The last time K-State men's basketball faced the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers was nearly 10 years ago, on Dec. 19, 1999. The teams meet again at 7 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.

In its first action, K-State won its exhibition game against Pittsburg State 89-53. While five Wildcats scored in the double figures, junior guard Jacob Pullen led the team with 17 points and converted on 5-of-7 from three-point range. He also shared the ball, as shown by his seven assists. Sophomore forward Jamar Samuels scored 16 points, and senior guard Denis Clemente scored 14 points, accompanied by three steals and three assists.

K-State returns 80 percent of its scoring from last season, but the newcomers got playing time in this game. The six freshmen and junior forward Curtis Kelly, who transferred from the University of Connecticut, provided 36 points for the team. Starting tonight, however, the time will not be as freely distributed.

"You're going to see guys on the floor that belong on the floor," said head coach Frank Martin of the regular season opener. "It's not a time to tinker with rotations or find out what guys can and can't do anymore. These games count, so guys that deserve to play are going to play."

The projected starting lineup includes Pullen, Clemente, Kelly, junior forward Dominique Sutton and freshman forward Jordan Henriquez-Roberts.

While Loyola leads the all-time series between the teams 4-2 and won 69-64 in Chicago a decade ago, it has never pulled out a victory in Manhattan.

The players and coaches have, as is the usual procedure, watched film on the opponent so they have an idea of what to expect.

"They try to invert the game," Martin said. "They post their guards and have their bigs shoot from the perimeter. But it's a brand new slate, brand new personnel, so we've got to be prepared to adjust on the fly."

Loyola defeated Robert Morris 92-62 in anexhibition game this season. Freshman forward Ben Averkamp turned in 23 points and nine rebounds in the game. Forwards Walt Gibler, sophomore, and Terrance Hill, junior, contributed 15 and 14 points, respectively. Last year the Ramblers went 14-18 and 6-12 in the Horizon League. They return two starters but will have to replace four of their top five scorers.

The second game of the weekend for the Wildcats will take place against Western Illinois at 3 p.m. Sunday. The Leathernecks hail from the Summit League, where they went 6-12 last season on their way to a 9-20 record.

While Martin had not watched film yet on Western Illinois because the emphasis at the time was on Loyola, he understands what the team tends to do.

"Jim Molinari does a great job," Martin said, referring to the Western Illinois coach. "From what I understand they run a lot of ball screens, so it's going to put us in situations where we've got to guard action. That presented problems for us in the Pitt State game, so I hope we can clean that up a little bit between now and then."

Sophomore guard Ceola Clark scored 21 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-7 on three-pointers, and brought down seven rebounds in an exhibition game. Freshman center David Gebru and senior guard David Nurse contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.

The team has a sizeable frontcourt with Gebru, 6-feet-10-inches; junior forward Jeremy Felton, 6-feet-7-inches; and junior forward James Granstra, 6-feet-10-inches. However, Martin emphasized in the media day session prior to the season that wingspan, not height, is the most promising statistic for a basketball player.

The six K-State freshmen have been touted as highly talented. However, Martin said he would imagine there is a bit of a shock going into a Division I basketball game for the first time. The exhibition game was a taste of that, and Martin said the freshmen will need to improve.

"They were okay," Martin said. "They have major breakdowns that they have in practice, and they had them in the game too, which put us at a disadvantage. They've got to learn. They've got to get better."

Martin said it will be a quick turnaround from Loyola to Western Illinois with only a day in between, but he said that will help prepare the Wildcats for the following weekend.

"It's going to be a quick turn," Martin said. "It's important we expose our guys to a quick turn early in the season because the following week, when we're in Puerto Rico, we've got a quick turn. It's a way of preparing our team for that."