NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas State is on a seven-game winning streak and the Wildcats have been on the roll because of defense.

”It’s a team defense,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said after the Wildcats cruised to a 72-41 victory over Tulane on Saturday night in the Brooklyn Hoops Winter Festival at Barclays Center. ”We have a system and the kids have bought into it. Most important the four freshmen have. Usually what they struggle with is defense and they’ve done a good job of helping us become a good team.”

It was a senior who led the way offensively Saturday as New York native Shane Southwell matched his career high with 19 points but the Wildcats (9-3) continued their fine defensive play of late.

In the first six games of the winning streak they held opponents to 52.8 points on 38.0 percent shooting from the field and those numbers improved Saturday.

Tulane (7-7), which had won its last two games, had plenty of trouble with Kansas State, finishing with a season low in points (the previous was 52 in a loss to Texas State) and shooting percentage (28.6 percent on 12 of 42).

”Obviously any win is good and to win by that margin surprises a little bit,” Weber said. ”We challenged our guys to be locked up from the start and control the tempo from the get-go.”

Nigel Johnson, one of the four freshmen, added 13 points for the Wildcats, including seven in a 12-1 run that gave Kansas State a 55-29 lead with 9:50 to play. Southwell was 5 of 9 from 3-point range and the Wildcats finished 12 of 27 from beyond the arc (44.4 percent).

”He’s one of our smartest players and he’s starting to make some shots that’s a real positive,” Weber said. ”If he starts making shots and we play our defense the way we have we can be competitive in our league.”

The Wildcats host George Washington on Tuesday and then open play in the Big 12 at home against No. 7 Oklahoma State.

”I told them, ‘Now it’s for real,” Weber said.

Jonathan Stark had 10 points for Tulane while leading scorer Louis Dabney, who came in averaging 19.9 points per game, finished with nine on 3-of-10 shooting.

”It was physical out there early,” Tulane coach Ed Conroy said. ”We need to find ways to fight through different styles of play so we can execute at a high level. I thought we did get frustrated, not all five guys but one or two at a time. Our communication was poor.”

The Green Wave had a horrendous first half and trailed 28-10 after 20 minutes.

Tulane led 3-0 on a 3-pointer by Jay Hook with 17:50 to play. The Green Wave missed their next 12 shots, finally ending the drought on Dabney’s basket down low with 6:23 left that brought them within 19-5.

”You don’t get too frustrated,” Hook said of the first half. ”We tried to execute. We didn’t get frustrated but we didn’t execute.”

The Wildcats didn’t exactly tear up the building with their shooting on the way to the 18-point halftime lead. They were 11 of 32 from the field (34.4 percent), including making 6 of 16 3-point attempts, but that looked pretty good next to Tulane’s 13.0 percent (3 of 23) and the Green Wave also missed four of six free throws.

This was Kansas State’s first game in the borough of Brooklyn since the Wildcats’ 60-59 loss to LIU on Dec. 2, 1950.

— Associated Press —

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — At the media timeout with 7:51 remaining and his team leading No. 21 Gonzaga by two, Kansas State coach Bruce Weber challenged his players.

Weber told them the Bulldogs had put up nearly 30 points in the second half.

”They had been scoring a little too easy,” Weber said. ”I told our guys we needed to get stops right then. They were at 52. And they stayed at 52 for a long time.”

Indeed, Gonzaga scored only two points in the next seven minutes after that timeout, keying Kansas State’s 72-62 upset victory.

Thomas Gipson scored eight of his 14 points for K-State (8-3) during that seven-minute stretch. Marcus Foster also finished with 14 while Wesley Iwundu had 13 and Shane Southwell added 11.

Kevin Pangos led Gonzaga (10-2) with 14 points while reserve Drew Barham had 13 points. David Stockton and Przemek Karnowski each scored 10.

The Bulldogs entered the game averaging 87.5 points and had not scored fewer than 68 this season.

”We just missed a lot of wide open shots,” Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. ”That and not getting to the free throw line were huge for us.”

Kansas State was 19 of 25 from the foul line while the Bulldogs were 7 of 15.

Gonzaga played the second half without second-leading scorer Sam Dower, who took a hard fall late in the first half and did not return.

”He was in a lot of pain in his lower back,” Few said. ”(The doctors) were so concerned, they took him for an X-ray.”

Southwell kept his team’s momentum going right after halftime, scoring five straight to give the Wildcats a 33-24 lead with 18:46 to play.

Then Foster, a freshman among the top 10 scorers in the Big 12, had his stretch, going on a personal 7-3 run with a 3-pointer, a layup and monster slam over Stockton.

The Wildcats led 40-32 and the crowd was buzzing.

”Marcus is so athletic,” said Southwell, who made the pass to Foster on the play for one of his six assists. ”As soon as he got it and could get up, I knew it was over for Stockton.”

But the Bulldogs answered as Gary Bell’s 3-pointer capped a 7-0 run that pulled the Bulldogs within 40-39 with 14:48 to play.

