K-State falls to 6-4 on the season, still have a lot of questions to answer
Let’s make ‘er quick, cuz you and I both probably have better things to do.
The Kansas State Wildcats “hosted” the undefeated (10-0) Drake Bulldogs at Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center, where the guests will be going home with a 73-70 victory.
K-State had a different starting lineup tonight, starting frosh David Castillo in place of CJ Jones, and it didn’t really work. K-State looked completely unprepared and disjointed, falling behind by as many as twenty (29-9) in the first half, before finally connecting on three straight 3’s between CJ and Max Jones to cut the lead to 9 at the half, 36-27.
The Wildcats looked to reverse the roles in the second half, playing much more composed while their opponents were having difficulty finding anything offensively. Steady chipping away at the lead led K-State to actually take their first lead of the game, 51-50, with about 9 minutes remaining. The remainder of the game was back-and-forth, eventually with K-State holding the ball for a final (horrific) possession that failed, sending the teams to OT tied at 63.
K-State took an early 64-63 lead in OT, but Drake’s ensuing possessions were much more successful; Drake pulled away to a 70-64 lead before three freethrows got K-State to a 3-point deficit.
The Cats’ Coleman Hawkins buried a 3 from 25 feet to tie it at 70 with 8 seconds left, and Drake’s Bennett Stirtz tosses an absolute dagger of his own, leaving only a handful of seconds left. Max Jones heave from 30 feet hit the back iron, and Drake finishes it off 73-70.
Things we noted along the way:
- Tang is no longer undefeated in OT. Prior to this loss, his OT record at the helm was 12-0.
- There are glaring issues with this team, most notably the inability to find any semblance of scoring efficiency in the halfcourt, as well as Drake’s effectiveness in absolutely exposing the defensive fundamentals of K-State. Yes, you read that right – we can’t play offense unless it’s in a primary or secondary break, and we can’t defend consistently. That’s…not great.
- Hawkins finished with 16pts/5reb/5ast/4stl, and I will still stand by my assertion that he’s one of the worst investments I’ve seen in the NIL era. His effort is nowhere near tip-to-horn, and this should be an average night for him.
- Doug Sirmons is still a crappy official, and I will also stand by my statement that if you know the name of an official, you know the name of a bad official.
OK- that’s all I’m coming up with for tonight. For now, it’s hard to say this team deserves much more effort than this.
Next game up is a trip to Wichita to take on the Shockers on Saturday evening.