MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State will host Marquette on Wednesday, December 8, 2021, at Bramlage Coliseum as part of the third year of the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle, the two conferences announced on Tuesday (June 2).
It will mark the third time in the last four seasons that the two programs have met in the regular season, including the second time in the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle, as the Golden Eagles swept a home-and-home series in 2018-19 and 2019-20, including a 73-65 victory at Bramlage Coliseum in their latest meeting on December 7, 2019.
"The Marquette game will be another quality addition to our schedule and a great home game for us," said head coach Bruce Weber. "Obviously, we are very familiar with them since we played twice in the last 3 seasons, and we know they are building another strong team under coach (Shaka) Smart."
The 10 matchups were jointly determined by the two conferences and will be played on various campuses starting on Wednesday, December 1 running through Saturday, December 18. Since K-State is the home team, the game will be broadcast on one of ESPN's platforms. Specific television information and game time will be released later.
K-State is 0-1 all-time in the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle following that 2019 loss to Marquette. The Wildcats were scheduled to play a road game against Butler during the 2020-21 season, but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bulldog program.
Overall, K-State is 24-25 all-time against BIG EAST opponents, including 11-3 at home.
The schools have a long history with the 2021 meeting serving as the 13th meeting in a series that dates to 1953. Among the many memorable games stands the 1977 NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals, in which, the Golden Eagles defeated the Wildcats, 67-66, en route to winning the NCAA title under famed head coach Al McGuire.
K-State owns a 7-5 advantage in the series, including 3-1 mark at home.
Marquette posted a 13-14 overall record, including an 8-11 mark in BIG EAST play, during the COVID-19 abbreviated 2020-21 season. The Golden Eagles hired former Texas coach Shaka Smart as their 18th head coach on March 26. The Wisconsin native led the Longhorns to 109 wins, four postseason appearances (3 NCAA and 1 NIT), the 2019 NIT Championship and the 2021 Big 12 Tournament title from 2015-21.
The Golden Eagles will be led by BIG EAST All-Freshman Team member Dawson Garcia (13.0 ppg., 6.6 rpg.), who led the team in scoring and rebounding a year ago, while they added several high-impact transfers in Tyler Kolek, who was the 2021 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year at George Mason, and Kur Kuath, who played three seasons at Oklahoma and was a starter for the Sooners for most of the 2020-21 season.
K-State is expected to return 10 lettermen, including super senior Mike McGuirl and rising sophomores Davion Bradford, Selton Miguel and Nijel Pack, for the 2021-22 season. The team is also welcoming five newcomers in transfers Markquis Lowell, Ismael Massoud and Mark Smith and freshmen Maximus Edwards and Logan Landers.