Texas Tech overwhelms Kansas State 74-58

Kansas State and Texas Tech are basketball teams heading in opposite directions. The Red Raiders are on the rise, and the Wildcats are not.

That was made abundantly clear on Saturday at United Supermarkets Arena when Texas Tech pummeled K-State 74-58.

The No. 18 Red Raiders didn’t just win, they dominated. This was a beat down. Much like in recent double-digit victories over Baylor and Kansas, they raced to a big lead and never let the Wildcats make anything more than a brief push.

One stat that summed up the one-sidedness of this game: K-State made 47.6 percent of its shots and barely mounted a challenge. Texas Tech made 58.5 percent of its shots, going a scorching 18 of 24 on two-point attempts.

Texas Tech (14-1, 3-0 Big 12) remains on top of the Big 12 Conference standings, while K-State (11-4, 1-2) falls closer to the bottom.

It was a mismatch of balanced scoring and depth against inconsistent play and injury.

Ten players scored for the Red Raiders, with star point guard Keenan Evans leading the way. He had 27 points and four assists. He also had plenty of help. Zhaire Smith had 11 points and four other Texas Tech players scored at least six.

K-State, playing most of the game without starting point guard Kamau Stokes, could do little to slow them. The long-term health status of Stokes will be of the greatest concern to coach Bruce Weber.

Stokes appeared to injure his ankle late in the first half, left for the locker room and didn’t return to the bench for the second half. It may be difficult for K-State to keep pace in the rugged Big 12 if Stokes misses upcoming games.

But K-State did get some energy from his backup, Cartier Diarra. The Wildcats seemed to play their best early in the second half with a lineup that featured Mawdo Sallah, Dean Wade, Xavier Sneed, Barry Brown and Diarra.

Brown scored a team-high 24 points and Wade chipped in 14. Otherwise, it was an uphill battle.

Texas Tech owned this game from the start.

The first half was a nightmare for K-State. Texas Tech shot with precision near the basket, making 12 of 13 two-point attempts and going 69.6 percent overall. The Red Raiders sprinted to a 32-11 lead.

K-State could do nothing to stop or score against Texas Tech.

For a while, it appeared Bruce Weber’s team might fail to reach 40 points, something that hadn’t happened since 1998.

Outside of Brown (10 points) and Diarra (six points) no K-State player accomplished anything of note in the first half. The Wildcats made 8 of 20 shots and lost eight turnovers.

In the first half K-State allowed Texas Tech to go 12 of 13 on two-pointers

K-State didn’t grab a single offensive rebound and committed eight turnovers, and Texas Tech led 40-22.

The Wildcats came out with energy in the second half and cut that lead down to 42-35 on an and-one layup from Brown, but they never got any closer.

The Red Raiders moved the ball around with Chris Beard’s motion offense and made shots every time K-State tried to make a push.

Texas Tech looked sharp. K-State did not.

This story was originally published January 6, 2018 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Texas Tech overwhelms Kansas State 74-58."