After that, the teams exchanged the lead eight times in six minutes.

”The tempo had been at their tempo, but we were able to finally get it up and down a little and get back in the game,” Few said. ”We were in position. But then they made all the plays from that moment forward.”

Gipson was the key. Twice then 6-foot-7 Gipson posted up the tiring Karnowski, a 7-footer forced into extended minutes by Dower’s injury, for baskets.

The second one gave Kansas State a 60-54 lead with 3:39 remaining. Karnowski entered the game averaging 23 minutes but played 30 Saturday, 17 of them in the second half.

”He was definitely tired,” Few said.

Gipson’s putback with 1:59 to play pushed the lead to eight, and the Wildcats could milk out a victory from there.

”I just wanted to be active – ball screen, roll and get posted up down low,” Gipson said. ”I knew I could get offensive rebounds or easy hook shots.”

Gonzaga, among the top 20 nationally in scoring, had real difficulties finding its offense in the first half.

The Bulldogs had just 19 points in the game’s first 17 minutes and trailed by five.

But Kyle Dranginis followed a driving layup with a 3-pointer, making the score 24-24 with 1:49 remaining in the half.

Kansas State scored the half’s final five points on a 3 by Nigel Johnson and a layup by Nino Williams for a 29-24 lead. Gonzaga had not scored fewer than 31 points in a first half this season.

— Associated Press —

Kansas State senior defensive back Ty Zimmerman was named to the USA Today All-America team, the publication has announced.

Zimmerman, who earned second team honors, picked up All-America honors for the second-straight season. Last year, the Junction City, Kan., product was a Second Team All-American by CBSSports.com, recorded third team honors from the Associated Press and was an honorable mention selection by Sports Illustrated.

A two-time team captain, Zimmerman logged 69 tackles in 10 games in 2013 to go along with three tackles for loss and three interceptions. He returned two of his interceptions for touchdowns to lead the Big 12 and tie for second nationally in that department. He has 13 career interceptions to tie for third in school history, while his 221 career interception-return yards rank second.

Earlier this week, Zimmerman was named an All-Big 12 First Team performer by both the league’s coaches and the Associated Press. His designations made him the first player in school history to garner four-straight all-conference accolades, while he is one of just four Big 12 defensive backs to earn four All-Big 12 honors with at least one of those being a first-team designation.

Kansas State travels to Tempe, Ariz., to take on Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, December 28, at Sun Devil Stadium. The game kicks off at 9:15 p.m. (CT) and will be televised to a national audience on ESPN.

— KSU Sports Information —

Paced by Special Teams Player of the Year Tyler Lockett and Defensive Lineman of the Year Ryan Mueller, Kansas State landed 13 players on the coaches’ All-Big 12 teams, the conference office announced Wednesday.

Joining Lockett – who was honored as both a wide receiver and kick returner – and Mueller on the first team were offensive lineman B.J. Finney and defensive back Ty Zimmerman, while offensive lineman Cody Whitehair was a second-team selection. Additionally, Lockett and Zimmerman picked up votes for the league’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year awards, respectively.

Kansas State’s honorable mention selections included defensive lineman Travis Britz, fullback Glenn Gronkowski, running back John Hubert, offensive linemen Cornelius Lucas and Tavon Rooks, quarterback Daniel Sams, linebacker Blake Slaughter and kick returner Tramaine Thompson.

Lockett is the first Wildcat to earn Special Teams Player of the Year honors since Brandon Banks in 2009, while Mueller garnered Kansas State’s second-straight Defensive Lineman of the Year honor (Meshak Williams). The two specialty awards in 2013 pushed K-State’s total to six over the last two years as Bill Snyder (coach), Collin Klein (offensive), Arthur Brown (defensive) and Williams were honored last season.

A product of Tulsa, Okla., Lockett led the Big 12 during the regular season with 151.4 all-purpose yards per game, an astonishing 22.3 yards per game better than the player in second place. His average ranks 14th nationally and is a product of a 104.2 receiving yards-per-game average, which ranks second in the conference and 11th in the nation. The all-conference honor was the third of Lockett’s career as he was a second-team honoree in 2011 and 2012.

Lockett sits in the school’s top 10 in six single-season receiving categories and four career receiving categories, while he produced the top two single-game receiving outputs in school history this season (278 vs. Oklahoma, 237 vs. Texas) and tied the school record with three receiving touchdowns on two occasions (West Virginia and Oklahoma). He also owns the school record for career kickoff-return yardage (1,760), and he ranks second in school history in career kickoff-return average (30.9) and touchdowns (4).

Mueller, a junior from Leawood, Kan., leads the Big 12 with 18.5 tackles for loss and is second in the league with a school-record tying 11.5 sacks. A former walk-on who has at least a half tackle for loss in every game this year, Mueller enters the postseason a half sack away from entering the Big 12’s single-season top 10 and 1.5 away from appearing on the school’s career top-10 list.

