Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball

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Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State Wildcats athletic logo
University Kansas State University
Conference Big 12
North Division
Location Manhattan, KS
Head Coach Frank Martin (1st year)
Arena Bramlage Coliseum
(Capacity: 12,528)
Nickname Wildcats
Colors Purple and Silver

             
Uniforms
 
Home jersey
Home jersey
  
Home shorts
Home
 
Away jersey
Away jersey
  
Away shorts
Away
 
Alternate jersey
Alternate jersey
  
Alternate shorts
Alternate
NCAA Tournament Runner Up
1951
NCAA Tournament Final Four
1948, 1951, 1958, 1964
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
1948, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1988
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1948, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1988
NCAA Tournament Second Round
1948, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 2008
NCAA Tournament Appearances
1948, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1996, 2008
Conference Tournament Champions
1977, 1980
Conference Regular Season Champions
1917, 1919, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1977

The Kansas State Wildcats basketball program is the intercollegiate basketball program of the Kansas State University Wildcats. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference.

Kansas State's men's basketball team began competition in 1902. The program has a long history of success. The first two Missouri Valley Conference titles captured by the school were won in the sport, in 1917 and 1919. Kansas State has gone on to capture 17 conference crowns in the sport. Frank Martin is the current head coach.

Contents

[edit] History

Through the years the team earned the right to participate in 23 NCAA basketball tournaments. Kansas State's best finish at the tournament came in 1951, when it played the University of Kentucky for the national championship. The school has reached the Final Four four times, the Elite Eight 11 times, and the Sweet Sixteen 16 times. Included among K-State's tournament wins are some all-time classics, including a 50-48 win over second-ranked Oregon State University in 1981, and a 83-80 win over Oscar Robertson's University of Cincinnati team in 1958, which Sports Illustrated called "the game of the year."

The best season in the school's history may have been 1959, when the team finished the season ranked Number 1 in the Associated Press Poll. K-State has finished ranked in the Top Ten of the poll on six other occasions, and in the top twenty twelve total times. The team has also posted a winning record at home every year since 1946. In the 1990s, however, the program faded from the national scene.

Kansas State was ranked No. 22 on Street & Smith's 2005 list of the "100 Greatest Basketball Programs of All-Time"

Bob Huggins coached for one season at K-State in 2006 and led the school to a berth in the NIT Tournament and its first 20-win season since 1989. However, on April 5, 2007, Huggins announced that he was leaving to accept the head coach position at West Virginia, his alma mater. Huggins was replaced by Huggin's assistant Frank Martin. The team started the 2007-2008 season ranked in the AP top 25. The team went on to a 20-11 record with a 10-6 record in the Big 12 Conference.

K-State's biggest rivalry in basketball is the Sunflower Showdown matchup against the University of Kansas.

[edit] NCAA Tournament appearances

[edit] Final Four teams

[edit] Elite Eight teams

[edit] Sweet Sixteen teams

[edit] Other appearances

  • 1980 (# 7 Seed) Beat # 10 seed Arkansas 71-53 in first round; lost to # 2 seed Louisville, 71-69 in second round
  • 1987 (# 9 Seed) Beat Georgia 82-79 in first round; lost to # 1 seed UNLV, 92-78 in second round
  • 1989 (# 6 Seed) Lost to #11 seed Minnesota 86-75 in first round
  • 1990 (# 11 Seed) Lost to # 6 seed Xavier 87-79 in first round
  • 1993 (# 6 Seed) Lost to # 11 seed Tulane 55-53 in first round
  • 1996 (# 10 Seed) Lost to # 7 seed New Mexico 69-48 in first round
  • 2008 (# 11 Seed) Beat # 6 seed USC 80-67 in first round; lost to # 3 seed Wisconsin 72-55 in the second round.

[edit] Notable former Wildcats

[1]

[edit] Coaches

Kansas State has had 22 head coaches. A number of notable and successful coaches have led the Wildcats through the years as well as some coaches that are better left forgotten. Following are all the coaches that have been at Kansas State.

Coach Years at KSU Record Conference Championships Coach of the Year
C.W. Melick 1905-1906 6-9 (.400)
Mike Ahern 1906-1911 28-27 (.509)
Guy Lowman 1911–1914 34–16 (.680)
Carl J. Merner 1914–1916 19-15 (.559)
Z.G. Clevenger 1916–1920 54–17 (.761) 2 (1917, 1919)
E.A. Knoth 1920-1921 14-5 (.737)
E.C. Curtis 1921-1923 5-28 (.152)
Charles Corsaut 1923-1933 90-80 (.529)
Frank Root 1933-1939 38-72 (.345)
Jack Gardner* 1939–1942; 1946–1953 147–81 (.645) 3 (1948, 1950, 1951)
Chili Cochrane 1942-1943 6-14 (.300)
Cliff Rock 1943-1944 7-15 (.318)
Fritz Knorr 1944-1946 14-33 (.398)
Fred "Tex" Winter 1953–1968 261–118 (.688) 8 (1956, 1958–1961, 1963, 1964, 1968) 1958 National
Lowell "Cotton" Fitzsimmons 1968–1970 34–20 (.630) 1 (1970) 1970 Big 8
Jack Hartman 1970–1986 294–170 (.634) 3 (1972, 1973, 1977) 1975 Big 8, 1977 Big 8, 1980 National
Lon Kruger 1986–1990 82–45 (.646)
Dana Altman 1990–1994 68-54 (.557) 1993 Big 8
Tom Asbury 1994–2000 85-88 (.491)
Jim Wooldridge 2000-2006 83-90 (.480)
Bob Huggins 2006-2007 23-12 (.657)
Frank Martin 2007-present 21-11 (.656)
* Member of Naismith Hall of Fame

[edit] Conference Membership History

[edit] References

  1. ^ Men's Basketball - In the Pros - Kansas State University Wildcats Official Athletics Site


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