Game Information

10/11 KANSAS STATE (18-4, 5-3 Big 12)

vs. Iowa State (13-9, 2-5 Big 12)

Date: Saturday, February 6, 2010

Tipoff: 1:05 p.m. CT

Location: Ames, Iowa | Arena: Hilton Coliseum (13,595)

Television: ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi, play-by-play; Mike Kelley, analyst; Anthony Holeman, producer) | Channel Directory: DirecTV 209 (DirecTV HD 72), Dish Network 144, AT&T U-Verse 606, Cox 33 | Internet: www.ESPN360.com

Radio: K-State Sports Network (Wyatt Thompson, play-by-play; Stan Weber, analyst) | Live Stats: www.kstatesports.com | Local Stations: Sports Radio 1350 AM (KMAN; Manhattan), 101.5-FM (KMKF; Manhattan) | Satellite Radio: n/a

Head Coaches: Kansas State - Frank Martin (Florida International ‘93) is 61-28 (.685) in his third season at K-State. Iowa State - Greg McDermott (Northern Iowa ‘88) is 57-60 (.487) in his fourth season at ISU and 278-187 (.598) in his 15th season overall as a head coach.

Last Time Out: K-State beat Nebraska, 76-57, on the road on Tuesday night, while Iowa State lost at Baylor, 84-63, on Wednesday night.

Series: K-State leads 132-76 (K-State leads 48-44 in Ames) | Last time: K-State won 50-46 in Ames on Feb. 21, 2009 | Series Trend: K-State has won seven straight in the series | Frank Martin is 4-0 vs. Iowa State, while Greg McDermott is 0-6 all-time vs. K-State.

Rankings: K-State is ranked No. 10 in AP Top 25 and No. 11 in USA Today/ESPN Coaches Top 25. Iowa State is not ranked in either poll.

Tickets: $15 (200 Level corners & end), $25 (200 Level sides) by calling ISU Athletic Ticket Office at 888.478.2925 or online at cyclones.com.

K-State continues road swing with Iowa State Saturday

Kansas State (18-4, 5-3 Big 12) continues its road swing on Saturday afternoon, as the Wildcats travel to Ames, Iowa to face Iowa State (13-9, 2-5 Big 12) at Hilton Coliseum at 1 p.m. CT. It will be the second of back-to-back road games for K-State and the second of four road games in a six-game stretch. Saturday’s contest will match two of the better duos in the Big 12, as the Wildcat tandem of Jacob Pullen (19.0 ppg.) and Denis Clemente (15.0 ppg.) will match-up with the Cyclone pair of Craig Brackins (16.5 ppg.) and Marquis Gilstrap (14.5 ppg.). The quartet each rank among the top 15 scorers in the league in both overall and conference-only games. It will be the 209th meeting between K-State and Iowa State, including the 92nd in Ames. The two teams have met at least twice annually since 1918. The Wildcats own a 132-76 advantage in the series, which dates back to 1909, and have won seven straight over the Cyclones, including three in a row at Hilton Coliseum. It is the longest winning streak by either team in the series since K-State won eight consecutive from 1975 to 1977, while it is the longest winning streak in Ames for the Wildcats since winning six straight from 1972-77. The contest will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 with Jon Sciambi (play-by-play) and Mike Kelley (analyst) on the call.

K-State returned to the Top 10 for the third time this season on Monday, as the Wildcats just one spot to a tie for 10th with Duke in The Associated Press poll. The squad moved two spots to No. 11 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll. It marks the first time that the program has ranked among the AP Top 15 for five consecutive weeks since the 1961-62 squad was ranked among the AP Top 10 for 14 consecutive weeks from Dec. 19, 1961 to March 13, 1962. The Wildcats have ranked among the nation’s Top 25 in both polls for eight consecutive weeks--the longest such streak since the 1972-73 season.

K-State earned its first win in Lincoln since 2006 on Tuesday night, as the Wildcats shot 49.2 percent in posting a 76-57 win over Nebraska at the Devaney Sports Center. The 19-point victory marked the largest margin of victory in a league road game since the inception of the Big 12, while it was the largest in Lincoln since a 27-point win (82-55) on Feb. 3, 1973. The team used their defensive pressure to force 16 Cornhusker turnovers, converting the miscues into at least 20 points for the 11th time this season. Senior Denis Clemente led four Wildcats in double figures with his game-high 23 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-9 from 3-point range, to go with a game-tying five assists. It marked the 10th time in the last 12 games that the squad has had four or more players score in double figures. Sophomore Jamar Samuels tallied a near double-double with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Junior Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly added 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Kelly had at least five blocks for the fourth time this season. At 18-4, the Wildcats are off to their best start under head coach Frank Martin and their best mark since the 1961-62 squad opened the year with a 20-2 overall mark.

