Friday, November 9
8 p.m. EST – Kennesaw State (1-0) at No. 12 Kansas State (0-0)
Location: Manhattan, Kan. | Bramlage Coliseum
Links: ESPN3 | Live Stats | Game Notes

Top Storylines
»The Kennesaw State men's basketball team heads to Manhattan for arguably its toughest test of the season against No. 12 Kansas State Friday.
» The Owls recorded their first season-opening victory since the 2010-11 season, defeating Oglethorpe 68-57 Wednesday night.
»Three Owls finished the game in double-figures led by red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker who netted a career-high 25 points against the Stormy Petrels.
» KSU had a dominant presence around the net in its season-opener, outrebounding Oglethorpe 45-24. Five Owls recorded five rebounds or more with red-shirt junior Bryson Lockley and junior Isaac Mbuyamba each leading the team with nine.
» Freshmen Ugo Obineke started his career off hot, going 7-of-9 from the floor, 2-of-3 from beyond the arc, for 17 points. He also logged three rebounds, a steal and an assist.
»After recording six blocks in KSU's exhibition game against Clayton State, freshman Antonio Spencer continued to barricade the rim, leading the team with two blocks against Oglethorpe.
»KSU had a massive influx of new talent this year, welcoming four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January of 2018. 
»KSU returns three players that started in 15 games or more from last season, senior Kyle Clarke, red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker and junior Isaac Mbuyamba.  
 
The Matchup
Friday's game marks Kansas State's 2018-19 season-opener. The Wildcats are coming off a 2017-18 season in which they went 25-12 overall, making a run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Kansas State returns all three of their top players from a year ago in Dean Wade Barry Brown and Xavier Snead who all averaged over 10 points per game.
 
Senior Dean Wade led the team averaging 16.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season. In KSU's exhibition against Pittsburgh State, Wade recorded 14 points and nine rebounds.
 
The Owls and Wildcats have squared off only once before with Kansas State winning the matchup in 2006, 82-54.
 
Last Time Out
Kennesaw State started off the 2018-19 campaign on the right foot, defeating Oglethorpe 68-57 Wednesday night. The win marked the Owls first season-opening victory since the 2010-11 season.
 
After KSU's 6-0 run to open the game, Oglethorpe responded with back-to-back three-pointers by Justin Hughes to pull ahead 14-10 at the 9:59 mark. The Stormy Petrels pushed their lead to as high as 13 points, 26-13, following a 12-1 run capped off by yet another three-pointer from Hughes with 8:03 left in the first half.
 
Hooker finally broke the run with two free throws and a three-pointer to spark a 19-0 run for the Owls, capped off by a trey from freshman Ugo Obineke to make it 32-26 with less than two minutes to play. Oglethorpe closed out the half on a 5-0 run, all from the free throw line, to pull within one at the buzzer, 32-31.
 
After the Stormy Petrels took the lead to open the second half, KSU ran away with it, going on an 18-2 run to earn their largest lead of the game, 52-38. Hooker sparked the seven-minute run with back-to-back layups, recording 10 of the Owls 18 points.
 
Oglethorpe rallied to within seven, 60-53, behind three straight three-pointers, but KSU kept the Stormy Petrels at bay to win 68-57.
 
Hooked On Scoring
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker put on a show in KSU's season-opener with a career-high 25 points to go along with two assists, four rebounds and a team-high five steals, tying his career-high.

Hooker shot 50 percent from the field while going 8-of-10 from the free throw line. The Simpsonville, S.C., product ran the floor for the Owls playing all 40 minutes, marking only the third time in his career he has played from buzzer to buzzer.

Hooker will be the team's go-to shooter this year as the Owls top returning scorer from last season, averaging 10.8 points per game. He also recorded 79 assists and 38 steals last year.
 
Now Boarding
The Owls came up big on the glass in their season-opener, pulling down 45 rebounds against Oglethorpe. That mark is tied for 10th-most all-time in a single game. KSU finished the game with a +21 rebound margin. 
 
Five Owls recorded at least five rebounds with Bryson Lockley and Isaac Mbuyamba leading the team with nine each. Mbuyamba's nine rebounds tied his career-high. Freshman Antonio Spencer logged six rebounds while Bobby Parker and Kosta Jankovic recorded five each.
 
