The 2009–10 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in the

2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2009–10 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 9, 2009, and ended with the 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament's championship game on April 5, 2010, on the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The opening round ...

. The head coach was Frank Martin, who served his 3rd year at the helm of the Wildcats. The team played its home games in

Bramlage Coliseum Fred Bramlage Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Manhattan, Kansas with an official capacity of 11,654. It is the home to the K-State Men's and Women's basketball teams and serves as an alternative venue for K-State Women's Volleyball. The faci ...

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city and county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. As of the 2020 cen ...

. Kansas State is a member of the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

. The Wildcats began conference play with a trip to

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It is the county seat of Boone County and home to the University of Missouri. Founded in 1821, it is the principal city of the five-county Columbia metropolitan area. It is Missouri's fourth ...

and faced the

Missouri Tigers The Missouri Tigers intercollegiate athletics programs represent the University of Missouri, located in Columbia. The name comes from a band of armed Union Home Guards called the Fighting Tigers of Columbia who, in 1864, protected Columbia fro ...

and finished the year with a home game against the

Iowa State Cyclones The Iowa State Cyclones are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Iowa State University, located in Ames. The university is a member of the Big 12 Conference and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 16 varsity teams (6 men's an ...

. They finished the season 29–8 and ranked #7 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

and the ESPN/USA Today

Coaches' Poll The Coaches Poll is a weekly ranking of the top 25 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football, Division I college basketball, and Division I college baseball teams. The football version of the poll has been known officially ...

. They lost to the rival

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

in the finals of the Big 12 tournament, 72–64. The team received a #2 seed for the

2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2010 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball as a culmination of the 2009–10 basketball seaso ...

, and beat

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and

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

to advance to the Sweet Sixteen, where the Wildcats faced Xavier. The KSU-Xavier game was a double-overtime thriller won by Kansas State 101-96, which

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called "one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16." Kansas State lost in the next round to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

Recruiting

The following is a list of the recruits that are on the 2009-10 roster.

Schedule

, - !colspan=9 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style=, Regular Season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big 12 tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament

Record breaking season

Kansas State earned its highest ranking since the 1987–88 season on December 14, as the Wildcats jumped into The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

Top 25 poll for the first time this season at No. 17. K-State also appeared in the ESPN/USA Today poll at No. 22. The team had been receiving votes in both polls since the preseason. The Wildcats are ranked for the first time in the AP poll since the 2007–08 season when the squad was ranked No. 24 on Feb. 19, 2008. K-State appeared in the poll eight times during the season, including 18th twice on Nov. 20, 2007 and Feb. 12, 2008. The last time the team was ranked as high or higher than 17th was during the 1987-88 when the Wildcats were 14th on Feb. 9, 1988. It is also the highest ranking prior to conference play since K-State was ranked No. 14 in the preseason poll in 1975. On December 21, Kansas State's rise in the polls reached historical levels, as the Wildcats earned their highest ranking in nearly 36 years on Monday at number 12 in The Associated Press Top 25. Those rankings marked the first ranking since the 2007-08 season when the team checked in at number 24 on Feb. 19, 2008. It is the highest ranking in the AP poll since head coach

Jack Hartman Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach. Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach ...

led the Wildcats to a number 9 ranking in the poll on March 13, 1973, with a 23-5 record. In addition, it is the highest ranking prior to conference play since K-State was ranked No. 10 in the preseason poll in 1965. The two wins over ranked non-conference teams are a first since the 1958-59 squad knocked off number 4 N.C. State (69-67) and number 14 St. Joseph's (68-55) on consecutive days on Dec. 19-20, 1958. The eight 80-point games after 11 games are the most in school history. With the win over Cleveland State on December 29, the Wildcats moved to 12-1 on the season and are off to their best start since the 1958–59 squad also began 12-1. Also, the last time a K-State team won nine games in a row was back in 1997-98, when that squad won its first nine games of the season. On January 12, Kansas State beat Texas A&M 88-65. The victory set a new record for consecutive home wins at

with 13. The school record for consecutive home victories is 20, which occurred in

Ahearn Fieldhouse Ahearn Field House is one of the athletic buildings on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. It was the former home of the Kansas State Wildcats, Wildcats Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball, men's basketball team, and is ...

that stretched from January 1981 to January 1982. On February 15, Kansas State rose to a number 7 ranking. It is the highest in The Associated Press poll in almost 50 years since the Wildcats were ranked sixth on March 13, 1962. It is the highest ranking in the Coaches' poll since ''USA Today'' took over ownership of the poll in 1991-92. The Wildcats have now been ranked among the nation's Top 25 in both polls for 10 consecutive weeks, while they have been ranked among the AP Top 15 for seven straight weeks. It is the longest stretch in the Top 25 since ranking 16 consecutive weeks in the AP poll from 1972–73, while it is the longest stretch in the AP Top 15 since the 1961–62 team was among the Top 10 for 14 weeks in a row from Dec. 19, 1961 to March 13, 1962. Kansas State is off to its best start in nearly 50 years with a 20-4 overall mark. The record ties for the fifth-best start in school history and the best since the 1961–62 squad opened the year at 21-3. The team posted their 20th win of the season against Colorado on 13 February, becoming the first team to tally 20 or more wins in four consecutive seasons. Head coach Frank Martin also became the first head coach to post three 20-win seasons to start a career. It is also the earliest a K-State squad has won 20 games, surpassing the 1958-59 team that won its 20th game on Feb. 16, 1959.

Rankings

Roster

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2009-10 Kansas State Wildcats Men's Basketball Team

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball seasons

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