Kansas State falls short at Texas 62-49

Cameron Ridley jumped into the air, extended his arms toward a lob pass from Kendal Yancy and threw down an alley-oop dunk that sent the decibel level at the Erwin Center soaring.

It was late in the second half, and the game, much like the ball on that particular play, was up in the air. Ridley and the Longhorns were ready for the moment and pulled away for a 62-49 victory over Kansas State on Saturday.

The Wildcats, playing without usual starters Nino Williams and Jevon Thomas, had no answers.

“They were pretty special tonight,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said of Texas. “I don’t know if we fell apart or if they stepped up … I think they took it from us. They played a little more determined and a little better. They took the game.”

Once again, K-State came up short on the road. Once again, its record (15-16, 8-10 Big 12) dropped below .500. Its chances of an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament are no more. A NIT bid is in question. And, for the first time since 2006, it will have to play on the opening day of the Big 12 Tournament.

This was the final game of the regular season. K-State will play TCU at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Big 12 Tournament. The winner will face No. 1-seed Kansas in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

The path will be difficult, but the Wildcats are not afraid of it.

“We beat all the top teams in the Big 12,” said senior K-State forward Thomas Gipson after scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. “It’s not like it can’t happen again. We just have to be ready and prepare for it.”

The Wildcats will also have to play better than they did Saturday.

With the defeat, they have lost seven straight road games, dropping their away record to 1-10 this season and 3-17 over the past two years.

The Sprint Center figures to be a friendlier environment than most, but the Longhorns (19-12, 8-10), which will be the No. 7 seed and face Texas Tech on Wednesday, would have beaten the Wildcats in any venue the way they played defense.

Texas blocked 14 shots Saturday, the most ever by a team against K-State. Jonathan Holmes led the way by blocking four shots, while Prince Ibeh and Ridley both blocked three.

The Wildcats also had problems against the Longhorns’ big frontcourt during a loss at Bramlage Coliseum last month. Their adjustments did not work.

“The biggest thing was their shot-blocking was there all game,” sophomore guard Nigel Johnson said. “You would think you had a wide-open layup and someone would come out of nowhere and block the ball. That was the biggest thing.

“They normally turned that into two points the other way and that really changed momentum. They had a couple at the end that turned the whole game around.”

Texas needed every big play it could muster. It was playing for its NCAA Tournament life, hoping consecutive victories over Baylor and K-State will be enough to push them off the bubble and into the field of 68.

“When you are playing and doing what you are supposed to do we should be a confident team,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “Our guys know they can beat good teams … I just really like the way our guys have responded, especially from a confidence standpoint.”

The Longhorns were also balanced on offense. Demarcus Holland led Texas with 12 points, while Connor Lammert, Holmes and Isaiah Taylor each reached double figures.

The Wildcats were the opposite. Marcus Foster and Gipson each scored 15 points, but no one else managed more than six.

Perhaps the presence of Thomas, a sophomore point guard, would have changed things. Weber said he decided to dismiss Thomas from the team Friday, but is open to reinstating him if he regains focus and talks with Weber about his status. K-State had little offensive flow without him.

Still, it was Williams who left a larger void. Without their second-leading scorer, who was allowed to skip the game for personal reasons, the Wildcats were unable to help Gipson inside. Stephen Hurt and Malek Harris combined for four points and three rebounds trying to replace him.

Both were blocked several times.

“You have to be smart after a few,” Weber said. “I thought there were three or four in the first half, Malek had a couple, where you are in there and they are too big. If you get a rebound, kick it out. We didn’t kick it to the next person.”

The Wildcats needed more.

“You could say (we were shorthanded), but that is not an excuse,” Gipson said. “We still have to come out and play hard. We did for a while, but they wanted to win more than we did.”

This story was originally published March 7, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Kansas State falls short at Texas 62-49."