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No. 13 ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ (17-6, 11-1) at Kansas State (12-11, 6-6) | Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, Kansas | 6 p.m., Tuesday | ESPN+ | 1290-AM

PROBABLE STARTERS

ARIZONA

G Jaden Bradley (6-3 junior)

G Caleb Love (6-4 senior)

F Anthony Dell’Orso (6-6 junior)

F Carter Bryant (6-8 freshman)

C Tobe Awaka (6-8 junior)

KANSAS STATE

G Dug McDaniel (5-11 junior)

G Brendan Hausen (6-4 junior)

F Max Jones (6-4 junior)

F David N’Guessan (6-9 senior)

C Coleman Hawkins (6-10 senior)

How they match up

Series history: ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ trails 6-8 but has beaten the Wildcats of the Plains during their past three meetings. UA drummed K-State 125-87 in the 1997-98 Fiesta Bowl Classic at McKale Center and won 88-69 at McKale in 1999-2000. Between Elite Eight appearances in 2014 and 2015, UA also beat Kansas State 72-68 in the semifinals of the 2014-15 Maui Invitational.

Kansas State overview: Nobody may have needed a massive NIL war chest than Kansas State, which returned just three players from a team that already dropped off from a 26-win season in 2022-23. K-State then went out and grabbed Coleman Hawkins, who may be the highest paid player in college basketball with an NIL deal reportedly worth $2 million, as well as eight other transfers. But the transition brought a significant chemistry challenge and K-State lost nine of 10 games from early December into the first few weeks of Big 12 play before turning it around.

K-State went 6-6 in nonconference play, then began the Big 12 season at 1-6, losing to TCU, Oklahoma State, Houston, Texas Tech, Kansas and Baylor before beating West Virginia and Oklahoma State at home to gain some momentum. Then they pulled off a shocking 19-point win at Iowa State, won by a point at ASU and are coming off an 81-73 home win over Kansas on Tuesday.

Running at a below-average tempo, K-State ranks in the 60s nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency, but runs a balanced offense that often goes through point guard Dug McDaniel and Hawkins. It ranks 14th nationally in ratio of assists to field goals made (61.9), shooting 3s at a 35.6% rate and two-pointers at 53.0%. In Big 12 play, all five starters are averaging in double figures, between 10.2 points (Brendan Hausen) and 13.1 (Hawkins) while one of K-State’s three returnees, center David N’Guessan (7.3) is their leading rebounder in conference,

Overall, Kansas State is an average rebounding team and the Wildcats don’t get to the free-throw line very often. They rank just 316th in ratio of free throws attempted to field goals attempted and get only 15.4% of their scoring from the line.

He said it: “They really try to slow it down and run things through (McDaniel and Hawkins). They're playing a lot more confident and really running a lot of stuff through those two guys. They're both good players and they like setting up their teammates. That's what they do. Hawkins wants to fill the stat sheet up. He does a lot of things really, really well. He's capable of scoring but he definitely wants to facilitate and help them win that way.

“(N’Guessan) plays with effort and he’s a high-level athlete. He's great running the floor in transition, makes easy baskets, plays in a lot of short rolls, gets offensive rebounds and scores off penetration and dump offs.

“Hausen is one of the best shooters in the country, straight up. Just really only shoots 3s. (Jones) is good in transition. He's shooting the ball really, really well. He benefits a lot from a lot of attention going to Hawkins and McDaniel and they do a great job of finding him, whether it's in the half court or in the open court.

“(Defensively) they've shown just about everything. They do a good job of keeping you on your toes. Our guys have to be ready for it."

— UA assistant coach TJ Benson, who scouted the Wildcats.

Key players

Kansas State — Coleman Hawkins

The Big 12’s co-Newcomer of the Year is a do-it-all point-forward of sorts. In Big 12 games, he ranks 20th in scoring (13.1) and is in the Top 10 in rebounding (6.8), assists (5.1), blocks (1.4) and steals (1.7).

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ — Jaden Bradley

ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s tireless point guard can go a long way toward stifling K-State’s offense if he can get to McDaniel, a speedy and aggressive sub-6-footer who transferred from Michigan to largely run the show in Manhattan. McDaniel is also nationally ranked in steal percentage (3.1)

SIDELINES

Middle East veterans

Less than two months before the Israel-Hamas war broke out in the fall of 2023, both sets of Wildcats were recruited to play a role in improving the region’s image.

Hoping to create good social media buzz over the team’s experiences, Athletes for Israel partially sponsored parallel exhibition tours for Kansas State and ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ in August 2023 in part because of their coaches: K-State’s Jerome Tang and UA’s Tommy Lloyd.

“Jerome is a very spiritual and religious guy and Tommy is a very international guy,� Lea Miller, CEO of tour organizer Complete Sports Management, told the Star in Jerusalem during the August 2023 tours. “The two personalities were really a great fit for us.�

Tang and Lloyd had already known each other for years, as assistants who spent two decades with programs that had ties together: Tang worked under Scott Drew at Baylor and Lloyd under Mark Few at Gonzaga.

But, other than attending a Tel Aviv business forum along with their players, the two coaches didn’t cross paths too often in Israel or the United Arab Emirates, because they played exhibition games on different dates and never faced each other in a practice or game.

“It was hard because both teams were kind of running parallel races, you know?� Lloyd said. “We weren’t intermixed a bunch, but I've known Tang over the years and he's a great guy. He’s done a heck of a job there.�

Hard-earned compensation

Coleman Hawkins may have signed the richest NIL deal yet in college basketball when he reportedly received a $2 million deal for his transfer from Illinois to Kansas State, but it may have come at a cost to his mental health.

After K-State lost at Drake to drop to 6-4 in December, Hawkins reacted to criticism from the Wildcats’ fan base, according to Sports Illustrated. K-State had amassed nine transfers with its NIL stash, including McDaniel from Michigan and seven others.

“I can't go on my phone without people wishing the worst for me, not just for me but my team,� Hawkins said. "It devastates me. I just went on my phone and saw someone say, 'I hope you break your leg.' ... that's the kind of stuff our team has been dealing with all year.�

Hawkins also said then that “It affects me so much because I don't wish that upon my worst enemy� and that K-State players would have to tune it out. But the Wildcats went on to lose six straight early Big 12 games before going on their current five-game winning streak.

Now they love ‘em

But K-State fans have begun packing in Bramlage Coliseum as their team has improved. K-State has averaged 9,149 fans for Big 12 home games at the 11,654-seat arena and drew 11,010 last Saturday for a win over Kansas.

By then, Hawkins indicated, the fans turned their venom against Kansas.

“I think they were great for us,� Hawkins said after the Kansas game. “They fueled us with energy. That's a crowd I would love to play for every night. … and, you know, the ball feels different when there's 11,000 people against you.�

Numbers game

6: Years since Kansas State has had a five-game winning streak in Big 12 play.

8: Inches of snow predicted to hit Manhattan, Kansas, over the 24 hours immediately after Tuesday night’s game.

13: Wins in 16 home games against AP Top 25 opponents for Kansas State under coach Jerome Tang.

— Bruce Pascoe