Kansas State guard PJ Haggerty logged his fourth 30-point game on Saturday in the Wildcats' 84-82 road loss to TCU. Despite the Wildcats’ record, Haggerty is rising as one of the nation’s best guards.
What the numbers say about Haggerty’s season
On paper, the numbers are what you’d expect for one of the top recruits coming out of the transfer portal. So far this season, Haggerty is averaging 23.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Combine that with his 48.6% shooting, and you’ve got a recipe for success.
Haggerty’s scoring numbers rank second both nationally and in the Big 12, trailing only BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa who’s averaging 24.5 points a game.
In a system like what K-State runs, he’s the kind of facilitator that head coaches like Jerome Tang dream about. Needless to say, he was successful in recruiting the senior from Memphis.
He’s on pace to become the third Wildcats starter all-time to average 23 or more points, trailing only Bob Boozer (1958-59) and Michael Beasley (2007-08). Beasley’s historic season featured two 40-point performances, a mark that Haggerty has yet to hit in a Wildcats uniform.
Team struggling to find wins even with Haggerty’s contributions
K-State opened the season in dominant fashion, earning three statement victories in the first five games. The Wildcats reached the 5-0 mark with wins over UNC Greensboro, Bellarmine, Cal, Tulsa and Mississippi State.
Following the team’s win over Tulsa, the formula was simple. In the words of Jerome Tang, “get a stop, get a score, get a stop. We call that a championship point.”
"Get a stop, get a score, get a stop. We call that a championship point."
— Kole Emplit (@KoleEmplit) November 18, 2025
Safe to say Jerome Tang is fired up after K-State got the 84-83 win over Tulsa to improve to 4-0.
(video courtesy of ESPN+) pic.twitter.com/Y9NrWVZVTJ
That formula looked to be working, until it wasn’t. A 98-77 win just three days later over the Bulldogs looked promising, but K-State went on to lose its next four, including home contests against Bowling Green and Seton Hall.
During that stretch, the Wildcats also fell just a point shy of taking down then-undefeated Nebraska, a program that went on to win its first 20 games.
Unfortunately for K-State fans, the Big 12 schedule didn’t make things any better. The Wildcats would win their final four games of the nonconference slate, but went on to drop the next five to BYU, Arizona, Arizona State, UCF and Oklahoma State.
Fast forward to today, and that 0-5 start was the worst start to conference play since the 1996-97 season. Their only win In the Big 12 so far came against Utah, another team currently tied for last in the conference standings.
But there’s a twist. Haggerty has led the team in scoring in the last 12 games with 16 or more points in each contest. In three of those games, he’s led the team in both assists and rebounds; same with his assist total.
It begs the question, when your starting point guard is scoring that much, how is it possible to drop so many games?
The Answer: Injuries, close games, roster limitations
In a conference like the Big 12, dominance is hard. It’s twice as difficult when a handful of guys on your roster are hurt.
The Wildcats have been without a number of guys in recent weeks, including Abdi Bashir Jr., who required emergency foot surgery and was projected to miss 4-6 weeks after playing 34 minutes against Oklahoma State.
He’s not the only one either. Elias Rapieque, Mobi Ikegwuruka and Khamari McGriff have also missed significant playing time down the stretch this year.
Towards the end of August, a fifth year of eligibility was denied to Tyreek Smith, a touted senior who previously played for SMU after previous appearances with both Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
An earlier report by the Topeka Capital-Journal even suggested that the team “stopped playing” in the first of two games this season against Kansas, a game decided by 26 points in favor of the Jayhawks.
What’s next for the Wildcats
As for what's shaped the season or who’s to blame, that’s for the fans to decide. If a turnaround is imminent, it starts Wednesday night against Cincinnati.