Kansas State faced a road challenge against a non-conference foe its last time out, but it hasn't been tested too heavily at Bramlage Coliseum by a team outside the Big 12 in more than three years.
The fifth-ranked Wildcats' 31-game home winning streak against non-conference opponents doesn't figure to be in jeopardy Monday night when they take on winless Alcorn State.
Kansas State (7-1) picked up a solid road victory with a 63-58 win over Washington State on Friday as part of the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series. The victory was especially impressive since preseason All-American Jacob Pullen was held to eight points on 2-of-11 shooting.
"I kind of struggled," said Pullen, who also had six of his team's 21 turnovers. "It made the game more valuable because other guys had to step up and make plays."
Despite the shaky performance, coach Frank Martin was pleased with the effort on the road as Curtis Kelly and Rodney McGruder each scored 15 points. McGruder, a sophomore, shot 5 of 7 from 3-point range and added eight rebounds after scoring a season-high 17 points in his previous game.
"Last year we went 13-1 in our non-conference schedule, but we never played in an environment like this," Martin said. "This is good for our team."
It was the first game outside of Manhattan for the Wildcats since they lost 82-68 to top-ranked Duke in Kansas City, Mo., in the CBE Classic on Nov. 23. They've won three in a row since, with the previous two victories coming at home, including a win over Division II Emporia State on Nov. 29.
After passing its road test, Kansas State figures to have a much easier time against Alcorn State, which lost its only game against a ranked opponent 103-48 to then-No. 14 Purdue on Nov. 17.
The Wildcats' non-conference home winning streak, which dates back to an 80-77 overtime loss to then-No. 17 Oregon on Nov. 29, 2007, is their longest ever in Bramlage Coliseum and their longest in Manhattan since a 38-game run from 1971-78. Their five wins there this season came by an average of 17.4 points.
The Braves (0-6) will try to pull off the upset after a 100-71 loss to Southern Mississippi on Wednesday. They led for the first 13 minutes before the Golden Eagles took the lead for good.
In the midst of 10 straight road games to open the season, the Braves shot 37.1 percent and were outrebounded 58-45. Marquis Baker led Alcorn State with 23 points and was 13 of 15 at the free-throw line, but hit just 5 of 18 from the field.
Baker leads Alcorn State with 15.3 points per game, but he's shooting 29.1 percent. The junior college transfer is looking for a better performance against a ranked opponent after being held scoreless on 0-of-8 shooting by the Boilermakers.
Opponents are averaging 89.8 points against the Braves and Pullen, who is averaging 15.0 points, may flirt with fifth place on Kansas State's all-time scoring list. With 1,626 points, he is 30 points shy of fifth.
This is the first meeting between the two schools. Kansas State is 6-0 all-time against teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference with an average margin of victory of 22.2 points.
