Kansas State, Tulsa close to finalizing basketball game in Wichita

Kansas State and Tulsa are close to finalizing plans for a two-game men’s basketball series that will begin at Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena next season.

K-State coach Bruce Weber told The Star on Thursday he expects to play the Golden Hurricane in the team’s “Wichita Wildcat Classic” in 2017.

“We have talked to Tulsa about it,” Weber said by phone. “They are still figuring out some things with the return game, so I can’t totally confirm it will happen, but it is heading in that direction.”

K-State has played at Intrust Bank Arena every other year since 2011, losing the inaugural game in double overtime to West Virginia and then beating Gonzaga in 2013 and Colorado State in 2015.

The game is typically played on the final Saturday before Christmas, which would make Dec. 23, 2017 a target date for the Tulsa game.

The return game in the series will likely be played in 2018, at a venue of Tulsa’s choosing.

K-State will play Colorado State in Denver this season after defeating the Rams in Wichita last season. It will also play a neutral-court series with Washington State, with a game in at the Sprint Center in Kansas City this season and a game in Spokane, Wash., next season.

But the Wildcats have agreed to neutral-home options in the past. K-State played Texas A&M at the Sprint Center in 2014 and then traveled to Reed Arena the following year.

Tulsa is off to an 0-2 start this season, including an 80-53 loss at Wichita State on Wednesday.

The Golden Hurricane went 20-12 last season under former Mizzou coach Frank Haith and qualified for the NCAA Tournament, where Tulsa lost to Michigan in the First Four.

This story was originally published November 17, 2016 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Kansas State, Tulsa close to finalizing basketball game in Wichita."