LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Bellarmine University men’s basketball team will take on a second straight Power-5 team to open its 2023-24 campaign when the Knights square off with the Big 12’s Kansas State at 8 p.m. (ET) Friday in Bramlage Coliseum.
Bellarmine (0-1) made its season debut Monday at the Pac-12’s Washington, falling 91-57 to the Huskies. The Knights held a seven-point lead with under seven minutes to go in the first half, but the Huskies followed with a 20-5 run before the break. BU remained within single digits with 15 minutes left in the contest, but a 14-0 run by UW was the backbreaker.
Kansas State (0-1) dropped its season opener as well Monday, falling 82-69 to No. 21 USC at the Hall of Fame Series Las Vegas in T-Mobile Arena. The Wildcats shot 31 percent, their lowest tally ever under Coach Jerome Tang.
Senior guard Tylor Perry scored a team-high 22 points after being named to the preseason watch list for the Naismith Award. Perry is a transfer from North Texas who was the 2023 Conference USA Player of the Year after averaging 17.3 points per game while sinking a league-best 41.3 percent of his 3-point attempts.
Junior Arthur Kaluma was named on the watch list for the Julius Erving Award, which annually recognizes the nation’s top small forward. Kaluma transferred from Creighton, where he averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds last season.
Bash Wieland paced Bellarmine with 14 points against Washington. The senior guard had the makings of a career year in 2022-23 when he went down for the season with an injury after eight games, posting a 16-point outing against Clemson, 13 against Louisville and 10 and eight rebounds against Kentucky. Sophomore guard Landin Hacker sank a trio of 3-pointers in scoring nine points the Huskies.
It was a tough opener for Bellarmine. The Knights’ veteran unit had a highly uncharacteristic 20 turnovers, and Washington shot nearly 70 percent in the second half.
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