The Wildcats and Flames tangle in the semi-finals of the Paradise Jam
In what was easily their best overall performance on the young season, your Kansas State Wildcats opened their run in the 25th Paradise Jam tournament with a convincing 83-71 win over George Washington on Friday night in the U.S. Virgin Islands. David N’Guessan paced five Wildcats in double figures with a near double-double of 17 points and 9 rebounds, as K-State jumped out to a big lead before fending off a furious comeback in the second half.
Probably the most important thing to come from Friday night’s win: Coleman Hawkins appears to have finally arrived on the court. The grad-transfer from Illinois had 9 points and 9 rebounds, as three steals and two blocks in 32 minutes of game. Certainly not quite yet worth the big price tag, but at least it’s a positive step forward.
And really, that was the overall message from Friday night’s win. There’s still plenty to improve on, but the TangCats played more like a team than they had yet this season, and things appeared to have started to click into place.
Now the Cats have to take that and apply it to a much tougher opponent. Liberty, tonight’s opponent, is between K-State and LSU in the current KenPom ratings and is currently 5-1 on the season with an overtime loss to Florida Atlantic their lone blemish. K-State will be the best team they’ve faced so far this season, and they will put a statistically solid defense on the line looking to disrupt K-State’s growing offense.
This is a toss-up game. K-State probably should win, and is the expected favorite. But this is college basketball, and the Wildcats are still growing into this season. So don’t expect a K-State win.
Winner moves on to the championship game, lose drops to the third-place game. Let’s win this thing and go for the title.
We’ve got a 7:00pm CT tipoff for the game tonight from the UVI Sports and Fitness Center in St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., and you can catch the action on ESPN+ / WatchESPN with Brad Wells (play-by-play) and Kevin Lehman (analyst) on the call.
If you don’t can’t access the stream, the game can be heard across portions of the 28-station K-State Sports Network with Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Ben Boyle (analyst) calling the action. The game will also be available online at K-Statesports.com and via the Varsity Network app, as well as via satellite radio on Sirius/XM Ch. 388. Live stats are also available at k-statesports.com, and social media updates (@KStateMBB) will also be a part of the coverage.
Go Cats!