GAME 2

rv/rv KANSAS STATE (0-1) vs BELLARMINE (0-1)

Friday, November 10, 2023 >> 7 p.m. CT >> Bramlage Coliseum (11,010) >> Manhattan, Kan.

TELEVISION

Big 12 Now on ESPN+ / WatchESPN (link here)

• Ben Boyle (play-by-play)
• Stan Weber (analyst)
• Missy Heidrick (sideline reporter)

RADIO

K-State Sports Network

Flagships: // KMAN 1350 & WIBW 580

Satellite Radio: none

Online: Varsity Network [free] / www.kstatesports.com/watch [free]

• Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play)
• Matt Walters (analyst)

LIVE STATS

www.kstatesports.com

kstate.statbroadcast.com

TICKETS

www.kstatesports.com/tickets

(800) 221.CATS [2287]

Single Game: $24.75, $30, $35

COACHES

K-State: Jerome Tang [Charter Oak State College ‘07]

Record at K-State: 26-11/Second Year

Career Record: 28-11/Second Year+

1. Bellarmine: 0-0 [0-0 at home]

Bellarmine: Scott Davenport [Louisville ‘78]

Record at Bellarmine: 413-149/19th Year

Career Record: 413-149/19th Year

1. K-State: 0-0 [0-0 on the road]

SERIES HISTORY

Overall: First meeting

At Home: First meeting

At Bramlage Coliseum: First meeting

Active Streak: n/a

First Meeting: n/a

Last Meeting: n/a

Jerome Tang vs. Scott Davenport: First meeting

K-STATE HOSTS BELLARMINE IN HOME OPENER FRIDAY

Kansas State (0-1) returns to the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum on Friday night for the home opener against ASUN member Bellarmine (0-1) at 7 p.m., CT.  This is the first-ever meeting between the schools, as the Trojans are in their fourth year in Division I after moving from Division II, where they went to four Final Fours and won the 2011 NCAA Championship. K-State opened the season with an 82-69 neutral-site loss to No. 21/22 USC in Las Vegas on Monday night, which was the first setback in a season opener since 2020. Friday’s home opener will be the first of two games at Bramlage Coliseum in a 4-day period for the Wildcats, which plays host to Summit League favorite South Dakota State (1-1) on Monday night at 7 p.m., CT.

KEY STORYLINES

• K-State returns home on Friday night for the first of two games at Bramlage Coliseum. It will mark the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Wildcats will play their home opener after the first game of the season. The program has been successful in home non-conference play of late, boasting a 119-12 mark at Bramlage Coliseum since 2006-07. They have won 9 straight home non-conference games dating back to a win over Green Bay on Dec. 12, 2021.
• K-State is 96-23 all-time in home openers, including 29-3 at Bramlage Coliseum. The team has won 18 of its last 20 home openers with the 2 losses coming 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.
• The Wildcats hope the return home will be a boost to their offensive production after hitting just 31 percent (22-of-71) from the field, including 24.2 percent (8-of-33) from beyond the arc. It was the lowest field goal percentage in head coach Jerome Tang’s tenure and the lowest by a Wildcat team since shooting 30.2 percent (19-of-63) at Ole Miss on Jan. 29, 2022. It was the lowest field goal percentage in a season opener in nearly 17 years since hitting on 30 percent (24-of-80) in a 70-60 win over William & Mary on Nov. 11, 2006.
• A point of emphasis in the offseason, K-State corralled 44 rebounds in the opener vs. USC (11/6/23), including 23 offensive boards. However, the Wildcats were only able to convert those into 15 second-chance points. The 44 rebounds are the second-most in head coach Jerome Tang’s short 37-game tenure, falling just 5 short of the 49 posted at home vs. Florida (1/28/23). The 23 offensive rebounds are the most under Tang and the most by a Wildcat team in nearly a decade since also corralling 23 offensive boards vs. Central Arkansas on Dec. 1, 2013.
• Even though it took longer than expected, senior Tylor Perry showed off his tremendous scoring ability vs. USC (11/6/23), posting a team-high 22 points to go along with team-highs in both assists (6) and steals (4). He missed his first 8 field goal attempts before knocking down an acrobatic 3-pointer right before halftime. He made 5 of his last 9 attempts to collect the most points by a newcomer in a debut since Michael Beasley scored 32 points in 2007.

A K-STATE WIN WOULD…

• Push its all-time record to 97-23 in home openers.
• Extend its record to 30-3 in openers at Bramlage Coliseum.
• Be the first win in the series vs. Bellarmine.
• Extend its winning streak to 12 games vs. A-SUN opponents.
• Even its 2023-24 record to 1-1.

