How Kansas State played at ‘magic level’ in 87-69 victory over Oklahoma

We saw Kansas State at its best against Oklahoma, and the Wildcats were really, really good. Not only did they play well enough to beat a top 5 team, they played well enough to annihilate a top 5 team and humble the nation’s top statistical player.

K-State defeated No. 4 Oklahoma 87-69 on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum, making Trae Young look human for the first time in his brief college career.

One look at the stat sheet is enough to make the most pessimistic K-State basketball fan smile.

▪  On offense, the Wildcats were scorching hot. They shared the ball for 19 assists, made 35 of 62 shots and got better as the game went on. They shot a scorching-hot 73.1 percent in the second half.

“We played at the magic level,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “They played special. I kind of joked with the coaches at one point and asked, ‘Have we missed a shot in the second half?’ We didn’t miss many. It was a great run.”

▪  On defense, the Wildcats were arguably even better. Barry Brown drew the one-on-one assignment against OU superstar Trae Young, who leads the nation in both points (30.1) and assists (10), and made him lose a whopping 12 turnovers. That’s more than any other major-conference player has had since 1999, according to ESPN statistics.

Young still managed to reach 20 points, but he needed 21 shots to get there while also sending out six assists. He didn’t score his first points until the 9:55 mark of the first half. It was odd to watch. Young was the main reason Oklahoma was able to push K-State at times, but he was also the main reason the Sooners lost.

“I did not do very well tonight. I played terrible,” Young said. “I blame a lot of this loss on me, if not all of the loss on me.”

Brown, a gifted scorer in his own right, outshined Young by scoring 24 points on top of five assists and three steals.

He was motivated for this one.

“Very motivated,” Brown said. “Any time there is a big-time guy coming in that we are going to play I am always motivated to guard him and do my best. My teammates helped me and it paid off. I was in his pocket the whole game. I corralled him and made him take bad shots.”

▪  In the huddle, the Wildcats were focused.

Many wondered how they would respond from a heartbreaking last-second loss to Kansas on Saturday, and they bounced back with resiliency. K-State was the better team from the start, jumping out to a 27-13 lead and pushing back immediately after Oklahoma made its biggest run of the night.

The Sooners (14-3, 4-2) pulled ahead 33-32 late in the first half, but Cartier Diarra and Dean Wade responded with three-pointers to steal the lead back at halftime. K-State (13-5, 3-3) never trailed again.

“We feel like we should be up there at the top (of the Big 12),” Diarra said. “We just have to keep playing like that every game.”

How does K-State duplicate this effort?

That’s the million-dollar question today. We have seen the Wildcats play poorly enough to lose to Tulsa on a semi-home court. We have also seen them play well enough to clobber Iowa State and Oklahoma by double-digits.

It’s nothing new. Inconsistency has defined K-State in recent years. Last season, they won three games against top 10 teams and barely made the NCAA Tournament. The year before that, they took down Oklahoma when it was ranked No. 1 on this same floor and missed the NIT. In 2015, they beat then No. 8 Kansas at home and finished with a losing record.

Remembering those experiences, Weber tried his best to pump the brakes on any kind of arrival talk.

“It’s not over,” Weber said. “We are just 3-3.”

He also recalled that win over Oklahoma two seasons ago.

“If you remember, we beat them when they were No. 1. We didn’t keep going,” Weber said. “That will be my message tomorrow.”

Diarra and Wade … For three!

No one has been hotter from three-point range in Big 12 games than Cartier Diarra and Dean Wade.

Diarra has gone 10 of 15 from beyond the arc, while Wade has gone 11 of 17.

They were once again sharp against Oklahoma. Diarra made 2 of 3 outside shots on his way to 16 points, while Wade made all three of his three-pointers and scored 21 points. Sneed was also sharp, making 3 of 5 threes.

That accuracy has allowed K-State’s offense to become more efficient, even without injured point guard Kamau Stokes. With Brown driving to the rim, defenses have to pick their poison. Diarra and Wade have spread out the floor, and everyone has benefited.

Kruger Kryptonite

For someone who played and coached at K-State, Lon Kruger doesn’t seem to like returning to his old stomping grounds.

Kruger, Oklahoma’s coach since 2011, has lost six straight at Bramlage Coliseum and is just 3-8 against Weber. Those are strange stats, considering how good the Sooners have been during that time. Oklahoma swept K-State in his first season, but those wins came against Frank Martin.

He will have to wait another year to get another shot at winning inside the arena where his name hangs from the rafters.

“Obviously, K-State played great,” Kruger said. “They made us play bad. We did not feel good about any aspect of the ball game, and certainly that is a credit to Kansas State. Bruce had them ready to play well. They have been playing well lately, and they did tonight. The whipped us in about every aspect of the game.”

This story was originally published January 17, 2018 at 12:27 AM with the headline "How Kansas State played at ‘magic level’ in 87-69 victory over Oklahoma."