# 1987–88 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball team represented Kansas State University in the 1987-88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lon Kruger who was in his second of four years at the helm of his alma mater. The Wildcats tied a then-school record with 25 wins and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
The team played its home games in Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas. It was the last season the team played in Ahearn Field House before moving into Bramlage Coliseum. Kansas State was a member of the Big 8 Conference.

## Roster
### Starting line-up

This was the starting five for the last game of the regular season, against Missouri on March 5, 1988.
| Position | Player |
| Forward | Mitch Richmond |
| Forward | Charles Bledsoe |
| Center | Ron Meyer |
| Guard | Steve Henson |
| Guard | Will Scott |

### Class of 1987 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Carlos Diggins SG | South Bend, IN | Clay HS / Butler County CC | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Buster Glover SG | Gary, IN | Lew Wallace HS / Allen County CC | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Fred McCoy PF | Washington, DC | Woodson HS / Allen County CC | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| John Rettiger C | Strong City, Kansas | Chase County HS | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/27/87* | | vs. San Diego State Sun Met Classic | W 79–68 | 1–0 | Selland Arena (10,159) Fresno, CA |
| 11/28/87* | | vs. Fresno State Sun Met Classic | W 65–50 | 2–0 | Selland Arena (10,159) Fresno, CA |
| 11/30/87* | | Cal-State Northridge | W 79–68 | 3–0 | Ahearn Field House (10,500) Manhattan, KS |
| 12/2/87* | | UMKC | W 81–54 | 4–0 | Ahearn Field House (10,400) Manhattan, KS |
| 12/5/87* | | at Creighton | W 88–78 | 5–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium (5,787) Omaha, NE |
| 12/8/87* | | Southwest Missouri State | L 80–82 $^{4OT}$ | 5–1 | Ahearn Field House (10,800) Manhattan, KS |
| 12/17/87* | | Southern Miss | L 69–71 | 5–2 | Ahearn Field House (9,500) Manhattan, KS |
| 12/20/87* | | at No. 12 Purdue | L 72–101 | 5–3 | Mackey Arena (14,123) West Lafayette, IN |
| 12/31/87* | | at Utah State | W 81–69 | 6–3 | Smith Spectrum (5,735) Logan, UT |
| 1/3/88* | | vs. Marquette | W 78–57 | 7–3 | Kemper Arena (6,724) Kansas City, MO |
| 1/11/88* | | at Southern Miss | L 89–91 $^{OT}$ | 7–4 | Reed Green Coliseum (7,512) Hattiesburg, MS |
| 1/16/88 | | No. 3 Oklahoma | W 69–62 | 8–4 (1–0) | Ahearn Field House (11,220) Manhattan, KS |
| 1/19/88* | | Wichita State | W 58–47 | 9–4 | Ahearn Field House (11,220) Manhattan, KS |
| 1/23/88 | | at Oklahoma State | W 76–60 | 10–4 (2–0) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,381) Stillwater, OK |
| 1/27/88 | | at Colorado | W 68–60 | 11–4 (3–0) | CU Events/Conference Center (3,132) Boulder, CO |
| 1/30/88 | | at Kansas Sunflower Showdown | W 72–61 | 12–4 (4–0) | Allen Fieldhouse (15,800) Lawrence, KS |
| 2/3/88 | | No. 16 Iowa State | W 79–68 $^{OT}$ | 13–4 (5–0) | Ahearn Field House (11,220) Manhattan, KS |
| 2/6/88 | | Nebraska | W 65–63 | 14–4 (6–0) | Ahearn Field House (11,220) Manhattan, KS |
| 2/9/88 | No. 14 | at Missouri | L 75–79 | 14–5 (6–1) | Hearnes Center (13,028) Columbia, MO |
| 2/13/88 | No. 14 | at No. 4 Oklahoma | L 95–112 | 14–6 (6–2) | Lloyd Noble Center (11,327) Norman, OK |
| 2/16/88 | | Colorado | W 83–65 | 15–6 (7–2) | Ahearn Field House (10,400) Manhattan, KS |
| 2/18/88 | | Kansas Sunflower Showdown | L 63–64 | 15–7 (7–3) | Ahearn Field House (11,220) Manhattan, KS |
| 2/22/88* | | Northern Illinois | W 88–67 | 16–7 | Ahearn Field House (9,500) Manhattan, KS |
| 2/24/88 | | at Iowa State | W 83–66 | 17–7 (8–3) | Hilton Coliseum (14,263) Ames, IA |
| 2/27/88 | | Oklahoma State | W 59–58 | 18–7 (9–3) | Ahearn Field House (11,220) Manhattan, KS |
| 3/2/88 | | at Nebraska | W 77–67 | 19–7 (10–3) | NU Sports Complex (13,487) Lincoln, NE |
| 3/5/88 | | Missouri | W 92–82 | 20–7 (11–3) | Ahearn Field House (11,850) Manhattan, KS |
| Big 8 Tournament ||||||
| 3/11/88 | | vs. Nebraska Big 8 Tournament – Quarterfinals | W 75–70 | 21–7 | Kemper Arena (16,900) Kansas City, MO |
| 3/12/88 | | vs. Kansas Big 8 Tournament – Semifinals | W 69–54 | 22–7 | Kemper Arena (16,904) Kansas City, MO |
| 3/13/88 ABC | | vs. No. 4 Oklahoma Big 8 Tournament – Championship game | L 83–88 | 22–8 | Kemper Arena (15,953) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 3/17/88 | No. 20 | vs. La Salle NCAA tournament Opening Round | W 66–53 | 23–8 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,760) South Bend, IN |
| 3/19/88 CBS | No. 20 | vs. DePaul NCAA Tournament Second Round | W 66–58 | 24–8 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,760) South Bend, IN |
| 3/25/88 CBS | No. 20 | vs. No. 3 Purdue NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen | W 73–70 | 25–8 | Pontiac Silverdome (31,309) Pontiac, MI |
| 3/27/88 CBS | No. 20 | vs. Kansas NCAA Tournament Elite Eight | L 58–71 | 25–9 | Pontiac Silverdome (31,632) Pontiac, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Mitch Richmond – Consensus Second-team All-American

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 5 | Mitch Richmond | Sacramento Kings |