Game time: Dec. 20, 12:00 p.m. EST
Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS
TV: ESPN+
VITALS: Kansas State is coming off its second consecutive victory after defeating Creighton. A dominant halftime lead dwindled to single digits on Saturday afternoon, but the team still finished strong behind a late rally from sophomore guard David Castillo. PJ Haggerty returned to his slump, only putting up 10 points in the Wildcats' seventh victory. He remains the nation's second-leading scorer, but he's hit below 20 points in four of his last five games while compiling 19 turnovers.
Victorious or not, Haggerty needs to get going for Kansas State to compete among the nation's best. ESPN Analytics gives the Wildcats a 97.1 percent chance of winning this game.
PROJECTED STARTERS
WILDCATS
G P.J. Haggerty: 22.7 PTS, 4.7 REB, 4.7 AST
G Abdi Bashir Jr.: 12.8 PTS, 2.0 REB, 2.2 AST
G Nate Johnson: 12.0 PTS, 5.5 REB, 3.9 AST
F Khamari McGriff: 10.3 PTS, 4.4 REB, 1.2 BLK
F Elias Rapieque: 3.7 PTS, 3.0 REB, 1.6 AST
COYOTES
G Isaac Bruns: 20.5 PTS, 4.9 REB, 1.3 STL
G Jordan Crawford: 11.8 PTS, 2.3 REB, 1.3 STL
G Evan Anderson: 2.8 PTS, 2.3 REB, 0.7 AST
G Uzziah Buntyn: 11.0 PTS, 3.1 REB, 3.0 AST
C Cameron Fens: 10.8 PTS, 6.3 REB, 1.4 BLK
KEY STATS
WILDCATS
SCORING OFFENSE: 86.4 POINTS/GAME (7th in Big 12)
SCORING DEFENSE: 77.1 POINTS/GAME (13th in Big 12)
TEAM 3-POINT SHOOTING: 40.5% (3rd in Big 12)
OPPONENT 3-POINT SHOOTING: 31.7% (8th in Big 12)
REBOUNDING: 37.0 REBOUNDS/GAME (12th in Big 12)
OPPONENT REBOUNDING: 33.3 REBOUNDS/GAME (9th in Big 12)
COYOTES
SCORING OFFENSE: 84.3 POINTS/GAME (1st in Summit League)
SCORING DEFENSE: 82.8 POINTS/GAME (8th in Summit League)
TEAM 3-POINT SHOOTING: 31.5% (6th in Summit League)
OPPONENT 3-POINT SHOOTING: 33.2% (6th in Summit League)
REBOUNDING: 37.3 REBOUNDS/GAME (2nd in Summit League)
OPPONENT REBOUNDING: 33.4 REBOUNDS/GAME (4th in Summit League)
QUOTABLE: "I say it all the time: it's a blessing to get to do what I do," K-State coach Jerome Tang said in his Creighton postgame interview. "Everything is about 'winning' and 'we gotta be locked in,' and all this basketball stuff you talk about. But then I walked out onto the floor, the lights started dimming, and I realized we were on national television. I actually brought everybody in the huddle. I said, 'Hey fellas, remember when you were a kid, and you watched these games and wanted to play in them?' I know [Abdi] grew up wanting to do that, and his teammates knew that too."