Kansas State Can’t Stop Kansas’ Overpowering 27-7 Late Run
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Kansas State caught a break when Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, one of the top freshman in the nation, couldn’t play in the Sunflower Showdown on Saturday night because of a sprained ankle.
That was the only break the Wildcats enjoyed.
K-State lost to the Jayhawks, 86-62, the first loss at Bramlage Coliseum to its in-state rival since 2022.
The final score looks gruesome — and it is — but with 7:50 to play, the Wildcats trailed by only 59-55.
From then, boom.
KU runs away
The 19th-ranked Jayhawks closed the game on a 27-7 sprint as coach Bill Self returned to the sidelines after missing the previous game because of a hospital stay that was brought on by a health-related situation.
“Very disappointed that we didn’t finish with the kind of effort that those people [fans who showed up in a snowstorm] deserve,” K-State coach Jerome Tang said in a news conference.
“Credit to KU for you know 7:26 to go, it’s 59-55 they close on a 27-to-7 run. That’s a credit to them, and something that we have to go look at as a staff.
“But to close the last five minutes on an 18-to-2 paint point advantage when it was a point of emphasis for us, that was extremely disappointing. But, great thing about this league is you get a quick turnaround, and you got to go play another really good team. And so it’s on to the next thing.”
Kansas center Flory Bidunga scored team-high 21 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds and was largely unstoppable. He had a collection of dunks and put-backs during the 27-7 run.
“I'm gonna go back and watch and figure that out,” Tang said. “But it wasn’t that, it was 28-to-16 [points in the paint] with five minutes to go, and then they went 18-to-2 to finish the game. And, I mean, like, our scheme didn’t change, right?
“That’s what I’m talking about, we just weren’t competitive enough to execute what we needed to do. And they were more competitive than we were.”
'They wanted it more than us'
Kansas State guard P.J. Haggerty, who scored a game-high 23 points despite facing many double teams from the Jayhawks, was asked about Tang’s comment about a lack of competitiveness.
“I would say it was just more the defensive side thing,” Haggerty said in a postgame news conference.“We just got to just keep people out the paint and just want it more. I think at the end, they wanted it more than us, and that’s what the outcome was.”
Tang was asked what he meant about not being competitive enough.
““I mean, I noticed it after the 7:26 mark when we allowing them to get wherever they wanted to get to, when they’re living in the paint,” Tang said.
“You know, at some point in time they got to hit your chest, and you have to say, no, you know. And we were just letting them get there, whether it was post or whether it was a guard driving, whatever it was, right. But some point in time you got to look the other dude in the eyes and say, ‘No, you’re not going there.’ ”
Kansas State fell to 10-10, 1-6 in the Big 12 and plays at West Virginia on Tuesday. Kansas is now 15-5, 5-2 in the Big 12. For the Jayhawks to win like this without Peterson was impressive.
“You know [Bidunga], he didn’t get many touches in the first half,” Kansas coach Bill Self said in a postgame news conference. “In the second half, we ran a little high-low action to get him a basket right off the bat, and he converted that.
“If you go back and look at it, the way he plays well and the way he scores isn’t off of running plays. It’s off of him making athletic plays. When your guards get downhill and you force help and you can throw it up — those are easy plays for him.
“That’s not something that we design. I think if you’re going to talk about the best part of his game today it was definitely on the defensive end.”
Kansas’ offense was more than Bidunga. Four other Jayhawks scored in double figures. And their defense contained Haggerty.
“They start trapping,” Haggerty said. “I think we just got to adjust a little better and just make more plays on the stretch. I think in all, whether that, we just got to guard better.
“Think they went on a 27-8 run, things like that can’t happen, especially at home, but we just got to keep going, just can’t quit.”
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Chuck Bausman is a writer for Kansas State on SI. Chuck formerly was the Executive Sports Editor of the Philadelphia Daily News, Executive Sports Editor of the Courier-Post in South Jersey and Sports Copy Editor for the Detroit Free Press. He has been a Big Ten enthusiast for nearly forever. He learned how to cuss by watching Philly sports. You can reach Chuck at: bausmac@icloud.com