Cold start prevents Kansas State from shaking up Big 12 standings

Kansas State’s struggles against zone defense returned at the most unfortunate of times Monday at Bramlage Coliseum.

The Wildcats went cold throughout a 70-56 loss to the Jayhawks, shooting 32.3 percent and bringing back memories of an embarrassing nonconference setback against Tulsa.

K-State students lined up early in the day in anticipation of the Sunflower Showdown. Fans were ready to cheer on their team in a game they hoped would extend a recent hot streak and give the Wildcats a desired win over their cross-state rivals.

They had legitimate reason to hope. K-State entered the day as the Big 12’s top-shooting team in conference games from the field (50.6 percent) and three-point range (42.6 percent) but you wouldn’t realize it watching the Wildcats try to make shots in this game.

They struggled to get much of anything going outside of Dean Wade. The junior forward scored a team-high 20 points and created problems for the Jayhawks early on. Then KU coach Bill Self switched to a zone defense, and K-State’s scoring dried up.

Barry Brown had nine points and Xavier Sneed had 10, but few others found success. K-State players struggled to find open looks inside and missed the open shots it saw on the perimeter.

That was an issue early in the season, particularly during an ugly 61-54 loss to Tulsa in Wichita. K-State made 31.6 percent of its shots in that game.

But the Wildcats seemed to solve their zone issues as Big 12 games began. Opposing teams have tried to confuse them with zone defenses, and K-State has carved them up. Just last week, the Wildcats beat Baylor 90-83, playing so well against the Bears’ zone that they often switched to man.

Things were different against Kansas.

K-State made 21 of 65 shots from the floor and 6 of 27 from three-point range. With KU winning the rebounding battle 41-31, the Jayhawks were in command most of the way.

This story was originally published January 29, 2018 at 10:20 PM with the headline "Cold start prevents Kansas State from shaking up Big 12 standings."