The Cats shot well early, then hung on against a shorthanded Sun Devil squad.
K-State made its first five 3-point attempts to build a big lead early against Arizona State in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City, then held on late to secure a 71-66 win.
The victory for the Wildcats (16-16, 1-0 Big 12 Tournament) sets up a 6:00 meeting Wednesday against the 7-seed Baylor Bears.
The first half was all about Coleman Hawkins. After getting through the last two games on one healthy leg and lots of courage, the centerpiece of the 2024 recruiting class played inspired basketball in T-Mobile Center. He knocked down the first two three-point attempts of the game. After Brendan Hausen made one, Hawkins lit the lamp again. Arizona state burned a timeout, down 12-1, just three minutes into the game.
After the timeout Arizona state made a three of its own, but Max Jones answered for the Cats. Hawkins drove for a layup, and K-State enjoyed a 17-4 lead with 16:05 to play.
A scoring drought, fueled by turnovers and poor shot selection, allowed the Sun Devils to stage a 15-2 run of their own, knotting the score at 19-all midway through the period. A three-point bucket by ASU’s Joson Sanon gave the Devils a 24-21 lead with 7:45 remaining until halftime, and it appeared all the good work early in the game had been undone.
Dug McDaniel exacerbated K-State’s woes by making a steal but picking up a technical foul, apparently for something he said. The resulting free throws gave Arizona State a 26-23 lead with 7:18 remaining. But the Sun Devils did not score again until the 1:27 mark. K-State’s 11-0 run put the Cats back in front, and they took a 38-31 lead into the intermission.
Hawkins had a career-high 19 points at halftime. He had not scored more than 20 in a game all season.
McDaniel came alive in the second half, scoring 12 points on 4 field goals and 4-4 free throw shooting. He assisted Max Jones on a 3-pointer that pushed K-State to a 58-44 lead, and it seemed the game was once again in hand.
The Sun Devils, who could substitute very little after Adam Miller went to the bench with an injury, hung around. Over a 5:13 stretch, K-State only managed one bucket, and ASU climbed back within six, 62-56, with 4:30 remaining.
With 1:06 on the clock, a tip-in by Shawn Phillips Jr. made the score 68-64, and the game remained undecided. But a nice screen-and-roll cut by David N’Guessan resulted in a layup and a foul. He made the free throw, to give the Cats a three-possession lead, 71-64.
Though ASU scored again, and Max Jones missed a free throw, K-State held on for the 5-point win.
Hawkins filled the stat sheet, scoring 26 points while collecting 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks (plus what looked to be another, but was called goaltending), and a steal. He played 38 minutes. Let’s hope the trainers can get the leg in shape to go again tomorrow.
McDaniel scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half. He also booked 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals, but was also guilty of an unsightly 6 turnovers, as well as the ill-advised language that gave Arizona State 2 free points.
Hausen and Max Jones both scored 10, and Jones tied for team-high with 8 rebounds. N’Guessan played only 17 minutes due to foul trouble. Though he only scored 5, his conventional 3-point play was key to the outcome.
Arizona State was led by Alston Mason, who scored 17 points, though he was only 4-15 from the floor.
K-State made 27-54 shots (50%), including 8-18 (44%) from outside the arc. ASU shot 23-60 (38%) overall, and 7-26 (27%) from deep.
Let us add our voices to the gigantic chorus singing in unison about the hideous floor, littered with Roman numeral XIIs everywhere, that the league chose for the tournament. Branding doesn’t have to be ugly or distracting. This is both.
NEXT GAME
As previously noted, the Cats and Bears tip at 6:00 on ESPN+. In their only matchup of the season, Baylor defeated K-State 70-62 in Waco on January 22. Freshman VJ Edgecombe scored 30 against the Cats in that game.