Ice-cold shooting dooms K-State in Big 12 Tournament loss to Baylor
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Kansas State’s dream of a deep Big 12 Tournament run became a nightmare Wednesday night inside the T-Mobile Center as the Wildcats were defeated by the Baylor Bears, 70-56.
A disastrous shooting performance from beyond the arc saw the Wildcats shoot 3-for-25 from distance. Whether the 3-point attempts for K-State came from off the dribble or in catch-and-shoot form didn’t seem to change the result.
K-State’s shooting struggles were not specific to one particular half. The Wildcats were 1-for-12 from distance in the first half and 2-for-13 from beyond the arc in the second half.
“I just wanted to be able to spend one more day with them, man,” K-State head coach Jerome Tang said following the season-ending loss. “That was my whole goal, can we just go one more day.
“It’s never easy when the season ends. Either way, I think I’ve only been really happy at the end of one season. Because you never want it to end, not because of the outcome, it’s because of the end of the relationships.”
N’Guessan spent much of his Tuesday night glued to the K-State bench due to foul trouble in their First Round matchup with Arizona State. N’Guessan only played 17 minutes in that contest, recording just 5 points and 4 rebounds, but was much more productive Wednesday.
In 37 minutes of action, the Dutch product had 20 points and 10 rebounds.
“David is an example of a young man who stayed in the same program for three years and went from a role play to a star and an All-Conference guy,” Tang said. “And (an example) that if you trust the process and stick with it and you’re committed, it can happen.”
The Wildcats had issues all night defending the Bears, but it was particularly evident in the first half when Baylor scored time and time again with high ball screen action involving their guards and a screening senior center Norchad Omier. Whether it was a Bears guard driving to the rim for a layup or Omier rolling to the basket for an easy score, Baylor had its way with the K-State defense.
The Bears led 41-24 at the halftime break and were never seriously threatened in the second half by the Wildcats, who continued a dreadful night of shooting for all 40 minutes of action.
Baylor had a trio of scorers reach double figures as freshman guard VJ Edgecombe (19), senior guard Jayden Nunn (18) and Norchad Omier (12) led the Bears in their victory. It was the second time this season Baylor beat K-State.
“Baylor played better than we did tonight and they deserve all the credit,” Tang said.
The loss ends K-State’s season at 16-17, a disappointing finish for the Wildcats after a significant program investment in the roster in the off-season.
Tang didn’t want to focus on the offensive consistency after the loss.
“You think I really want to talk about that right now?” Tang asked following a question about his team struggling to find consistent scoring. “What’s important is how these guys leave here, David (N’Guessan) playing his last game in a K-State uniform and he leaves here knowing that he is appreciated and he’s loved.”
Under Tang, the Wildcats will now have missed the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons after reaching the Elite Eight in Tang’s first season in Manhattan.
Baylor advances to the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals to play No. 2 seed Texas Tech on Thursday at 6 p.m. CT.
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