NOTES ON BELLARMINE (0-1)

• Bellarmine (0-1) opened the 2023-24 season with a 91-57 loss at Washington on Monday night. The Trojans shot just 34.4 percent (21-of-61), including 30.4 percent (7-of-23) from 3-point range, in the loss with graduate transfer Bash Wieland scoring a team-high 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.
• Bellarmine is amid a 4-game road trip to start the 2023-24 season, as the Trojans travel to Chattanooga (Nov. 14) and Bowling Green (Nov. 17) before hosting Morehead State on Nov. 20.
• Bellarmine returns 9 lettermen, including 4 starters, from a team that went 15-18 overall, including 9-9 in the ASUN. Graduate transfer Garrett Tipton paces returners with a 12.7-points per game average in 2022-23, while 3-point specialist Ben Johnson averaged 11.2 points on nearly 40 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
• Bellarmine was picked sixth in the preseason ASUN preseason poll, just ahead of the Wildcats’ Dec. 2 opponent North Alabama. Eastern Kentucky (140) was selected as the preseason favorite with 8 first-place votes ahead of Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson. Graduate transfer Garrett Tipton was one of 11 players named to the Preseason All-ASUN team.
• Bellarmine is in its fourth season at Division I after transitioning from Division II, where the school became a powerhouse, advancing to 20 Division II National Tournaments and four Final Fours and winning the 2011 NCAA Championship. The Trojans won seven regular-season and five tournament championships in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
• Bellarmine is led by longtime head coach Scott Davenport, who is the school’s all-time wins leader (413). The former assistant to coaching legends Denny Crum and Rick Pitino at Louisville, he has guided the Trojans since 2005-06, leading them to the 2011 Division II National Championship to go along with seven regular-season and five tournament conference titles.

LITTLE KNOWN FACT

• Bellarmine plays its home games at famed Freedom Hall, which has played host to games since 1956. The former home to the Louisville men’s and women’s basketball teams (1956-2010), the arena has played host to 10 NCAA Tournament games, including six Final Fours between 1958 and 1969.
• K-State has played 3 games at Freedom Hall, including losses to Seattle and Temple in 1958 Final Four. The Wildcats also played a road game in the arena against Louisville on Jan. 5, 1979, losing 85-73 to the Cardinals.

SERIES HISTORY

• This is the first meeting between K-State and Bellarmine.
• Bellarmine is the first of a possible three first-time opponents for the Wildcats in 2023-24. K-State will meet North Alabama for the first time on Dec. 2, while it could play Miami for the first time at the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship on Sunday, Nov. 19.
• K-State is 11-1 all-time vs. ASUN opponents, including a 9-0 mark at home. The Wildcats have won 11 straight against ASUN members, including a 95-68 win over Eastern Kentucky in last such meeting in 2018.
• This will be the first of 3 matchups against ASUN competition, including Central Arkansas on Nov. 22 and North Alabama on Dec. 2.

SUCCESS IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY

• K-State has posted a 171-54 (.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 1,721-1,224 (.585) all-time record as a program, which includes 32 NCAA Tournament appearances and 21 conference championships.

LAST TIME OUT: 21/22 USC 82, K-STATE 69

• K-State could never get on track offensively, as the Wildcats connected on just 31 percent from the field, including 25 percent in the first half, in an 82-69 loss to No. 21/22 USC in the season opener on Monday night at the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas before 7,595 fans at the T-Mobile Arena. The 31-percent field goal percentage was the lowest under head coach Jerome Tang and the lowest by the Wildcats since a loss at Ole Miss in 2022.
• The Trojans (1-0), which ranked eighth in field goal percentage defense (33.9) in 2022-23, continued that trend to open the new season, as the Wildcats missed their first 8 field goal attempts before junior Arthur Kaluma connected on a second-chance layup with just over 16 minutes to play in the first half.
• Overall, K-State connected on 31 percent (22-of-71) from the field, including 24.2 percent (8-of-33) from 3-point range, while turning the ball over 17 times. USC also posted 8 blocked shots, including 5 from senior Joshua Morgan.
• Despite the poor shooting, the Wildcats kept it close for most of the first half before the Trojans scored 12 of the last 18 points to take a 40-30 lead into the halftime break. Back-to-back 3-pointers from senior Tylor Perry and junior Cam Carter to open the second half closed the gap to 40-36, but they could get no closer, as USC outscored K-State, 25-11, over the next 5 minutes to take a commanding 65-47 lead with just over 10 minutes to play.
• Down 70-51 after a 3-point play, the Wildcats made one last charge, using a 13-2 lead capped by a Perry 3-pointer to close the deficit to 72-64 with 2:21 to play. Perry was responsible for 11 of the 13 points in the run. However, the Trojans scored 10 of the last 15 points to close out the game.
• Perry rebounded from a poor start to pace three Wildcats in double figures with 22 points in his K-State debut, connecting on 5-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-12 from long range. He missed his first 8 field goals before hitting a deep 3-pointer right before halftime. He added team-highs in assists (6) and steals (4) to go with 6 rebounds in nearly 35 minutes.
• Carter notched double figures for the 11th time in his career, including the ninth time at K-State, with 15 points to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 28 minutes. Senior David N’Guessan collected his first double-double with 10 points on 5-of-8 field goals and a career-high 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.
• USC was equally as impressive on offense as it was on defense, connecting on 51.7 percent (31-of-60) from the field, including 55.2 percent (16-of-29) in the second half. The Trojans saw four players score in double figures, including a game-high 24 points by senior Boogie Ellis on 7-of-14 shooting. Ellis added a game-tying 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in nearly 36 minutes.

