West Virginia clamps down on Kansas State

Scoring never comes easy against West Virginia, but Kansas State found it exceptionally difficult during a 77-69 loss on Monday at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats had trouble scoring inside, making 10 of 30 shots from two-point range, and outside, going 10 of 26 from three-point range. The Mountaineers overwhelmed K-State with their defensive pressure, forcing 15 turnovers and muddying things up like a football game.

K-State was coming off an aesthetically pleasing 91-75 victory at Iowa State in which open looks were abundant. This game was completely different, with both teams clawing for every point.

Bruce Weber hoped K-State (11-3, 1-1 Big 12) could build off its impressive win over the Cyclones with a victory over the No. 6 Mountaineers (13-1, 2-0), but it didn’t happen. This ranked right up there with a neutral-court game against No. 4 Arizona State as its toughest test of the year. Just like that game at the Las Vegas Invitational, the Wildcats fell short.

Their top players simply didn’t score up to their usual standards.

K-State usually depends on a combination of Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes, Xavier Sneed and Dean Wade to lead the way. On Monday, only Sneed and Wade looked sharp.

Brown, a junior guard, finished with 14 points, but he needed 13 shots to get them. He also lost seven turnovers. Stokes, K-State’s junior point guard, missed all 10 of his attempts and scored all six of his points at the free-throw line.

Wade once again played aggressively and scored 17 points on eight shots. And Sneed shot his way to 20 points, draining a number of important corner threes to keep K-State in the game.

Problem is, the Wildcats were playing from behind the whole way.

With Teddy Allen scoring 22 points and Lamont West adding 19 for West Virginia, it built a 31-26 lead and continually seemed on the verge of pulling away for good.

A microcosm of the game occurred with 6:45 remaining when Brown found himself in transition. The Mountaineers led 61-53, but a bucket on this possession would have put significant pressure on them in a loud road environment. Brown pulled up at three-point line and fired away, but the ball fell painfully short of the rim. It was an air ball.

West Virginia responded with a three-pointer from West moments later, and K-State was down double digits.

Scoring came easy over the weekend. It came difficult on Monday. That is life in the rugged Big 12.

The Wildcats must now try to bounce back against another difficult opponent on Saturday when they travel to face the No. 18 Texas Tech Red Raiders.

This story was originally published January 1, 2018 at 6:25 PM with the headline "West Virginia clamps down on Kansas State."