Friday, November 13th, 8:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Bramlage Coliseum (13,340) -- Manhattan, Kansas. Television: FSN-KC. Home Record: Loyola 0-0, KSU 0-0. Away Record: Loyola 0-0, KSU 0-0. Neutral Record: Loyola 0-0, KSU 0-0. Conference Record: Loyola 0-0, KSU 0-0. Series Record: Loyola-Chicago leads, 4-2.

GAME NOTES: Fiery head coach Frank Martin tries to get his Kansas State squad off on the right foot in 2009-10 as he leads the Wildcats into battle tonight against the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.

Last season, the Wildcats opened with several soft opponents and managed to move out to a 5-0 mark before reality hit them in the face with consecutive setbacks to Kentucky, Iowa and Oregon. In the end, coach Martin had to deal with a program that went 22-12 overall and posted a 9-7 record in Big 12 Conference action.

As for the Ramblers, who are under the direction of head coach Jim Whitesell, they had mixed results when they started their 2008-09 schedule and never really managed to pull through, ending up just 14-18 overall. What's worse is that Loyola played very poorly against the rest of the Horizon League and was rewarded with just six wins in 18 tries. Aside from a beat-down against Detroit and a stunning upset of Butler on the road, the Ramblers lost every game from late January on, including a 77-68 setback to UW-Milwaukee in the conference tournament.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools, the Ramblers are ahead with a 4-2 edge. The most recent encounter took place a decade ago at the Gentile Center, with Loyola capturing a 69-64 victory. This is just the third time the Ramblers have gone to Manhattan, losing both previous efforts back in 1964 and 1998.

The Ramblers were one of the weakest offensive teams in the nation last year, putting up a mere 63.3 ppg. While the team always had a chance to compete with the likes of J.R. Blount (14.1 ppg) and Justin Cerasoli (11.2 ppg) out on the court, neither of those double-digit scorers is back for another turn this season. Between the pair they also combined for close to 200 of the team's 382 assists, so when they weren't the ones doing the scoring, they were still getting themselves into the thick of the action. The projected starting five for this game has no one who scored even eight points per game a season ago, and two players (Ben Averkamp and Terrance Hill) who will be getting their first taste of Loyola basketball. The team will lean heavily on Andy Polka, a senior forward who appeared in just 11 games last season and was responsible for 7.5 ppg when he did see action. Senior guard Marcus Thomas will be a modest threat off the bench after putting up 5.6 ppg a year ago, but his 34.7 percent accuracy from the floor isn't going to scare many teams.

It was just a couple of years ago that the thought of playing Kansas State and star Michael Beasley struck fear into opponents, but now that has all changed. The roster maintains only three seniors and a host of underclassmen who will have to see time on the floor just so the program can work through the season. A starter in all 32 games in which he appeared last year, Denis Clemente stands as the top returning scorer for the Wildcats after putting up a team- best 15.0 ppg, adding a team-high 112 assists in order to keep the offense flowing. Jacob Pullen, his backcourt mate, was the other double-digit scorer for KSU with 13.9 ppg and like Clemente he too saw to it that his teammates were taken care of with 109 assists as well. However, the knock on Pullen is that the team's leader in minutes played last season did so while shooting a meager 38 percent from the floor. Dominique Sutton, another solid starter for the bunch was responsible for 7.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per outing as the team beat opponents on the glass by more than six rebounds per game. Hitting the glass will again be key for this group, as will improving upon a weak 64.8 percent accuracy at the free-throw line.

Losing so many key components from a team that wasn't all that successful to begin with, the Ramblers will once more have a tough time finding wins on the road in 2009-10 and that difficulty begins tonight in the Little Apple.

Predicted Outcome

Kansas State 77, Loyola-Chicago 61