For the first time in league history, Kansas State will be the Big 12 host for ESPN’s College GameDay Driven by State Farm college basketball series.  The Wildcats will welcome the premiere weekly college basketball show on Saturday, January 30, prior to their contest with in-state rival Kansas.  

The college basketball version of the popular College GameDay football series – two one-hour shows each Saturday at 11 a.m. ET and at 8 p.m. -- will originate from the site of the Saturday Primetime game for eight consecutive weeks and will generally be presented from inside or around the arena.  KSU is the fifth school from the Big 12 (Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas) to host the event. 

K-State returns four starters and eight lettermen from a squad that produced a 22-12 overall record and finished in a tie for fourth place in the Big 12 in 2008-09.  The Wildcats will be led by senior guard Denis Clemente, who set a Big 12 single-game scoring record with 44 points at Texas last season.  In addition, the team will welcome a five-man recruiting class that has been judged to be amongst the top 20 in the nation by several outlets.  Kansas State has been rated among several early preseason top 25 polls, including No. 24 by ESPN’s Andy Katz.

Kansas is widely expected to be the preseason No. 1 team in the nation heading into the 2009-10 campaign.  The Jayhawks welcome back nearly all of their scoring from a squad that won a fifth straight Big 12 regular season championship in 2008-09 and advanced to the regional semifinals of the NCAA Championship.  KU leaders will include senior guard Sherron Collins and junior center Cole Aldrich, who both earned All-America accolades from various organizations a year ago. 
 
The full schedule for College GameDay and Saturday Primetime is included below.