Kansas State men’s basketball has now lost three straight games, all against ranked opponents. Returning back to Bramlage, the Wildcats fell to No. 23 Oklahoma as K-State struggled early in the 73-53 loss.
The first five minutes of the game started slow for the Sooners from 3-point range as they started 1-4 from the field, but it was even slower overall for K-State. The Wildcats could not get a single point on the board.
K-State’s five minute scoring drought would grow to over eight. Forward David N’Guessan scored K-State’s first points, going 1 for 2 from the free throw line. The Wildcat defense found ways to create turnovers, only allowing eight points halfway through the first half.
“We just need to keep the ball moving,” guard Cam Carter said. “Sometimes we get a little stagnant on offense.”
K-State’s defense could not help forever though. The Sooner offense began to retaliate, finding success in the paint and scoring off nine Wildcat turnovers. In the blink of an eye, Oklahoma’s eight points turned into 35. Although offensively things looked better, K-State went down 35-19 into halftime, shooting 23% from the field.
The Wildcat offense started to make some noise emerging from the break. K-State guard Tylor Perry began the second half strong, draining two 3-pointers. K-State also scored through the free throw line, converting 5 of 7 halfway through the half.
The Wildcats eventually found themselves in the bonus, helping bring the score closer to 51-43. K-State would also have some foul trouble, but Oklahoma was not as consistent from the free throw line. Both teams had 10 fouls 12 minutes into the second half.
Oklahoma would then go on an 11-1 run for about four minutes with a strong transition offense. The Wildcat offense could not keep up and the Sooners would win the game 73-53.
“They scored 19 points off 14 turnovers,” head coach Jerome Tang said. “It’s hard to defend that.”
Tang deflected the blame off his players.
“This is on me,” Tang said. “We will do a better job next time.”
Perry led in scoring, finishing with 23 points and being the only Wildcat to score in double digits. N’Guessan followed him with nine as guard Dorian Finister finished with four points and six rebounds.
K-State will look to crack this three-game losing streak against Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. Saturday.
