Kansas State finally put its six-game losing streak to rest on Tuesday night, taking down Baylor and claiming its first win since its 81-78 victory over Utah on Jan. 20.
With Tang out of the picture, it became evident early on that the team was staring down the barrel of a turning point – and if it continues, the season might not be over.
Matthew Driscoll making his head coaching debut for the Wildcats
Tuesday’s game was K-State’s first game without former head coach Jerome Tang, who was formally fired from the program for cause on Sunday evening. The interim head coach, Matthew Driscoll, wasted no time getting to work.
But this is nothing new for Driscoll. He spent 16 seasons at North Florida, building the program into a consistent contender, later becoming the Ospreys’ all-time winningest coach before his departure in 2025.
Happy gameday, friends.
— Wyatt Wheeler (@WyattWheeler_) February 17, 2026
Welcome to the Matthew Driscoll era. pic.twitter.com/805qHZ395z
In his first game at the helm for the Wildcats, he wasted no time. Better yet, the Wildcats never trailed, something that hadn’t happened all season under Tang.
The win marked Driscoll’s first as a head coach against Scott Drew, whom he worked under for six seasons from 2003-09.
The win was Driscoll’s first career victory inside Bramlage Coliseum after three consecutive losses with the Ospreys.
Nate Johnson stepping up when it mattered
Saying that senior guard Nate Johnson finally found his rhythm sells his performance against Baylor short. Johnson entered the game averaging just 10.7 points per game but took this one over, scoring a career-high 33 points and adding seven assists and five rebounds.
Taj Manning ended the game as the Wildcats’ leading rebounder, closing out Tuesday’s contest with nine.
PJ Haggerty ended the night with another 20-point game, closing the night out with 34 points and leading the team in scoring for the 15th consecutive contest.
It was also Haggerty’s second 30-point game in four contests, and the first time a pair of K-State starters logged 30 points in the same game since Michael Beasley and Bill Walker against the Bears in 2008.
K-State also welcomed back Andrej Kostic, who missed the last three games due to an ankle injury. He logged 11 minutes, scoring seven points and knocking down a pair of shots from three-point range.
Wildcats post largest league win over Baylor
The 16-point win marked the team’s largest margin of victory since its 106–76 rout of South Dakota in nonconference play. It was also the first time since Dec. 28 that the Wildcats topped 90 points.
Make no mistake, this wasn’t a diminished Baylor squad, either. This is the same team that came within one possession of upsetting No. 6 Iowa State on the road and dropped 94 points on then-No. 22 BYU.
That’s what happens when a team comes out firing on all cylinders, shooting 48.5% from the floor in the first half. And once K-State found that rhythm, it never let up.
The bench provided real depth beyond CJ Jones and Marcus Johnson, the crowd fed the energy, and for the first time in a while, everything clicked.
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