Zimmerman’s designation made him the first player in school history to garner four-straight all-conference accolades. Additionally, he is one of just four Big 12 defensive backs to earn four All-Big 12 honors with at least one of those being a first-team designation, joining Nebraska’s Ralph Brown (1996-99) and Oklahoma’s Brandon Everage (2000-03) and Derrick Strait (2000-03). The Junction City, Kan., native ranks third in the Big 12 among defensive backs with seven tackles per game, while he has returned a Big 12-best two interceptions for touchdowns.

Finney joins Zimmerman and Lockett as one of 14 players in school history with three or more career all-conference honors. The Andale, Kan., product has started all 38 games in his Wildcat career, including the last 37 at center, and is a two-time team captain.

A native of Abilene, Kan., Whitehair garnered his second-straight all-conference accolade as he was an honorable mention pick by the coaches in 2012. He has started 24 of 25 career games, including all 12 regular-season contests in 2013 at left guard.

Hubert, Lucas, Rooks and Thompson each garnered their second-straight All-Big 12 designation, while Britz, Gronkowski, Sams and Slaughter were named all-conference for the first time in their careers.

K-State takes on the Michigan Wolverines for the first time in school history in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, December 28, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. The game, which kicks off at 9:15 p.m. (CT), will be televised nationally on ESPN.

— KSU Sports Information —

The K-State Nation is heading back to the Valley of the Sun for the second straight year as Kansas State Athletics Director John Currie announced today that the Wildcats have accepted an invitation to play Michigan in the 2013 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on December 28.

The game, which will be K-State’s third trip to the bowl following its 1993 Copper Bowl and 2001 Insight.com Bowl appearances, will be played at Sun Devil Stadium at 9:15 p.m. CT, with a nationwide television audience watching on ESPN.

“On behalf of President Schulz, Coach Snyder, our football program and all of Wildcat Nation, we are thrilled to be heading back to Arizona and representing the Big 12 Conference in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl,” said Currie. “The chance for our university and football brands to be showcased nationally on ESPN against a terrific program and brand in Michigan is a tremendous opportunity, and the experience our student-athletes, band members, cheerleaders and fans will have in Tempe will be world-class.”

K-State is 1-1 all-time in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl (formerly Copper and Insight.com) and last appeared in the game back in 2001. The Wildcats are also 1-1 all-time in bowl games played at Sun Devil Stadium following a win in the 1997 Fiesta Bowl and loss in the 2004 edition of the game.

The Wildcats (7-5) will be playing in their 17th bowl game in school history and 15th under Bill Snyder as the Cats are 6-8 all-time in bowls under the legendary head coach. Following 11 straight bowls from 1993-2003 under Snyder, the Cats have now gone bowling in each of the last four seasons following last year’s berth in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the 2012 AT&T Cotton Bowl and the inaugural New Era Pinstripe Bowl in 2010.

“We are so very proud of the young men in our program, and we are honored and very pleased to represent the Big 12 Conference in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl,” said Snyder. “We had more than 30,000 K-Staters in attendance last year in Arizona and know that the K-State family will once again show their passion and support for our program. The Buffalo Wild Wings/Fiesta Bowl is a first-class organization. We appreciate Chairman Brian Hall, Executive Director Robert Shelton and the entire bowl staff for their efforts and support of our student-athletes, coaches and fans. In our many bowl trips to the Phoenix area, we have greatly appreciated the warm and gracious hospitality given to us by the bowl organization and entire community.”

K-State showed tremendous perseverance and toughness in 2013 to qualify for its fourth straight bowl game. After starting the season 2-4, the Wildcats reeled off four straight Big 12 Conference wins to become bowl eligible and ended the season with their fifth-straight win over in-state rival KU to get to 7-5. All five losses were by 10 points or less, and the Wildcats held fourth-quarter leads in the three of those contests.

Also, K-State became just the fourth Big 12 team ever to become bowl eligible after starting a season 2-4.  In fact, only 8-percent of all FBS schools in the BCS era (48/597) started a season 2-4 or worse and reached a bowl game prior to the 2013 Wildcats.

Excitement surrounding the 2013 Wildcat football team was also evidenced by eight sell-out crowds at Bill Snyder Family Stadium this season and new season school records for total and average attendance. Dating back to last season, K-State is currently riding a streak of 13 consecutive sellouts at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.

“It’s always an honor to be selected for a bowl game, but it’s a privilege to be asked to return to the Phoenix/Tempe area this year,” said K-State President Kirk Schulz. “I couldn’t be more proud of Coach Snyder, our players and the rest of the football program. They persevered through the season from the start and have the awesome opportunity to end with an appearance in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.”

The Cats will take on a Michigan team that also finished 7-5 on the season and are led by dynamic quarterback Devin Gardner, who has thrown for 2,960 yards and 21 touchdowns while rushing for 11 more scores.

K-State and Michigan have never met previously on the football field.

— KSU Sports Information —