In a contest painted to be a blowout by Iowa State, Kansas State men’s basketball stole the paintbrush and magic at Hilton Coliseum, upsetting the No. 3 Cyclones 80-61 to snap a 15-game road losing streak and grab the Wildcats’ first road win versus an AP top-3 team since 2017.
“We haven’t won a road game in a while, and I took it personally as a coach,” head coach Jerome Tang said to K-State Athletics. “I was thankful I had a team that took it personally also and gave us this opportunity.”
The Wildcats (10-11, 4-6 Big 12) overcame being 15.5 points underdogs in Ames, Iowa, where opponents were winless in their last 29 tries. K-State became the first sub-.500 team to beat a top-five opponent on the road by 15+ points in AP Poll history.
Junior guard Dug McDaniel pitched a picture-perfect point guard performance with a season-high 20 points with five assists and three 3-pointers in 34 minutes. The Michigan transfer entered halftime with three fouls but committed zero in the second half, allowing him to run the second-half offense with 15 points and refute a Cyclone comeback.
“(The win) shows how resilient we are and how capable we are,” McDaniel said. “Not many people may believe in us, but we show up every day at practice and we believe. We brought that fight here today.”
With McDaniel running the offense, it allowed the Wildcats to tally all five starters in double-figure scoring for the first time since a 116-103 win at No. 6 Texas on Jan. 3, 2023 during Tang’s first year in Manhattan.
Senior forward Coleman Hawkins spelled McDaniel as a ball-handler at times, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Junior Brendan Hausen scored 15 points with two triples and a perfect 9-9 mark at the charity stripe as the Wildcats shot 18-21 on free throws.
“I like playing at home, but I really, truly love playing on the road in games like this for moments like this,” Hawkins said. “To go in and beat somebody at their place, it’s a really exciting feeling.”
Senior Max Jones carded 12 points with two 3-pointers, seven rebounds and two assists despite battling foul trouble alongside guard CJ Jones (five fouls) and Hawkins (four fouls). Senior David N’Guessan scored double figures for the eighth time in conference play with 10 points and eight rebounds.
Defensively, Hawkins grabbed four steals while Hausen had three as K-State forced the Cyclones into tying their season-high of 18 turnovers. N’Guessan added three blocks with two steals.
Iowa State (17-4, 7-3 Big 12) jumped up to an early lead at 13-4, forcing K-State into a timeout before the first media break. Sustaining an early punch, K-State flipped the switch and quieted the 14,267 in attendance with a 12-3 run before the under-12 timeout.
In the first half, K-State crashed the glass for 17 rebounds, including eight offensive rebounds. The Wildcats finished with 21 second-chance points compared to six for Iowa State and out-rebounded the Cyclones 39-29.
Each team continued to trade runs, but it was the Wildcats who owned a 37-35 advantage at halftime after a 9-2 final stretch. Out of the break, K-State’s momentum carried over and it silenced the crowd with a 44-35 lead.
The second-half sprint sprouted into a 19-point lead as Hausen capped off a 21-4 run with a limitless 3-pointer. Iowa State battled back with a 13-0 run that cut its deficit down to six, however, Hausen stepped-up again from long distance to end K-State’s scoring drought.
“Brendan is a hooper and a competitor,” Tang said.
Iowa State would trail by double-digits for the remainder of the contest as K-State refused to relent despite its foul trouble. The Wildcats held the Cyclones scoreless over the final three minutes with a 7-0 run to outscore Iowa State by 28 after the first four minutes of the game.
K-State extended its winning streak to three games following a sour start to conference play. The Wildcats will look to keep their momentum rolling at Arizona State on Tuesday at 9 p.m. CST before hosting rival No. 11 Kansas on Saturday at 1 p.m.