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. Carter has now started 37 consecutive games dating to 2022-23, while N’Guessan started for the 19th time in his K-State career. It was the first starts for Kaluma, Manning and Perry in their Wildcat careers.
• The loss was just the third in an opener in the last 21 seasons for the Wildcats, as K-State is now 93-27 all-time in season openers. The program is now 12-17 when starting the season away from home, including 3-4 in neutral-site openers. The team fell to 0-4 all-time in season openers against ranked teams in the first such matchup since 1999.
• USC scored 50 of its 82 points in the paint, as the Trojans hit on 65 percent (26-of-40) from inside the 3-point arc. In addition to their advantage in the paint (50-28), they also held an 18-12 edge in fast-break points.

PERRY MORE THAN JUST A SCORER

• Senior Tylor Perry proved that he is more than just a scorer in the opener vs. No. 21/22 USC (11/6/23), leading the team in both assists (6) and steals (4) to go with 6 rebounds and his team-best 22 points.
• The performance was the first in his Division I career that he posted 20 or more points, had 6 or more rebounds, 6 or more assists and 4 or more steals. Only once did he even accomplish three of those stats, as he had 23 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists against Sam Houston in the 2023 NIT First Round.
• Perry’s 6 assists were one shy of a career-high and the most since he had 7 vs. Paul Quinn on Nov. 22, 2022. His 4 steals were also one shy of a career-high, which he recorded in his last game against UAB in 2023 NIT Championship game. His 6 rebounds also fell one board short of his career-high of 7, which he did on 3 occasions at North Texas in 2022-23.
• Perry missed his first 8 field goals, including his first 6 from 3-point range, before making his acrobatic 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer. The shot seemed to spark the fifth-year senior, as he finished the game making 5 of his last 9 field goals, including 4 of his last 6 3-point baskets.
• Perry’s 22 points were the most by a Wildcat newcomer in a debut since Michael Beasley scored 32 points in his first game against Sacramento State on Nov. 9, 2007. In fact, Perry is the first Wildcat to post a 20-point game in a season opener since Mike McGuirl had 22 points vs. Drake on Nov. 25, 2020.
• Perry has now scored in double figures in 10 straight games dating back to his last season at North Texas in 2022-23, while he has a 20-point game in 5 of his last 6 games, also dating back to last season.

BUCKET GETTER

• Head coach Jerome Tang has said that he wants guard Cam Carter to be a bucket getter and that’s what the junior delivered in the opener vs. USC (11/6/23), posting 15 points with four 3-pointers to go with 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in nearly 28 minutes.
• The 15 points were his third-most points in a Wildcat uniform, just shy of his career-high of 17 points in a win at No. 6/6 Texas (1/3/23) and 16 points vs. Kansas City (11/17/23). His 4 triples tied his career-high, which he also hit in the game vs. Kansas City (11/17/23).
• Carter has now scored in double figures in 11 games, including 9 times as a Wildcat. Four of those double-digit totals have come in the last 10 games.
• The 15 points came on the heels of Carter leading the team in the exhibition win over Emporia State on Nov. 1 with a game-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting in just 14 minutes of action.

N’GUESSAN GRABS A DOUBLE-DOUBLE

• Senior David N’Guessan grabbed his first career double-double in the opener vs. No. 21/22 USC (11/6/23), as he scored 10 points on 5-of-8 field goals to go with his career-best 10 rebounds in just over 27 minutes.
• The 10 rebounds surpassed his previous-high of 9 against Cornell (12/8/21) while playing at Virginia Tech and 2 more than he had as a Wildcat last season. He registered double-digit points for the 12th in his career with his 10 points vs. the Trojans, including his eighth time in a K-State uniform. He now has 10 or more points in 3 of the last 5 games dating back to last season.
• N’Guessan gained valuable experience this past summer training with the Dutch National Team, as the Orange Lions competed in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul, Turkiye August 13-16.
• N’Guessan averaged 9 points on 55.6 percent shooting with 6.3 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game in the 3-game pool play tournament. He opened the tournament with a near double-double of 17 points and 9 rebounds in the Lions’ narrow overtime loss to Sweden on August 13.

‘CATS CRACK 100 IN LONE 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 Jerrell Colbert added 13 points off the bench on 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.

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: SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (1-1)

• K-State returns home to Bramlage Coliseum on Monday, Nov. 13 when the Wildcats play host to Summit League favorite South Dakota State (1-1) in the home opener at 7 p.m., CT. Tickets are still available at www.kstatesports.com/tickets.