Kansas State Wins First Game Since Dismissal of Jerome Tang

The Kansas State Wildcats knocked off the visiting team, the Baylor Bears, 90-74 on Tuesday night. The win ends their six-game losing streak.

Kansas State also won its first game under interim head coach Matthew Driscoll after the firing of Jerome Tang. The Wildcats improve to 11-15 (2-11) in Big 12 Conference play.

In the first half, both teams were sloppy with the basketball. Kansas State went on a run and led as many as 13 at one point before Baylor started to creep back in late in the first half. The Wildcats lost momentum before halftime.

The Wildcats played much better in the second half. Their 13-6 run helped them a lot. The Bears kept turning the ball over, and the Wildcats took advantage.

PJ Haggerty led with 34 points. The focal player for the Wildcats was Nate Johnson, with a masterful performance of 33 points and 9 assists. Johnson made 11 of 21 shots and snatched 6 steals. The duo came through tonight.

The Wildcats made 56 percent of their shots, including 8-17 from the three-point line. The Wikdcats defense held the Bears to just 40 percent from the field and 12 percent from downtown.

Kansas State played a complete, all-around game, one of its top performances of the season as a unit.

Driscoll is a man of faith, and he started the postgame conference by expressing it.

“I’m really grateful that Jesus Christ is my lord and savior,” Driscoll said. “He never puts us in situations that we can’t handle, we can’t overcome, but he also puts us in those situations so that we can continue to glorify him.”

Driscoll wanted to make it crystal clear that it was never his intention to take over the head coaching position from Coach Tang.

“I did not come to Kansas State to be the head coach,” Driscoll said. “Coach Tang and I and coach Drew 23 years ago for six years went through the most tumultuous college athletics situation that’s ever happened.”

Driscoll credits his coaching staff for putting Kansas State in a position to succeed in tonight’s game. He wouldn’t win tonight’s game without the imprint that Coach Tang and the rest of the staff touched. Driscoll was very passionate during the postgame Conference.

“Because of his leadership and because of what he did, that’s why tonight transpired,” Driscoll said. “Everything came to fruition tonight. If you want to know something, there’s nothing easy in life, and nothing’s normal.”

Kansas State hopes Driscoll’s leadership could be the start of something special in the Wildcats' program moving forward.

Kansas State will go on the road to take on No. 13 Texas Tech on Saturday at 2:30. The Red Raiders pulled off a big upset against the Arizona Wildcats last weekend.