Kansas State won a third straight home game against the Jayhawks for the first time in 42 years
Kansas State’s remarkable transformation into a good great basketball team was on full display Saturday against a team it never looked close to being able to beat just three weeks ago.
This time it was the Wildcats in full control of the Sunflower Showdown, thanks to solid team defense and an unselfish, efficient offense led by shifty point guard Dug McDaniel and do-it-all big man Coleman Hawkins. No. 16 Kansas needed a late run to make K-State’s 81-73 win look closer than it was, giving the Cats a five-game win streak (three over ranked teams) and their first three-game win streak over Kansas in Manhattan since Jack Hartman’s teams pulled it off in 1981, ‘82 and ‘83.
McDaniel contributed 15 points to go with 11 assists and 6 rebounds, while Hawkins filled up the statsheet with 12 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocks. David N’Guessan put up 20 points on 9-of-13 shooting, mostly around the basket, while grabbing 7 rebounds.
The Cats shot 50% from the field and nearly 41% from 3, including 2-of-3 by Max Jones. He tallied 12 points as a solid spot-up option while McDaniel and even Brendan Hausen struggled at times shooting from the outside.
Kansas State got off to a hot start, scoring the first five points and getting a great block from Hawkins to fire up the home crowd. But even as the Cats did well to create layup opportunities in the halfcourt and on the fast break, they missed some wide open threes and allowed the Jayhawks to get back into an uptempo, high-scoring game as the lead seesawed back and forth.
Hawkins drew a critical third foul on DaJuan Harris – who played only 4 minutes in the 1st half – and scored five straight points to put KSU back up by five, 26-21. After a KJ Adams free throw, Hawkins found CJ Jones for a three to extend the Wildcats’ lead to seven for the first time.
DNG got behind the defense near the rim for a couple layups to cap off an 18-5 run, putting Kansas State ahead 38-26 with a little more than five minutes left in the first half. KU made a little run, but DNG’s ridiculous stepback fadaway jumper over Flory Bidunga at the buzzer sent the Wildcats into halftime up 44-36.
Point guard Dug McDaniel and others took care of the ball extremely well in the first half, avoiding turnovers for more than 15 minutes before an airballed three resulted in a shot clock violation. Great ball movement without any careless passing allowed K-State to go into the locker room with just 2 turnovers, compared to 6 for Kansas that led to 8 Kansas State points.
Threes by Brendan Hausen (his first) and Dug McDaniel (his third) pushed the lead back to double digits before a questionable call inside gave Hawkins his third foul. He stayed in the game and drilled a deep 3 from the top of the key on the next possession.
Kansas State’s offense kept rolling with a healthy mix of layups and jumpers, leaving no room for a patented KU run. Hawkins led the way defensively with a massive fourth block, but really everyone got it done on that end for the Cats.
A brief offensive lull saw the lead but to 10 before McDaniel went coast-to-coast for an easy lay-in to put to rest an real chance of a comeback. Brendan Hausen’s wide open 3-pointer served as the dagger, putting Kansas State up 79-64 with about five minutes left. He finished with 9 points, all on threes.
Hunter Dickinson finished with team-highs of 21 points and 9 rebounds for the Jayhawks, who also got 15 points from Zeke Mayo and 13 from KJ Adams. K-State’s interior defense was slightly suspect at times, allowing KU to shoot 50% from the field, but the Wildcats stepped up when needed to stay comfortably in front.
It’s clear this team has a once-frustrated fanbase fired up, and the announcers were even mentioning Kansas State and the NCAA tournament in the same sentence late in the game. Personally I think it still feels a bit early for that thanks to that ugly nonconference schedule, but if the Wildcats can keep playing like they are now every night just about anything seems possible.
NEXT GAME
Another tough one is coming up in three days, when No. 20 Arizona visits Manhattan for a 5 p.m. tip on ESPN+. The Cats can’t afford a letdown like the one they survived at Arizona State last week, but at least this one is in Bramlage and will be followed by a tricky but winnable road trip for games at BYU and Utah.