Details announced for K-State, Missouri State hoops exhibition

Kansas State will host Missouri State in a special exhibition basketball game at noon on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum to raise money for the American Red Cross’ hurricane relief efforts.

Admission to the game is free, but the Wildcats are encouraging all fans that attend to donate at least $5 to the Red Cross. K-State staffers will collect cash donations at the northwest and northeast entrances of the arena. K-State coach Bruce Weber will match all donations collected up to $10,000.

Fans can also donate non-perishable food items for the annual Cats for Cans benefit drive at the game.

“This is a great opportunity for our basketball program to help those devastated by the recent hurricanes,” Weber said in a statement. “We encourage all K-Staters to come out and support our team on Saturday and do our part to help those Americans suffering due to these storms.”

Entrances to Bramlage Coliseum will open at 10 a.m. with teams taking the floor for warmups at 11 a.m.

The exhibition will begin three hours before the start of K-State’s football game against No. 9 Oklahoma on Saturday at Snyder Family Stadium, which is set for a 3 p.m. kickoff.

Parking priority at the K-State Sports Complex for fans wishing to attend the exhibition will be given to those holding football parking passes. Fans holding football parking passes will be admitted into those lots and allowed to park in their reserved spaces starting at 10 a.m.

College basketball teams are usually limited to two exhibition basketball games each preseason, but the NCAA granted K-State permission to play three this year. The Wildcats are scheduled to take on Fort Hays State on Oct. 29 and Emporia State on Nov. 3 before their season officially begins on Nov. 10.

K-State and Missouri State aren’t the first teams to request special permission to play an extra game for charity this month.

The Wildcats’ exhibition game with Missouri State will come one day before Kansas and Missouri play a high-profile exhibition game at Sprint Center in Kansas City.

K-State is coming off a 21-14 season in which it reached the NCAA Tournament. Missouri State, of the Missouri Valley Conference, went 17-16.

This story was originally published October 16, 2017 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Details announced for K-State, Missouri State hoops exhibition."