Back in Black (and Gold)
 
Kennesaw State's seven returners will have some big shoes to fill after losing nearly half of last year's squad to graduation or transfer, including the Owls' top-2 scorers in James Scott and ASUN Second Team All-Conference honoree Nick Masterson.
 
Red-shirt junior Tyler Hooker is KSU's top returning scorer, averaging 10.8 points per game last year. He was also second on the team for assists (79) and steals (38). Kyle Clarke and Kosta Jankovic are the lone seniors on a young Owl squad. Clarke and Hooker are the only two returners to record over 100 points, 50 assists and 30 steals.
 
The Owls will rely heavily on junior Isaac Mbuyamba in the paint. Mbuyamba led the team last year with 26 blocks and was second with 131 total rebounds.
 
Fresh Faces
The Owls welcome a large crop of newcomers this season with the potential to vie for a starting role. In total, KSU will have eight new faces, four freshmen and four transfers, including Antonio Spencer who joined the team in January of this year, but did not see any action.
 
KSU gains some height at the forward position with three of the four newcomers standing at 6'9" or taller.
 
The Owls also gain a surge of much needed depth at the guard position with the addition of four guards, including transfer Bobby Parker who led Mineral Area CC averaging 14 points per game. Joining Parker is Danny Lewis, a three-star recruit who transferred from UCF after being red-shirted last season, and C.J. Washington who averaged 16.7 points per game during Tompkins High School's historic playoff run to its first Region III Class 6 Championship. 
 
Quick Hands
The Owls played havoc on defense last season, averaging 7.1 steals per game to rank third in the ASUN. Six Owls recorded 20 or more steals last season.
 
KSU returns nearly half of its production from last season, including Tyler Hooker and Kyle Clarke who combined for 73 steals, and ranked 12th and 13th in the league, respectively.
 
The Owls picked up right where they left off in their season-opener with 11 steals against Oglethorpe. Tyler Hooker led the way with five steals.
 
Not In His House
Junior Isaac Mbuyamba had a breakout sophomore campaign, appearing in all 30 games after seeing the court twice his freshman season. Mbuyamba ranked fifth in the ASUN last season with 26 blocks, averaging nearly one block per game.
 
The Portland, Ore., native was also ranked 20th in the league averaging 4.4 rebounds per game.
 
Protect The Nest
The Owls have done a good job of protecting their home court recording eight wins in each of the last three seasons. Before the 2015-16 campaign, KSU has only recorded eight home wins three times since joining Division I (2006-07, 2007-08 and 2009-10).
 
To Be The Best You Have To Play The Best
The Owls have a formidable non-conference schedule this season, featuring five matchups against Power-5 teams.
 
After the Owls' season-opener, they jump right into the deep end, traveling to face last year's elite eight squad of Kansas State. The following week KSU heads to the Virgin Islands to play in the Paradise Jam Tournament. KSU opens the tournament against SEC foe Missouri with the potential to face either Oregon State or Old Dominion in the second round.
 
KSU then returns to the states to take on perennial OVC powerhouse Belmont before squaring off against the likes of Georgia, Tennessee Tech and Georgia Tech before opening conference play.
 
Owls Picked To Finish Seventh In ASUN
The Kennesaw State men's basketball team was selected to finish seventh in both the preseason Coaches and media polls.
 
The Owls have qualified for the ASUN tournament four years in a row, finishing sixth or higher in each year. KSU's best finish in the conference 
 
Skinner Enters Fourth Season
Al Skinner enters his fourth season as head coach of Kennesaw State. Since joining KSU, Skinner has led the Owls to 25 wins over the past three seasons, tying the best three-year stretch since moving to Division I (25 wins from 2005-08).came during the 2016-17 when the Owls went 7-7 in league play to tie USC Upstate for fourth.

KSU has recorded at least six wins in league play the last three seasons. The Owls 20 wins over that span marks the best three-year stretch for KSU since its first three seasons in Division I from 2005-08 (26 wins).
 
Looking Ahead
Following Friday's game, the Owls take the short trip to Alabama to face Samford Monday night at 7:30 p.m.
 

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