Why losing to Bradley could hurt Kansas State’s big-picture outlook for the season
The Kansas State basketball fans who scoffed when their team was picked ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll might start to worry about that prediction becoming reality following an ugly showing at the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
K-State looked like a potential cellar dweller in the conference standings while losing to Bradley 73-60 on Wednesday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena.
The loss came two days after the Wildcats fell to Pittsburgh 63-59 and the Braves lost 78-51 to Northwestern.
K-State finished fourth at an early season tournament that didn’t feature a single opponent in the top 80 of most rating systems and limped back to Manhattan.
The Wildcats (4-2) have some serious growing up to do if they want to challenge for the NCAA Tournament this season. Yes, that’s still a long way off. But these losses put them in a serious hole. K-State won’t have many opportunities for quality victories before the start of Big 12 play, and it already has a pair of costly defeats.
“We have to go through this,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “Hopefully they will listen, and we will get better and practice and we can move forward and have a good season. But it’s not going to be easy. They have got to believe it and want it.”
A faceplant in Florida will put pressure on K-State to win upcoming games against Marquette and Mississippi State, as well as to post a winning record in Big 12 play. Playing an easy nonconference schedule isn’t a huge deal for a team that contends for a conference championship. But it can hurt a bubble team.
Right now, the Wildcats don’t own a single quality win. And neither of their losses have come against quality competition.
But Weber isn’t worried. At least not yet.
“A lot of teams are losing two games this week,” Weber said. “I just told them that we went to Puerto Rico in 2013, and Georgetown beat us by 40 and it could have been 50. Charlotte beat us. We beat Long Beach (52-38) in one of the ugliest games in history. But you know what? That group got in the NCAA Tournament. I don’t know if we can, but we have got to come together and give it a shot.”
The Wildcats need to fix small things before they can think big.
Xavier Sneed and Cartier Diarra are forcing things in their new roles, and K-State’s young players aren’t doing enough to help them or the team as a whole.
Shaun Williams was a good example of this. The sophomore came off the bench to score 10 points for the Wildcats and played with enough confidence to attempt eight shots when his teammates appeared timid, but he could have helped much more by distributing.
“It’s all about just trusting in Coach and the offense he calls for us,” Sneed said. “If we do that we will be good.”
Sneed led K-State with 15 points, but he needed 12 shots to score them. Diarra had six points and eight assists, but he pushed too hard at made mistakes at inopportune times. Makol Mawien and Antonio Gordon had trouble finishing. DaJuan Gordon was mostly quiet.
Even K-State’s usually stingy defense had an off night, allowing Bradley to shoot 56.5% from three-point range.
The Wildcats all seem to be trying to do too much, especially compared to Bradley players who knew how to feed Nate Kennell as he drained six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 22 points.
Weber compared K-State’s issues to a baseball lineup.
“We have got to have better flow,” Weber said. “The ball sticks too much and then we all try to make plays. Every time we get some momentum they are out there trying to hit grand slams when there is no one on base. We have got to get a bunt single, then we need to get a bloop single and then we have got to get a base hit and then hit a grand slam.
“Right now, we all think we are home-run hitters. We have got to learn to help each other.”