Kansas State basketball announces two-game series with Colorado State in Wichita, Denver

Kansas State confirmed Friday it will play Colorado State on Dec. 19 at Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena, starting a two-game men’s basketball series that will conclude Dec. 17, 2016 at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

The Intrust game, which was reported in February by The Star, will mark a return to Wichita for the Wildcats, who last visited on Dec. 21, 2013, defeating Gonzaga 72-62. K-State also played at Intrust during the 2011-12 season, falling to West Virginia 85-80 in overtime. Both games were played in front of large, loud crowds, which prompted K-State coach Bruce Weber to continue scheduling games in Wichita every other year.

“We are excited to return to Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita to play a quality opponent in Colorado State,” Weber said in a release. “I know that our fan base has fond memories of our last visit in 2013 when we knocked off Gonzaga, so I know they will again pack the arena with purple.”

Now that the game is officially on the schedule, it allows the Wildcats to continue their tradition of playing a neutral-site game against a known opponent on the final weekend before Christmas. That formula has been good to them in recent years, as they have scored late December victories over Texas A&M, Florida and Alabama at the Sprint Center and Gonzaga in Wichita.

The return game in the series will allow K-State to play in a NBA arena, which is home to the Denver Nuggets.

Colorado State is coached by former Iowa State head man Larry Eustachy. The Rams were in and out of the top 25 rankings last season, finishing 27-7 after a NIT berth.

“Colorado State is a great component of what we think will be another strong non-conference schedule,” Weber said. “They return three starters from a team that won a school-record 27-games and was one of the top seeds in the NIT this past year, so our young team will have to be prepared for a challenging contest.”

Other known games on K-State’s 2015-16 schedule include road trips to Texas A&M and Georgia and two games in the CBE Classic, which includes Missouri, North Carolina and Northwestern, at the Sprint Center. The Wildcats also will play host to Mississippi on Jan. 30 as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Kansas State basketball announces two-game series with Colorado State in Wichita, Denver."