Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award in 2022-23 while playing at Creighton.

K-STATE, TANG AGREE TO EXTENSION THROUGH 2029-30 SEASON

• After a record-setting first season, head coach Jerome Tang agreed to a new 7-year contract through the 2029-30 season to continue his leadership of the Kansas State men’s basketball program, Director of Athletics Gene Taylor announced on September 25.
• The new contract replaces his original 6-year deal that Tang agreed to become the 25th men’s basketball coach in school history on March 21, 2022. Tang now has 7 years left on his agreement that runs until April 30, 2030. The second-year head coach will be paid $3 million in 2023-24 and receive a $100,000 increase to his salary in each remaining contract year culminating in a $3.6 million base for the 2029-30 season. There are also four retention bonuses of $200,000 following the 2023-24, 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
• Armed with just two returning players, the Wildcats posted a 26-10 overall record in Tang’s inaugural season, which included a tie for third place in the nation’s most difficult conference – the Big 12 – with an 11-7 mark and the school’s 13th appearance in the Elite Eight and the first since 2017-18. The 26 wins are the third-most in school history, trailing the school-record 29 in 2009-10 and the 27 in 2012-13, and just the eighth 25-win campaign.

ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME TRIP
‘CATS SPENT 10 DAYS IN AUGUST IN ISRAEL, ABU DHABI, U.A.E.

• K-State got a jump start on its preparations for the 2023-24 season with a historic 10-day trip to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, Israel and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates [UAE] from August 9-20.
• During the Israeli portion of the trip, the team enjoyed walking tours of the Old City Jerusalem, the City of David, Bethlehem and Old City Jaffa, visits to the Yad Vashem – the World Holocaust Remembrance Center – as well as the Western Wall and the Dead Sea. While in Abu Dhabi, they visited the Abraham Peace Accords House and the Grand Mosque.
• The Wildcats played 3 games on the tour, defeating the Israeli Select Team, 94-87, on August 15 in Tel Aviv before an 83-81 setback to Team Mexico on August 17 and a 112-72 win over Al-Sharjah on August 18, both in Abu Dhabi. Senior Tylor Perry paced 4 Wildcats in double figures on the tour, averaging 22.7 points on 56.8 percent shooting.
• K-State, along with the University of Arizona, are the first college teams to ever take a foreign tour to Abu Dhabi.
• The exhibition tour was generously sponsored by Athletes for Israel and its Founder Daniel Posner as well as the Abu Dhabi Tourism Board. In their efforts to combat antisemitism and racism, Athletes For Israel brings athletes to Israel so they can experience the Holy Land and develop a connection with its history, culture, innovation and people.
• For more information on the organization and its mission, visit athletesforisrael.org.

UP NEXT: BELLARMINE (0-0)

• K-State returns home to Bramlage Coliseum on Friday, Nov. 10 when the Wildcats play host to Bellarmine (0-0) in the home opener at 7 p.m., CT. Tickets are still available at www.kstatesports.com/tickets.

The post K-State Opens Season vs. #21 USC in Las Vegas Tonight appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

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