Kansas State men’s basketball hit the road after emotional home wins over ranked opponents in Kansas and Arizona and suffered its first loss in its last seven games, falling 80-65 at BYU.
“They kicked our butts tonight,” head coach Jerome Tang said to K-State Athletics. “They were the better team—more physical and more assertive. They were just all-around better, and they get all the credit.”
The Wildcats struggled early, digging themselves an insurmountable hole. Whether the emotional wins contributed to the poor performance is unclear, but K-State came out flat on both ends.
During its win streak, K-State had been shooting well and improving defensively, but neither was sharp against BYU.
“Probably more assisted buckets, and we played better defense. Our defense has been really good for the most part, and tonight their speed and their physicality took it to us,” Tang said.
K-State was again led by point guard Dug McDaniel with 22 points, making back-to-back 20-point outings.
BYU got an excellent outing from Richie Saunders as he had 17 points and 14 rebounds. He also played excellent defense on K-State forward Coleman Hawkins, keeping him uncomfortable all game.
K-State hit three early three-pointers, but BYU quickly gained a 24-12 lead, forcing Tang to call a timeout. BYU capitalized on open three-pointers and mismatches inside.
“They’re No. 1 in the Big 12 in 3-point attempts and finishes at the rim. That’s what they want to do,” Tang said. “We knew which way those guys wanted to drive. They just did it better than we were able to defend it tonight.”
At 32-20, neither team scored for nearly five minutes, a missed opportunity for K-State to close the gap. BYU’s defense stifled the Wildcats’ offense, taking away everything the Wildcats wanted to do offensively.
“We had 25 made buckets at the end of the game on six assists, which meant they made us play one on one, you know, and we could never get them chasing and when they weren’t switching screens,” Tang said.
BYU extended its lead to 40-22 at halftime, with K-State shooting just 27% from the field, their lowest total of the season.
K-State showed early signs of a comeback in the second half, with McDaniel scoring five straight points to cut the lead to 13. But BYU responded with a 9-0 run, pushing the lead to 22.
After a McDaniel bucket, Tang was assessed a technical foul during a media timeout. The technical seemed to spark K-State, as they went on a 16-3 run, cutting the lead back to single digits. However, BYU quickly regained control, finding baskets and pushing the lead back to 20. The Cougars cruised to a 15-point victory.
“I think they were more ready than us,” McDaniel said. “We needed that game to humble ourselves. It was a learning experience.”
K-State now heads to Salt Lake City to face Utah on Monday night at 8 p.m. Utah is coming off an upset win over Kansas and has been playing well lately, so K-State will need to bring its best to win.
