Saint Louis to highlight Kansas State’s upcoming home men’s basketball schedule

The nonconference portion of Kansas State’s basketball schedule for the 2015-16 season is set, Wildcats coach Bruce Weber said Wednesday, and a game against Saint Louis at Bramlage Coliseum highlights the home slate, which was officially announced Thursday.

The game, which will be played Dec. 29, will start a home-and-home series with the Billikens. The return game will be played at Saint Louis the following season.

“We wanted a nice home game around Christmas time, which we have had, and we thought they were a good opponent for that,” Weber told The Star during an interview at the Wichita Catbackers banquet.

The return game will also allow D.J. Johnson, a St. Louis native, to play in his hometown as a senior.

“He will get to go home,” Weber said. “That was one of the big reasons for that.”

Saint Louis, of the Atlantic 10 Conference, is coming off a down season in which it went 11-21. Previously, it made three straight NCAA Tournaments.

The rest of K-State’s nonconference schedule will feature games against Columbia, Maryland-Eastern Shore, South Dakota, South Carolina State, Coppin State and North Dakota.

The Wildcats will also play previously announced games against Mississippi (at home), Missouri/Northwestern/North Carolina (CBE Classic), Colorado State (Wichita) as well as road games against Texas A&M and Georgia.

“We felt with so many new players that we needed to get some home games under our belt early to develop some confidence in our team,” Weber said Thursday in a release announcing the schedule. “Obviously, we have a nice challenge with the games in Kansas City at the CBE Hall of Fame Classic against a longtime rival in Missouri, a Big Ten team in Northwestern and a national championship contender in North Carolina.

“We then have a couple of road games to give us some experience in Georgia, who beat us at home last year, and Texas A&M, who has had two of the best recruiting classes in the country the past two seasons.”

2015-16 K-State men’s basketball nonconference schedule

▪ Friday, Nov. 6: FORT HAYS STATE (exhibition)

▪ Friday, Nov. 13: MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE

▪ Monday, Nov. 16: COLUMBIA

▪ Friday, Nov. 20: SOUTH DAKOTA

▪ Monday, Nov. 23: vs. TBA in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center

▪ Tuesday, Nov. 24: vs. TBA in the CBE Hall of Fame Classic at the Sprint Center

▪ Sunday, Nov. 29: SOUTH CAROLINA STATE

▪ Friday, Dec. 4: at Georgia

▪ Wednesday, Dec. 9: COPPIN STATE

▪ Saturday, Dec. 12: at Texas A&M

▪ Saturday, Dec. 19: vs. Colorado State at Intrust Bank Arena, Wichita

▪ Tuesday, Dec. 22: NORTH DAKOTA

▪ Tuesday, Dec. 29: SAINT LOUIS

▪ Saturday, Jan. 30: MISSISSIPPI (Big 12/SEC Challenge)

Note: Home games in CAPS at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kan.

This story was originally published June 11, 2015 at 11:30 AM with the headline "Saint Louis to highlight Kansas State’s upcoming home men’s basketball schedule."