The Kansas State Men’s basketball squad dropped a heart-breaker to the Jayhawk’s on Tuesday night. But the story wasn’t just the final score.
It never fails, does it? There always seems to be some sort of controversy when the Kansas State Wildcats (12-2) and Kansas Jayhawks (13-1) square off. This night was no different.
Forever will be January 3rd, 2017 live on as the #WalkChalk game.
I only thought walk-off’s happened in baseball or in overtime of a football game. However, the Jayhowks, with some no-look trickery from the officials, walked off (quite literally) the Wildcats in their bid to upset the #3 ranked Jayhawks.
K-State maintained pace early on, only to see them head to the locker room down by 10, 52-42. The ‘Cats shot well enough to win. 51% from the field and 83% from the line.
What hurt was going 7 for 21 behind the 3-point arc. 33% to KU’s 50% from 3-point land was one of the differences.
Another difference was the seemingly 8 on 5 that unfolded over the course of the night. Halfway through the second half, KU had only 9 fouls called against them to KSU’s 12 or 13.
Both teams pushed in rebounds at 33 a piece. KSU picked the pockets of the KU offense 10 times. Kansas had only 2 steals on the night and they committed 15 turnovers.
What hurts even more, was the fact that KU shot only 65% from the line and 53% from the field. Throw in a lot of calls (or lack thereof) that went KU’s way, A LOT of incidental contact fouls, and a travel discount so big it would have embarrassed William Shatner, and you get a KU win, once again.
That’s OK, though, they still have to come to the Octagon of Doom. And I know for a fact, that place and those fans will remember everything.
The important thing to not lose track of, is that this is game 2 of a LONG and grueling Big 12 schedule. This is one loss, a good loss in the eyes of the committee, but a loss nonetheless, and it stings.
As Wildcat fans, we will remain resilient. Make no mistake, though, the Wildcat faithful will let the blue and red clad Dirty Birds from the East know where they are at when the time comes. You know this, and I know this.
As for the rest of the game, Dean Wade led a tenacious Kansas State squad with 22 points in 34 minutes played. Wesley Iwundu (17), Barry Brown (13), D.J. Johnson (10), and Kamau Stokes (13) all reached double figures as well.
It was another outstanding performance from Wade who also led all scorers in their last contest versus Texas. Wade is hot right now and he is making sound decisions with the basketball. At times tonight, he seemed to score whenever he wanted to.
It was a long night, and even though the ‘Cats had a balanced scoring output in both halves (42 and 46 respectively), it just wasn’t enough to upset the Jayhawks. This too shall pass.
It’s time to turn the attention on to Oklahoma (6-7) who lost to TCU tonight 60-57. The Wildcats are back in Manhattan and the Octagon on Saturday, for a 3:00 PM bout with the Sooners. The game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN News.
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Win or lose, these Wildcats never cease to amaze me. There was no quit in this group tonight, there never is. The tenacity, grit, and dedication they had for one another was very apparent.
They gutted it out until the final buzzer, and you have to be happy with that, regardless of outcome.
Until the next time Purple Nation … EMAW!