It will mark the first of two games this week to close out the non-conference slate, which also includes South Dakota (6-5) on Sunday at noon. The team, which is off to their best start since 1958-59, is in the midst of their longest winning streak (eight) under third-year head coach Frank Martin and their longest streak since winning eight in a row to start the 2004-05 season. In addition, K-State has won 21 consecutive non-conference home games dating back to 2007-08 as well as 20 straight home games in the December. The squad will also look to close the month

unbeaten for the just the eighth time in school history and for the first time since the 1998-99 team went 6-0. The Wildcats, who earned their first national ranking since the 2007-08 season on Dec. 14, remained steady in the AP poll at No. 12 and moved up three spots to No. 12 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ poll on Monday. It matches the highest ranking in the AP poll since head coach Jack Hartman led the Wildcats to a No. 9 ranking in the poll on March 13, 1973 with a 23-5 record, while it is the highest ranking prior to conference play since K-State was ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll in 1965. The squad, whose 14 non-conference opponents boast a .636 winning percentage through Dec. 28, currently has the second-best RPI (according to all four major services) and a consensus Top 5 strength of schedule. Tuesday’s contest will be broadcast regionally on FOX Sports Kansas City with Ben Boyle (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) on the call. It will also be available on the ESPN Full Court plan as well as on ESPN360.com.

The Wildcats matched their best start in more than 40 years on Dec. 21, as the squad knocked off winless Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 90-76, at home. The team’s 11-1 start matches three other teams (1947-48, 1957-58, 1958-59) for the second-best start after 12 games in school history and trails just the 1918-19 squad which opened the year with a school-record 17 consecutive victories. The team shot 50 percent from the field, a feat done in three straight games for the first time since Jan. 7-19, 2008, while they topped the 80-point barrier for a school-record ninth time in 12 games. The squad converted 21 turnovers into 29 points (marking the sixth time this year the Wildcats have scored 20 or more points off turnovers including the third straight contest) and scored 20 or more points from the free throw line for the ninth time this season against the Lions. Junior Jacob Pullen led the Wildcats in scoring for the fifth consecutive game with 18 points, while four other Wildcats (Dominique Sutton, Curtis Kelly, Denis Clemente and Jamar Samuels) also had double figures. Pullen, who is second in the Big 12 in scoring at 20.0 points per game, has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games with six games of 20 or more points in that stretch. Sutton, who has averaged 9.0 points and 5.6 rebounds during the team’s winning streak, had 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. Kelly had 13 points, a team-tying eight rebounds and three blocks, while Clemente and Samuels added 12 points each.