GAME 1

rv/rv KANSAS STATE (0-0) vs 21/22 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+

1. 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

1. 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.