*Courtesy of K-State Sports Information*
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State will play Boston College in the fifth annual Barclays Center Classic on Friday, Nov. 25, the organization announced on Tuesday.
The contest will be among a semifinal doubleheader on Friday, Nov. 25 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, as K-State and Boston College will be joined by Maryland and Richmond. The winners will meet in the championship tilt following the consolation game on Saturday, Nov. 26. Times and television information for the four-game tournament will be released at a later date.
“We are obviously excited to play in this high-quality preseason tournament in a world-class basketball venue like the Barclays Center,” said head coach Bruce Weber. “I know Boston College was a young team last season and return their nucleus to go with a solid recruiting class. Maryland was one of the best teams in the country a year ago and should be again among the best with the return of (Melo) Trimble. Richmond is always one of the better teams in the Atlantic 10. This will be high-level experience for our team relatively early in the season.”
As part of its participation in the tournament, K-State will play two home games at Bramlage Coliseum, beginning with Hampton on Sunday, Nov. 20 and concluding with Robert Morris on Tuesday, Nov. 22.
Much like the Wildcats, the Eagles were one of the youngest teams in the country in 2015-16, as the squad had just four upperclassmen, including graduate transfer and two seniors. The squad returns 11 lettermen and three starters, including five freshmen who averaged double-digit minutes.
K-State and Boston College have met just twice in their respective histories with both coming in the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats won the first matchup, 74-65, in the NCAA East Regional Semifinal at the Providence Civic Center on March 20, 1975 before the Eagles evened the series with a 69-65 victory in the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis on March 19, 1982. K-State is 12-21 all-time against the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Wildcats will play either Sweet 16 participant Maryland or Atlantic 10 foe Richmond on Saturday. The Terrapins return nine lettermen, including honorable mention All-American Melo Trimble (14.8 ppg., 4.9 apg.), from a squad that won 27 games and finished third in the Big Ten to go with a consensus Top 15 recruiting class. The Spiders, who averaged 76.6 points per game a year ago, return nine lettermen, including All-Atlantic 10 Third Team selection T.J. Cline (18.3 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) as well as fellow senior ShawnDre’ Jones (14.7 ppg., 3.6 apg.).
Maryland won the first and only meeting with K-State in series history – a 63-57 victory at Ahearn Field House on Dec. 11, 1965 – while the Wildcats and Spiders have never met on the hardwood.
Although this will be the Wildcats’ first appearance in the Barclays Center Classic, they have played once before in the Barclays Center, knocking off Tulane, 72-41, on Dec. 28, 2013.
Previous winners of the Barclays Center Classic include inaugural champion Kentucky (2012), Ole Miss (2013), Virginia (2014) and Cincinnati (2015). Last season, the Bearcats won the latest title with a 61-56 victory over George Washington on Nov. 28, 2015. K-State is the first Big 12 team to participate in the event.
Tickets for this event will go on sale to the public in September through Ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745.3000.
For more information on the Barclays Center Classic, please visit http://www.barclayscenter.com/ or follow them on Twitter at @barclayscenter.