Kansas State earned its fourth conference win on Tuesday night, and definitely not in the way anyone drew it up. The Wildcats did it without one of the nation’s top scorers, pulling out all the stops against West Virginia.
It wasn’t pretty, but they found a way to get it done. Here’s what stood out from the 65-63 win.
Kansas State collects its fourth win in P.J. Haggerty’s absence
Before Tuesday, P.J. Haggerty had started all 29 games this season, leading the team in scoring in each of the last 18. The Wildcats hadn’t so much as blinked without him – until they did against West Virginia, and it worked… mostly.
When the guy that the offense typically runs through wasn’t on the floor, it forced the Wildcats to get creative. The same can be said about the 21 unanswered points the Wildcats scored in the first half.
Postgame interview really was a team activity pic.twitter.com/ZXKQQpaXrk
— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) March 4, 2026
Everyone got involved, but the majority of the workload belonged to Kansas State forward Khamari McGriff. During that stretch, McGriff scored eight points, another six belonged to Taj Manning, three to David Castillo and two to both Andrej Kostic and C.J. Jones.
McGriff finished the game with a team-high 18 points, one of two players in double figures alongside Nate Johnson.
Kansas State’s late‑game execution, or lack thereof, only made things worse
Remember those 21 unanswered points the Wildcats scored to start the second half? They didn’t last long. The Mountaineers managed a 21-3 run and cut the deficit to seven with just over a minute to play.
It came down to a single score with less than 10 seconds left, and for a moment, the crowd braced for a familiar late-game scare. Fortunately, it finished on a high note.
But it brings up a different question – why can’t this team close out games? From the under-10 minute mark, this one should have been over, but it wasn’t.
The issue comes down to mistakes: Jones’ failed inbound pass, unfavorable calls going West Virginia’s way, and the questionable timeout as Johnson went out of bounds. It all points to poor game management. Same story against Oklahoma State, TCU and Arizona State.
The success on the scoreboard needs to translate into next season
Sure, it’s the second-to-last game of the season. Yes, the Wildcats’ hopes of a tournament run might be gone. But from a fan’s perspective, the result only reinforces why the frustration hasn’t faded.
The loss to the Cowboys, the first matchup with the Horned Frogs and even the slip against Arizona State – erase any one of those last-second mistakes, and today’s conversation feels different.
Tuesday’s win only goes so far. The Mountaineers are another bubble team absorbing a costly loss. In March, that matters – just not in a way that does anything for Kansas State.
When a late-season win over a bubble team becomes the defining resume point, the finale feels less like opportunity and more like closure. The attention only turns to what comes next.
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