Kansas State men’s basketball likely saw its bubble burst on Sunday, falling 66-54 at home to Arizona State for the team’s third consecutive loss.
“I’m so thankful for our guys and their effort, I wish I had given them a better game plan today,” head coach Jerome Tang said. “This loss is on me, not them, and I’ll do better moving forward. I didn’t give them the best chance to win today.”
The Wildcats (13-14, 7-9 Big 12) put themselves back on the Bracketology map with a six-game win streak in the previous two weeks. However, this recent skid leaves the Wildcats looking at the Big 12 tournament for a potential automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
While the loss was sealed at the final buzzer, the Wildcats looked deflated for nearly the full 40 minutes without forward Coleman Hawkins. The senior forward, who averages 10.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, was out for the contest with a knee injury. He aggravated the knee injury at Utah on Monday.
Arizona State (13-14, 4-12 Big 12) had its own missing piece, as head coach Bobby Hurley dismissed the Sun Devils’ leading scorer B.J. Freeman (13.7 ppg.) prior to the road trip. However, it was Hawkins’ presence that was clearly felt more as K-State was held to a season-low 54 points on 33.3 percent (22-of-66) shooting, including 19.2 percent (5-of-26) from 3-point range.
The Wildcats were paced by senior David N’Guessan, who collected his eighth career double-double, including his team-leading fifth of the season, with game-highs in both points (20) and rebounds (13).
“He’s playing like a third-year guy in the program that cares, you know, and I’d say that about all of these guys,” Tang said. “We’ve made a change on our team, going from being individuals to playing for and with each other. Now, we have a team that’s playing for K-State, and I’m really proud of that. David, of course, is leading the way because he’s been here the longest.”
K-State called upon 6-foot-5 guard CJ Jones to start in the 6-foot-10 forward’s place, starting the Wildcats with a small-ball lineup. Arizona State’s offense started hot with a size advantage, leading 12-6 at the under-16 timeout.
Sophomore forward Mobi Ikegwuruka stepped in off the bench, grabbing a quick three rebounds and two points as the Wildcats cut the deifcit back to 16-14. After that, the Sun Devils size continued to be a problem as they climbed to a 12-point lead at 31-19.
Just as the half looked bleak for the Wildcats, a late scoring spurt led by Jones cut K-State’s deficit to six points, 34-28. Jones scored nine points of his 10 points in the half to lead K-State.
A staggered start to the second half continued for the final 20 minutes. K-State shot 9-34 in the half, falling behind 21 points. A 9-0 run in the final 90 seconds salvaged what would’ve been a larger loss.
N’Guessan was the sole bright spot in the second half, recording a double-double in the period alone with a 16-point, 10-rebound half. Freshman David Castillo made a pair of triples to complement the senior forward.
A team-high 18 points from freshman Jayden Quaintance led Arizona State to snapping a 6-game losing streak.
K-State returns to action on Wednesday with a trip to Orlando, Fla., to take on UCF (13-13, 4-11 Big 12) at 6 p.m. CST at the Addition Financial Arena on ESPN+.
