Kansas State collected its 10th loss of conference play Wednesday night, falling 91-62 at home to Cincinnati. From the opening tip, this one was all Bearcats - and given the odds, it certainly turned some heads.
Wildcats’ struggle to contain first half three-point shooting
The Wildcats (10-14, 1-10 Big 12) trailed the Bearcats (13-12, 5-7 Big 12) by as many as 28 points in the first half, largely due to the nine first-half three-pointers for Cincinnati.
When your opponent shoots like that, it's hard find any sort of rhythm on the defensive end.
The Bearcats opened the game on a 20-9 run that included triples from Jalen Celestine, Jizzle James, and two makes from Baba Miller, who had only knocked down three shots from beyond the arc all season prior to the game.
As a team, Cincinnati knocked down 11 of their first 15 looks from the floor and nine of the first 14 shots from beyond the arc, the team's best mark in a single half of play this season.
David Castillo hit a pair of triples for the Wildcats towards the end of the first half, keeping the deficit, cutting the Cincinnati lead from 28 to 22 before entering the break trailing 53-31.
PJ Haggerty finding a way, keeping his momentum
If there was any hope for a turnaround in the second half, it certainly started with PJ Haggerty. The Memphis transfer dumped in his first two shots of the second half, but the momentum was short-lived.
Haggerty’s 11 first half points quickly became 20 with 13:21 remaining in the first. He was the only scorer for Kansas State to enter double figures for the majority of the game. He went on to finish the game with 24 points, three rebounds and two assists
It’s a similar trend that’s run though the Wildcats' offense all season, and the 13th consecutive game that K-State scoring has been led by Haggerty.
But here's the uncomfortable truth: Haggerty scored three times as much as David Castillo, the team's second-leading scorer who finished the game with only eight points. That's not what carrying a workload looks like, that's defined as carrying the team.
A night full of uncomfortable firsts for K-State
The projections ahead of tonight’s matchup certainly didn’t spell a blowout. There was, however, a hope that things would start trending in the right direction.
Some Kansas State fans are wearing bags on their heads tonight. pic.twitter.com/RSUeCFbDKA
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 12, 2026
Unfortunately, Wednesday night had other plans. It became the first game of conference play that only one starter for the Wildcats entered double figures. That lone scorer was Haggerty.
Cincinnati, on the other hand, ended the game with five.
The loss marked the Wildcats’ second-worst home defeat of the season, finishing five points shy of their worst home loss against Iowa State and three higher than their 26-point loss to Kansas in the first game of the Sunflower Showdown.
The win doubled as the first road victory for head coach Wes Miller and the Bearcats after dropping their first six contests.
What’s next for the Wildcats
K-State will look to avoid its longest losing streak of the season on the road against No. 3 Houston at 3 p.m. on Saturday. The game will stream live on Peacock.
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