K-State takeaways: A huge game for Dean Wade and garbage-time regret from Bruce Weber

The Kansas State Wildcats beat the stuffing out of the Oklahoma State Cowboys 75-57 on Saturday at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

K-State pulled away late in the first half and led by as many as 34 on its way to a convincing road victory that will keep the Wildcats (16-5, 6-2 Big 12) on top of the conference standings and make even pessimistic fans forget about last week’s unexpected loss to Texas A&M.

Here are some thoughts on the basketball game:

Dean Wade was on fire

The senior forward could do no wrong.

Check out this stat line: 24 points, six rebounds and three assists on a perfect 9-of-9 shooting. He literally didn’t miss from the field. Talk about efficiency.

Funny thing is, Wade didn’t realize he was having a career game until K-State coach Bruce Weber pulled him late with the Wildcats in total control. It wasn’t until an assistant coach suggested Wade turned down shots in the second half to maintain a perfect night that he realized what he had accomplished.

“I honestly had no idea,” Wade said. “I was really focused on trying to get open shots against their zone, just move to the open spot, break it down and hit the open teammate.”

Still, he could tell early on he was having a good game. That much was obvious when he started to play with swagger, howling after dunks and holding his hand high in the air as he retreated on defense following three-pointers.

When asked if he could remember the last time he had a perfect shooting night, Wade shrugged his shoulders and said “probably never.”

“It felt good,” Wade said. “It’s always fun playing road games in the Big 12, in front of big arenas and big crowds. The energy in the arena was high, and after a few shots I was feeling it.”

He got plenty of help from his teammates, including 18 points from Barry Brown and 10 points from Cartier Diarra. As a team, the Wildcats piled up 19 assists and showed beautiful ball movement against Oklahoma State’s always changing zone defenses.

This wasn’t like some of K-State’s other road clunkers against zone. Wade made shots, and his hot streak built confidence for everyone else wearing purple-and-black uniforms.

It was a good reminder of what he can accomplish at full strength.

“It was great, man,” Brown said. “He was the Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year, so it’s not surprising at all. But it is great to have him back doing the things we know he is capable of so fast after the injury. It is great to have him back.”

Garbage time regret

With about 6 minutes remaining, K-State was threatening to hand Oklahoma State its most lopsided home loss in history. The Cowboys are usually tough as nails at Gallagher-Iba Arena, and they have never lost here by more than 33 points.

The Wildcats were on pace to smash that number, leading 69-35 and in complete control. But Weber pulled his starters and Oklahoma State closed on a 22-8 run to make the final score look much more respectable than it could have been.

Some will shrug that off as meaningless garbage time, but it could come back to hurt K-State. Why? Because the new NET rankings used by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee factor in stats like victory margin and defensive efficiency. Simply put: The Wildcats would have benefited from running up the score.

“We went into the locker room there late, and I said, ‘Did I do it too early?’” Weber said. “This is why I’m not sure the NET is a good thing. The victory margin is still good, but now our defensive efficiency drops because we didn’t leave our guys in.“

Though Weber second-guessed his decision, he said he will likely do it again the next time K-State is way ahead in the final moments. He got a kick out of watching walk-on Pierson McAtee nail a late three.

“I am always going to sub,” Weber said. “Those guys deserve it. They always bust their butt and help us prepare. I am happy they got a chance to get some minutes.”

Brown delivers from the perimeter

K-State guard Barry Brown wore a brace on his left knee against Oklahoma State, and is unlikely to take it off anytime soon after the way he played on Saturday.

Brown lit it up from the perimeter and made five three-pointers on his way to 18 points. He has done most of his damage this season off the dribble, but he clapped his hands and called for the ball whenever he was open in this game. The strategy paid off. Perhaps it could build his confidence for future games.

Scoreless streak at the five

To put it mildly, Makol Mawien and Levi Stockard have struggled on offense lately. K-State’s starting center, Mawien, didnt’ score at all last week against Texas A&M and neither did his backup, Stockard. Between them, Mawien and Stockard entered this game on a 57-minute scoring drought.

It finally snapped at about 76 minutes when Mawien threw down an open dunk at the end of the first half against Oklahoma State. But it was his only basket of the game. Stockard, once again, went scoreless. Mawien and Stockard finished out the game on another 20-minute scoring drought.

Bring on the Jayhawks

K-State hosts KU on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum, and this Sunflower Showdown could be epic.

The Wildcats are on top of the Big 12 standings at 6-2 and the Jayhawks are half a game back at 6-3.

K-State’s senior class of Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade will enter the game having never beaten KU, a fact that Weber pointed out after this game.

One thing is clear: The Wildcats will be ready for the biggest home game of the season.

“We are going to have to come with the right mindset,” Weber said. “We can’t anticipate that we are going to win at home. We have got to go earn victory.”

This story was originally published February 2, 2019 at 8:46 PM.