By Tom Gilbert, K-State Athletics Communications
Kansas State will renew one of its oldest rivalries with a matchup against Missouri in the semifinals of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, as announced by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on Thursday.
The contest will be the first of a semifinal doubleheader on Monday, November 23 at Kansas City’s Sprint Center, as K-State and Missouri will tip off at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU followed by North Carolina and Northwestern at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2. The winners will meet up in the championship game, which is set for 9 p.m. CT on ESPN2 on Tuesday, November 24 with the consolation game tipping off at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN3.
“We are excited about this matchup with Missouri in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “Obviously, there is a long and storied history between our two programs and we look forward to another exciting game in the series in a world-class venue like the Sprint Center. We have a tremendous and loyal fan base in Kansas City and I know that they will take this as another opportunity to pack the building with purple.”
As part of its participation in the tournament, K-State will play two home games at Bramlage Coliseum, beginning with Maryland-Eastern Shore on Friday, November 13 and concluding with Columbia on Monday, November 16.
K-State has an extensive history with Missouri, playing 235 times between 1907 and 2012, including on 23 occasions in Kansas City. The 235 meetings are the second-most against one opponent in school history (trailing only the 281 vs. Kansas), while 119 wins are second only to the 137 against Iowa State for most against one opponent.
The Wildcats hold a slight edge in the all-time series, 119-116, including a 15-8 mark in games contested in Kansas City. Most of those matchups have come in the Big Eight Holiday Tournament (1946-78) at Municipal Auditorium and Big Eight/12 Championship (1977-99) at Kemper Arena. The first meeting between the schools in the city came way back on December 20, 1935 in the Kansas City Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.
This will be the first meeting at the Sprint Center and the first overall in Kansas City since an 84-74 K-State victory in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship on March 5, 1999 at Kemper Arena.
This will mark the Wildcats’ second trip to the CBE Classic and first since going 1-1 in the 2010 event. K-State knocked off No. 18 Gonzaga, 81-64, in the semifinals before falling to No. 1 Duke, 82-68, in the championship game.
Previous winners of the CBE Hall of Fame Classic include two-time champions Creighton (2002, 2004), Missouri (2001, 2011) and Texas (2005, 2009) as well as UCLA (2007), Syracuse (2008), Kansas (2012) and Wichita State (2013). Maryland won the latest title with a 72-63 victory over Iowa State on November 25, 2014.
Tickets in the K-State section for the championship round games at the Sprint Center are currently on sale in the Athletics Ticket Office for $64 for lower level end zone and $134 for the lower level sidelines. Fans can purchase these tickets in a variety of ways, including online at www.kstatesports.com/tickets, by phone at (800) 221.CATS or in-person at Bramlage Coliseum.
The event is named after the College Basketball Experience, the award-winning college basketball fan facility adjacent to the Sprint Center, which also houses the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. The tournament, in partnership with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), was initially established in 2001 as the Guardians Classic.
For more information on the CBE Hall of Fame Classic, please visit www.cbehalloffameclassic.com or follow them on Twitter at @CBEHOFClassic.
