K-State takeaways: Wildcats attempt too many three-pointers in home loss against TCU
Some college basketball teams have enough offensive firepower to weather an early shooting slump and still win games. Kansas State is not one of them.
The Wildcats got off to a disastrous start against the TCU Horned Frogs and were unable to come back in a 67-60 loss on Saturday at Bramlage Coliseum.
TCU led by as many as 18 in the first half with K-State putting up bricks from all over the court, especially from three-point range. The Wildcats missed their first nine attempts from beyond the arc and humorously didn’t break the cold streak until their final play of the first half when DaJuan Gordon made a running shot at the buzzer to pull K-State within 10, 36-26.
“In the first half we didn’t make shots, and we weren’t tough,” Gordon said. “We didn’t make them guard us. In the second half we made them guard us and played the right way and got each other open shots.”
Gordon’s swish gave K-State enough momentum to claw its way back into the game during the second half. The Wildcats did enough things right to pull within 41-39 on a three-pointer from Mike McGuirl with 13 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. And they kept things close until the end, but they never took the lead.
They missed their best opportunity to put serious pressure on the Horned Frogs with 38 seconds remaining. The Wildcats called a timeout with the Frogs leading 61-58 and then ran a play designed to hit freshman forward Davion Bradford for a lob dunk.
The play was well designed, and Bradford was open when McGuirl sent a pass his way at the rim. But the execution was a bit off, and the ball ended up slipping off Bradford’s fingertips.
It wasn’t hard for TCU to pull away from there.
R.J. Nembhard led the Horned Frogs with a game-high 21 points. K-State has been suspect on defense all season, and that was once again the case as Nembhard took advantage of open space against the Wildcats.
Gordon led K-State with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Bradford added 14 points and nine rebounds.
K-State shot the ball better from distance in the second half, but still finished 7 of 25 from beyond the arc. TCU was actually worse, going 3 of 13, but it had enough success from two-point range early on that it didn’t matter.
“You’re obviously disappointed, especially with the start of the game,” K-State coach Bruce Weber said. “We didn’t have the fight or the passion on the defensive end that we needed. We had no answers and couldn’t stop them.”
The Wildcats (5-6, 1-2 Big 12) dropped below .500 with the loss. The Horned Frogs (9-2, 2-1 Big 12) continued their hot start to the season.
Here are some other thoughts on the game before K-State returns to action on Tuesday at Texas Tech:
Too many threes
The Wildcats entered Saturday’s action averaging 23.5 three-pointers per game, and they exceeded that number by attempting 25 against the Horned Frogs.
Right now, that doesn’t seem like a good strategy for Bruce Weber’s team.
K-State made 31.5% percent of its shots from beyond the arc in its first 10 games and only made 28% of them against TCU. Nijel Pack, Rudi Williams and McGuirl have shown some promise as three-point shooters, but not enough to justify falling in love with outside shots as the Wildcats have lately.
They barely make more than 30% of their three-pointers and would be better served looking inside more often, especially with freshman forward Davion Bradford’s size in the post and freshman guard Selton Miguel’s ability to attack the basket.
Weber thinks the Wildcats should aim for about 18 three-pointers a game, which would be a healthier number for K-State’s offense.
“We have got to be a little more patient and let things come at the end of shot clocks,” Weber said. “We need to drive. I thought we forced more threes last game than this game. You probably want to be around 18 or so and have good balance and hopefuly get to the free-throw line a little more.”
Setting the tone
You can typically tell if K-State is destined for victory or defeat based on the way it begins basketball games.
When the Wildcats bring energy from the opening tip, especially on defense, they typically get off to fast starts and find ways to win. When the opposite occurs, well, they typically find ways to lose.
That certainly isn’t always the case. K-State led early against Colorado and lost 76-58. It also fell behind against Omaha and mounted a successful comeback. But the Wildcats were pretty clearly in for a long day when they fell behind 29-11 against TCU.
With a young roster that features three freshmen in the starting lineup, K-State needs to take the beginning of games more seriously than its opponent. It is a team built to play from ahead rather than from behind. That was once again obvious against the Horned Frogs.
Junk-yard dog
Sophomore guard DaJuan Gordon has carved out an unusual role for himself on this K-State team.
The former four-star recruit has become the ultimate hustle player for Weber. It seems like Gordon always leads the way on K-State’s play-hard chart, and his effort has allowed him to fill up the stat sheet.
Gordon finished with a career-high 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals against TCU. He was the only K-State player to finish on the good side of the team’s plus/minus chart, as the Wildcats outscored the Horned Frogs by one while Gordon was on the floor for 36 minutes.
What’s most impressive about his effort is that very few of his points came easy. Two of his layups came on put-back attempts after he grabbed tough rebounds. Several more came in traffic near the rim. He only made a pair of three-pointers.
A few games ago, he realized he couldn’t rely on his outside shot and began looking for other ways to help his team. Turns out, he could do a lot by fighting for rebounds and searching for hustle points. His playing style resembles a scavenger or a junk-yard dog. Nothing comes easy.
That is what K-State needs from him right now. But it would help if he could learn to make a few easy shots, too.
“DaJuan has a big heart,” Weber said. “He cares, and he plays hard. We need him to be a little more efficient on some things, but you feel happy for him because he is finally starting to make a few shots. I hope it helps his confidence.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2021 at 3:14 PM.