Marquette Hosts No. 12/10 Kansas State Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT

The Marquette University men's basketball team (5-2, 0-0 BIG EAST) continues its homestand on Saturday afternoon when the squad hosts No. 12/10 Kansas State (6-0, 0-0 Big 12) at Fiserv Forum. FS1 will feature the television broadcast, with Jeff Levering (play-by-play) and Stephen Bardo (analyst) calling the action.

Kansas State Series Dates Back To 1953

The all-time series with the Wildcats consists of just 10 games (Kansas State leads 7-3), but it does span back almost 70 years.

The two programs first met during the 1952-53 campaign, when Marquette dropped an 88-72 decision on the road to the then top-ranked Wildcats. The series is highlighted by a narrow 67-66 victory in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 1977 in Omaha, Nebraska. MU would claim the national title that season, downing North Carolina, 67-59 in the championship game.

Marquette and Kansas State played a total of six times in the 1980s, most recently on Jan. 3, 1988 in Manhattan, Kansas.

Hall of Fame coach Fred "Tex" Winter, who passed away in October of 2018, spent time as a head coach at both Marquette and Kansas State. He was the youngest coach in the country while at MU (1951-53) and led the program to the 1952 National Catholic Tournament title in 1952. He led the Wildcats to two Final Fours and eight Big Seven/Eight titles as head coach from 1954-68.

Marquette athletic trainer Brandon Yoder worked at Kansas State for almost nine years, including two under current head coach and Milwaukee native Bruce Weber.

Focus On Defense Paying Early Dividends

The Golden Eagles spent a majority of the offseason focusing on the team's efforts at the defensive end of the court and that work has paid dividends early in 2018-19.

Through games of Nov. 28, Marquette ranks first in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense (.381 - 36th in nation) and blocked shots (5.1 bpg.). MU has held its opponent under 40.0 percent shooting from the field (only four times total in 2017-18) in each of the team's five victories.

Last season, Marquette allowed 78.5 points per game and through the first seven games in 2018-19, opponents are collecting just 65.4 points per contest.

Chartouny Back To Stealing Ways In Latest Victory

Senior guard Joseph Chartouny, who has just one steal through the first six games, swiped the ball seven times in 32 minutes of action against Charleston Southern Tuesday night.

Chartouny, who led the nation in steals while at Fordham in 2017-18 and finished third in the country as a sophomore, quickly took over the team lead in that category. His seven thefts were the most in a single game by a Marquette player since Dominic James forced seven turnovers against Seton Hall on Feb. 17, 2009.

Bailey Doubles Up For First Time

Freshman forward Brendan Bailey, who scored the team's first points in Fiserv Forum on a game-opening 3-pointer, collected the best game of his young career in the win over Charleston Southern.

Bailey scored 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor and also chipped in five rebounds and two assists in 20 minutes off the bench. Previous to Tuesday's outing, he had netted a total of just 12 points through the first six games.