Kansas State vs Oral Roberts: Open Game Thread

After a somewhat disappointing road trip, the Kansas State Wildcats are back at home to regroup before heading back out on the road again.

The Cats are set to host the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles out of the Summit League. And while it’s been a few years since the Cats and the Eagles tangled on the hardwood, they won’t be a stranger thanks to first-year head coach Paul Mills, who had spent the last dozen-plus years as an assistant for Scott Drew at Baylor.

All-time the Wildcats are only 3-2 versus the Golden Eagles, but hold a 3-0 record at home, with a win in the last game played back in Bruce Weber’s second season in Manhattan. K-State is 30-2 versus the Summit League all-time. The Cats are also sporting a 20-game win streak against non-conference opponents at home, and will look to complete the third touchdown tonight.

The Cats were lead on their Las Vegas road trip by junior guards Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes, who combined for 84 points in the two Vegas tournament games. fellow junior Dean Wade had a game to forget against Arizona State, but bounced back with a near-double-double against George Washington posting 17 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Xavier Sneed has been consistent all season, scoring greater than eight points in every game, and breaking the double-digit barrier in four of the Cats six contests so far this year. The Cats are still looking for consistency at the post, as no one of Makol Mawein, Mawdo Sallah, or Levi Stockard has asserted himself down low for more than one game in a row.

Since the Wildcats are back at home, the game will be back on FOX Sports Kansas City, K-StateHD.TV [free], and ESPN3 with Ben Boyle (play-by-play) and Stan Weber (analyst) on the call. Be sure and check out Jon Morse’s full How To Watch post for more details.

The game can be heard over-the-air on the K-State Sports Network with Wyatt Thompson (play-by-play) and Matt Walters (analyst) on the call (you can also listen online for free at TuneIn.com or at KStateSports.com). There is no satellite radio available tonight.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP

Kansas State (5-1)
G: #3 Kamau Stokes
G: #5 Barry Brown Jr.
G: #20 Xavier Sneed
F: #32 Dean Wade
F: #14 Makol Mawien

Oral Roberts (1-6)
G: #2 Austin Ruder
G: #10 Sam Kearns
F: #23 Emmanuel Nzekwesi
F: #25 Javan White
C: #44 Albert Owens

Go Cats!