A Quick Look at Kansas State

K-State is averaging just over 80 points per game (81.0 ppg.) on 46.1 percent shooting (590-of-1280), including 35.9 percent from 3-point range (147-of-409), with 39.8 rebounds, 15.3 assists, 7.0 steals and 5.2 blocks per game. The squad has topped 80 or more points in 13 of 22 games (for the first time in school history), while hitting on 45 percent or better from the field on 12 occasions. The 1,783 points scored are the second-most through 22 games, just behind the 1986-87 team who scored 1,796 in that span. The 81.0 points per game average is on pace to possibly break the school-record of 81.4 points averaged during the 1952-53 campaign. The 76.8 points per game average through the first eight league games are most for K-State since the start of Big 12 play and most in league play since averaging 83.3 points per game to start Big Eight play in 1986-87. The team is averaging nearly 35 points (34.8) per game in the paint, while ranking first nationally in most personal fouls drawn (25.7), and free throws attempted (31.7) per game and second in free throws made (20.7) per game. The defensive effort has also been solid, holding foes to 68.9 points on 41.6 percent shooting while averaging 20.9 points off of 17.6 turnovers per game. The team has scored 20 or more points off turnovers in 11 games, including eight of the last 13 contests, while the 40 points off turnovers against South Dakota on Jan. 3 were the most-ever since the statistic began being kept in 2005-06. The squad is now 11-0 when scoring 20 or more points off their opponent miscues.

After Tuesday’s win over Nebraska, the Wildcats are now 18-4 overall on the season, which is the best start under head coach Frank Martin and the best in school history since the 1961-62 squad opened at 20-2. Only five other teams have fared better after 22 games in K-State history, as the 1958-59 team started 21-1, the 1957-58 and 1961-62 squads opened at 20-2 and the 1947-48 and 1950-51 teams posted 19-3 marks to start the year. The team needs two more wins to top 20 for the fourth consecutive season, which has never happened in school history, while the two wins would make Martin the first head coach in school history to post 20 wins in each of his first three seasons.

Dubbed a mid-season second team All-American by both Yahoo! Sports and The Sporting News, junior Jacob Pullen leads four players in double figures at 19.0 points per game on 41.6 percent shooting from the field to go with team bests in field goals (117), 3-point field goals (66), free throws (118), free throw percentage (79.2) and steals (34), while backcourt mate Denis Clemente is second in scoring at 15.0 points per game on 37.7 percent shooting from the field and is tops on the team in assists (89) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3). The duo has combined for over 40 percent of the scoring (748) this season, while historically, they are the second-most productive (as far as combined points per game at 34.0) guard tandem since former NBA players Mike Evans and Chuckie Williams combined to average 38.9 points per game for the Wildcats between 1974-76. Clemente topped the 1,000-point plateau for his career (which includes his two-year stint at Miami) earlier this season against IUPUI and now ranks 10th in school history for points by a transfer (810). Pullen became the 21st player in school history, including the eighth guard, to score 1,000 career points with his 30-point effort against Alabama on Dec. 19. His 1,209 points in 89 career games ranks 11th all-time, while he has scored in double figures in all 22 games. His team-best 61 career double-digit scoring games rank 10th all-time in K-State history.

Sophomore Jamar Samuels ranks third in scoring at 12 points per game on a team-best 60.8 percent shooting from the field. Samuels, who has come off the bench in 20 of 21 games, ranks third on the squad in rebounding at 5.1 per game. He has scored in double figures in 17 of his 21 games played, including his second double-double against No. 1 Texas with 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Dubbed the “X-Factor” for his ability to change the game off the bench, 31 of Samuels’ 32 double-digit scoring efforts have come as a reserve with K-State holding a solid 25-6 record in these contests. Junior transfer Curtis Kelly is the only other player averaging in double figures at 11.2 points per game. Kelly, who is tied with Dominique Sutton for the team lead in double-doubles with two each, is shooting 55.8 percent from the field and ranks first with 6.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per contest. One of the Big 12’s top defenders, Sutton is averaging 7.5 points on 50.8 percent shooting to go with 5.5 rebounds per game. Freshman Rodney McGruder has been solid of late, averaging 7.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in Big 12 play.

Postgame Notes vs. Nebraska

--Kansas State moved to 124-93 all-time against Nebraska, including 34-61 all-time in Lincoln... The 217 games played are the third-most against one opponent in school history, while the 124 wins are the second-most against one opponent behind the 132 against Iowa State... It marked the first win at the Devaney Sports Center since a 66-64 victory on March 1, 2006 and just the fourth in the last 14 meetings in Lincoln... The squad improved to 4-1 on the road this season and 8-2 away from Bramlage Coliseum, while it was just the third home loss for the Huskers