Six home games at Bramlage Coliseum, including a marquee matchup with LSU, highlight the non-conference schedule for third-year head coach Jerome Tang and his Kansas State men’s basketball program announced on Friday morning.
In addition to its six home games, K-State will host reigning Missouri Valley Conference Tournament champion Drake in the Wildcat Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Tuesday, December 21.
K-State will open its 121st season of men’s basketball with the second of five straight home games, as the Wildcats face New Orleans on Tuesday, November 5. The contest with the Privateers is followed by matchups against Cleveland State on Saturday, November 9, LSU on Thursday, November 14 and Mississippi Valley State on Tuesday, November 19.
The season-opening homestand will begin on Tuesday, October 29 with an exhibition against Fort Hays State.
In all, the Wildcats will play 16 home games in 2024-25, including 10 against Big 12 Conference foes that includes visits by NCAA Tournament participants Arizona, Colorado, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech. Further details will be released at a later date.
As previously announced, K-State will play in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, which runs from Friday-Monday, November 22-25 at the University of Virgin Islands Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I. The Wildcats will play George Washington in the first round followed by either Louisiana or Liberty in round two. The field also includes NCAA Tournament participants UAB, Longwood and McNeese as well as Illinois State.
Aside from the Paradise Jam, the Wildcats will play a pair of previously announced road non-conference games with a trip to St. John’s on Saturday, December 7 in the final installment of the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle and a visit to Koch Arena in Wichita on Saturday, December 21 to take on in-state rival Wichita State.
K-State finished the 2023-24 season with a 19-15 record, including an 8-10 mark in Big 12 play, and advanced to the NIT. Among the Wildcats’ 19 victories were 4 over Top 25 teams, including 3 in the Top 10. The team has won 45 games in Tang’s first two seasons, including consecutive postseason appearances.
The Wildcats return 3 lettermen (senior David N’Guessan and sophomores Taj Manning and Macaleab Rich) in 2024-25, along with the 10 newcomers, which includes 8 Division I transfers, a junior college All-American (Mobi Ikegwuruka) and a top-50 high school prospect (David Castillo).
The transfer class includes notable additions Achor Achor (Samford), Coleman Hawkins (Illinois), Dug McDaniel (Michigan) and Ugonna Onyenso (Kentucky) as well as Baye Fall (Arkansas), Brendan Hausen (Villanova), C.J. Jones (UIC) and Max Jones (Cal State Fullerton).
SCHEDULE NOTES
• K-State will open the 2024-25 season with 5 consecutive home games for the first time since 2020-21.
• The Nov. 5 opener with New Orleans ties for the earliest home opener in school history and the earliest since a Nov. 5 matchup with North Dakota State in 2019… It will be the first meeting with the Privateers since the first and only matchup in 1999.
• K-State is a combined 5-0 all-time against its first 3 regular-season opponents (New Orleans, Cleveland State and LSU).
• The Wildcats will face at least one first-time opponent in Mississippi Valley State (Nov. 19), while it could face UAB and/or Liberty for the first time in the Paradise Jam.
• LSU will visit Bramlage Coliseum for the first time on Nov. 14, as K-State attempts to sweep the 2-game series after a 75-60 win by the Wildcats in 2023-24.
• In addition to UNO, K-State will face Cleveland State for the fourth time overall and the first time since 2010, while UAPB (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) visits for the sixth time and the first since 2019… The Wildcats are 8-0 all-time against the two schools.
• K-State will play in the Paradise Jam for the third time (2020, 2018, 2024), winning the in-season tournament in 2018 with victories over Eastern Kentucky, Penn and Missouri.
• K-State will play St. John’s in the final BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle on Dec. 7… It will be the first meeting between the schools since 1965 with the series tied at 1-1… The Wildcats are 1-3 all-time in the inter-conference series, snapping a 3-game losing streak with a 72-71 overtime win over Villanova in 2023-24.
• K-State will face Drake in the 13th Wildcat Classic at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City… The school is 10-2 all-time in the event, which started in 2007… This will be the 28th meeting with Drake with K-State leading the series, 20-7, and the first not a campus site.
• K-State will conclude a 4-game series with in-state rival Wichita State on Dec. 21… It is the first matchup at Koch Arena since 79-66 Wildcat win on Dec. 7, 2002.
